Haunted El Paso: The Lady on the Hill and the Wild West Ghosts of Concordia Cemetery
West Texas Ghost Stories: Where History Clings to the Walls
El Paso, Texas, where the desert wind carries more than dust, is a city layered in memory. From haunted schools to historic cemeteries, Haunted El Paso offers a full menu of eerie encounters, blending its Wild West past with a vibrant, chilling present.
El Paso High School Ghost: The Lady on the Hill
Built in 1916, El Paso High School is an architectural marvel and arguably the most haunted school in America. Nicknamed “The Lady on the Hill,” this grand Romanesque building served as a morgue during the 1918 flu pandemic and again during WWII, leaving a profound, dark imprint.
The most famous spirit is the Girl on the Balcony, a young woman in white believed to have jumped to her death. She is still seen gazing out over the city. The school is also famous for the 1985 Class Photo Ghost, where a mysterious girl who was not present appeared in the panoramic photo. Other reports include a ghostly girl in an ’80s prom dress haunting the catwalk above the theater.
The Dark Secrets of Downtown El Paso
The charred shell of the De Soto Hotel El Paso, built in 1905, is infamous for its basement, where paranormal investigators captured disturbing energy. Legend centers on Devil Dave, a man who allegedly took his own life in Room 7 after dabbling in dark practices. The hotel’s spirits, including a little girl named Sara, are said to have been released by a 2022 fire, leaving a chilling question for renovators: What happens when you rebuild over a haunting?
Meanwhile, Monteleone’s Ristorante Haunted serves up Italian cuisine alongside its own unique history. The owner discovered a hidden room full of funeral prayer cards, marking the space as a Spiritualist Circle 1923. Today, a ghost named Thomas and a playful entity that pops the caps off beer bottles keep the staff and guests company.
Concordia Cemetery El Paso: The City of the Dead
Sprawling across 52 acres, Concordia Cemetery El Paso is home to over 60,000 souls, including Wild West outlaws like John Wesley Hardin and his killer, John Selman. The most chilling area is the Infant Nursery Concordia, where visitors report phantom crying and intense waves of grief, a profound echo of the city’s past. Ghost tours frequently capture photos of transparent men in wide-brimmed hats, suggesting the spirits of the gunslingers and pioneers still patrol their final resting place.
From the marble staircases of the El Paso High School Ghost to the haunted booths at Monteleone’s, the city of El Paso holds its ghosts close. These spirits don’t just haunt buildings; they haunt history itself.
For a deep dive into the legend of the 1985 Class Photo Ghost, the dark secrets of the De Soto Hotel El Paso basement, and the full story of John Wesley Hardin’s restless spirit, be sure to listen to the dedicated episode on the You Two Scare Me Podcast.
