Ghost in the KiMo Theater? — Photo courtesy of © Steve Larese

Founded by the Spanish in 1706 and home to Native Americans long before that. Albuquerque, has a centuries-old history. Tales of witches, ghosts, and skinwalkers have been told in Native American, Spanish, and Anglo-American cultures for hundreds of years, and are now ingrained in the collective consciousness of Albuquerque. Part of that history lives on as ghost stories.

Many people claim to have experienced unexplained sightings and feelings at the following properties, many of which date back to the early 1700s. Albuquerque’s ghost stories keep history alive at best. At worst, many people swear that the living here are not alone.

Old Town Ghost Tours, Albucreepy Tours, and the Southwest Ghost Hunters Association are great ways to learn more about haunted Albuquerque. Here are 10 of our favorite places that are open to the public. Check them out and see for yourself if you dare.

1. KiMo Theater

The KiMo Theater It opened in 1927 and its Pueblo Deco design and furnishings still amaze today. Inside, cow skulls with glowing red eyes, mourning canoes, and Native American motifs including pre-WWII swastikas adorn the walls and ceiling of this intimate theater, which hosts everything from films to operas year-round .

It was 1951 when a water heater exploded, killing a six-year-old boy named Bobby Darnall Jr. Many believe that Bobby’s playful spirit haunts KiMo, so much so that it has become a tradition for the cast to leave out a plate of donuts as trinkets for Bobby. Who doesn’t risk disastrous performances with technical problems.

2. High Noon Restaurant & Saloon

Albuquerques Old Town This is where the city was founded in 1706 and many of the shops and restaurants around the central square were once the homes of the original Spanish families who settled here. This particular building was built in the 1750s and once served as a brothel.

High Noon Restaurant & Saloon is now best known for its steaks, but staff speak of the lady in the white dress seen in the Santos Room and unexplained noises. Bartenders confirm that glasses slid across the bar and floated through the air at night.

3. Church Street Cafe

This Old Town restaurant serves great New Mexican cuisine and is known for its pet-friendly patio. The mud house is one of the oldest houses in Albuquerque, if not the oldest. It was built in the early 17th century by the Ruiz family, who owned the building until the last family member, Rufina G. Ruiz, passed away at the age of 91.

When current owner Marie Coleman bought the property and began renovating the building as a restaurant, she heard a disembodied voice shouting at her to get rid of the contractor and items were found in a mess. The voice was determined to be that of Rufina’s mother, Sara. Marie began speaking to the spirit, assuring her that she had the best of intentions for Sara’s home.

Things calmed down, but over the years staff saw the image of a woman in a long black dress disappear into the dining room after hours, and customers also reported sensing her presence. Or maybe it’s just the sangria margaritas.

4. La Placita dining rooms

Another restaurant in the old town, originally the home of the Armijo family. It was built around an enclosed courtyard, hence the name, which is now roofed over, but allows a large poplar tree to grow through. It was converted into a restaurant in the 1930’s and still is today.

Staff speak of four ghosts who still call La Placita home, including one of a little girl who died in a bedroom here in the late 1880s. Employees hear their names called, then realize no one is there and experience unexplained chills. Customers have reported seeing a misty, odorless smoke over their table that cleared with no explanation.

5. Hotel Andaluz

Lobby of Hotel Andaluz – Photo courtesy of © Steve Larese

The new Mexican Conrad Hilton, known as the Hilton Hotel, was built Hotel Andaluz in 1939. It was then the tallest building in New Mexico and the first building in the state to have air conditioning and an elevator. It was only the fourth Hilton hotel in the country.

Hilton and Zsa Zsa Gabor honeymooned here in 1942, and guests can rent this penthouse suite for themselves. The property was renamed La Posada de Albuquerque in 1984 and sold in 2009, renovated and reopened as Hotel Andaluz.

Hotel Andaluz has 107 rooms and on the 7th floor a ghostly female guest can be seen searching for one of these rooms in a 1940s party dress. On the 4th floor, an elderly woman in a pink dress is seen wandering the hallways before disappearing.

6. Böttger Villa

This charming 18th-century bed and breakfast in Old Town was once a 40-room adobe and served as the New Mexico Territory governor’s mansion until 1845. Charles Bottger bought the building in 1893, demolished it and built the current American Foursquare style house that stands today in 1910.

It was the first home in Albuquerque equipped with gas lighting and after its completion was called “pride of the old town”. It later became an inn and notorious gangsters Machine Gun Kelly, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Janis Joplin are just a few of the guests who have stayed here. But some guests apparently never left. Charles Bottger is still said to make his presence known, as is a woman who sighs heavily and a ghost known as “The Lover” who likes to hop into bed with sleeping women.

7. Central Park Hotel

Hotel Park Central was established in 1926 as the Santa Fe Hospital for employees of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. Built in the grand Italianate style, the building later became a children’s psychiatric facility in the 1980s and was renamed the Memorial Hospital.

After years of being abandoned, it opened in 2010 as Hotel Parq Central, a luxury boutique hotel that draws attention to its railroad history with historical exhibits in the lobby. There is also one of the best rooftop bars in the South West, pharmacistserving only Prohibition-era drinks.

Today it is a modern place of abode, but given its history, it is to be expected that some patients and staff will remain in the afterlife. Guests have reported seeing ghosts and unexplained cold spots, particularly on the second floor of the west wing.

8. Haunted Hill at the end of Menaul

The east end of Menaul Boulevard terminates at a parking lot in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains, a popular hiking and mountain biking area. Just past the parking lot and trailhead is a juniper-covered hill.

Over the years, Albuquerque residents who lingered here at night were turned off by the disembodied screams, the throwing of rocks, and the sound of something heavy being dragged through the gravel. According to the story, a mad hermit lived in a cave nearby and lured and murdered prostitutes here. Whether true or not, many people attest that there is something dark in this realm.

9. Albuquerque Press Club

Located behind the Hotel Parq Central, the Albuquerque Press Club is a private club for journalists. The log cabin architecture is unusual for Albuquerque, being mostly adobe or 1920s bungalows. It was built by the Whittlesey family in 1903, modeled on a Norwegian villa with a huge stone fireplace.

Over the years, rooms have been rented to convalescent patients at the nearby hospital (now Hotel Parq Central). Today, employees report hearing the sound of high heels on the hardwood floors when no one else was around, voices, the piano playing by themselves, and the vision of a woman dressed in black whom employees call Mrs. M.

10. The Luna mansion

Just a short 20-mile drive south of Albuquerque in Los Lunas, the Luna Mansion is now a popular restaurant. It was built by the Santa Fe Railway in the 1880s to thank the Luna-Otero family for granting right-of-way through their expansive property. Its adobe Southern Colonial Victorian style is unique to New Mexico.

Josefita Otero loved her home so much that many believe she would never have left it when she died in 1951. By all accounts, she was a kind woman in life, and her ghost has been seen on the stairs and in two upstairs rooms that were once bedrooms. One of these rooms is now called the Spirit Lounge in reference to Josefita. Both staff and guests have seen them in their 1920s glory, only to disappear. Employees also saw a young man in period clothing sitting.

Do you have an Albuquerque ghost story of your own? Please share it in the comments below!