Ghosts, History and the Stories of Santa Fe
Santa Fe has been collecting stories for more than 400 years.
Some are recorded in history books. Others have been passed from one generation to another—stories of battles, lost loves, family tragedies and people who, according to local legend, never quite left.
Spend enough time in America’s oldest state capital and you’re bound to hear a few ghost stories.
A shadow appearing where no one was standing. A sudden chill in an otherwise warm room. An object moving without explanation. Strange lights caught in a photograph.
Are they ghosts?
I’ll leave that for you to decide.
But I’ve always been fascinated by the stories we attach to places, so on a chilly November afternoon, I joined a small Santa Fe Ghost and History Tour to find out what might be lingering behind the adobe walls and winding streets of this old city.
What I discovered was that sometimes the ghosts are only the beginning of the story.
Meet Allan Pacheco
Our guide, Allan Pacheco, has lived in Santa Fe all his life—and he’s quite the colorful character.
On the day of our tour, he wore a black leather jacket and a brown felt hat shaped like a small sombrero, his brown hair brushing the collar of his coat.
But it was his enthusiasm that really caught my attention.
Allan lit up when talking about Santa Fe’s history. Animated and passionate, he could spin a captivating yarn, complete with photographs that just might show a few ghostly visitors.
There were only five of us on our private tour, and before long Allan had us following him through downtown Santa Fe, listening to stories most visitors would never know were there.
Where History and Legend Meet
We began in front of San Miguel Chapel on Santa Fe’s historic Barrio de Analco.
San Miguel is often described as the oldest church in the continental United States. Its thick adobe walls have witnessed centuries of upheaval and change.
As Allan began telling us about the chapel, passersby started slowing down to listen.
He wasn’t particularly pleased about acquiring an unofficial audience.
Without missing a beat, he ushered the five of us inside.
The atmosphere changed immediately.
The air seemed still, almost reverent. Religious paintings, statues and the old wooden altar filled the sanctuary, while Allan continued weaving together Santa Fe’s documented history with the stories and legends that have accumulated around it.
Even the ground beneath the chapel holds a much older story. San Miguel was built on a site used by Pueblo people centuries before the chapel was constructed, with evidence of habitation dating back to around 1300.
When we stepped outside again, we followed him through the heart of downtown.
For the next two hours, we hung on his every word.
Santa Fe began to look different.
An old building was no longer simply an old building. Behind an adobe wall might be a story of love, violence, tragedy—or someone who supposedly never left.
That’s part of the fun of a ghost tour. Whether or not you believe in ghosts, you start noticing the layers of history hiding in places you’ve walked past a hundred times.
The Ghost of Julia Staab
Our final stop brought us to La Posada de Santa Fe, where one of the city’s most enduring ghost stories lives on.
Julia Staab came to Santa Fe from Germany in the 1860s after marrying wealthy merchant Abraham Staab. The couple lived in an elegant Victorian mansion that now forms part of La Posada.
Over the years, Julia’s life became wrapped in tragedy and legend.
Stories portray her as an unhappy woman who suffered the loss of several children and eventually withdrew from society. Other versions of Julia’s life differ considerably—and Allan was quick to point out that the woman behind the legend may have been far more complicated than the tragic figure portrayed in many ghost stories.
What seems certain is that Julia never completely left Santa Fe’s imagination.
Guests and employees have reported unexplained experiences around the old Staab mansion for years, and Julia has become one of Santa Fe’s best-known ghosts.
Then something rather curious happened to me.
While photographing a staircase at La Posada, I captured several small points of light. One appeared near the handrail; others seemed to climb the lower steps.
Dust? Reflections? Something about the camera?
Perhaps.
Or perhaps Julia was heading upstairs.
I’ll let you decide.
