St. James Ghost Story

I dont know for sure when the first time I went to the St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico exactly was...however I kept returning and bringing more and more people to the place. The old hotel is know for it's ghost and I have experienced several events there that have left chills up and down my spine. Probably my first experience was when my brother Chip and I spent a few nights there one summer. We stayed up late and went into the card room on the second floor to play a little poker. We clowned around and at a bit before 1am were walking down the hallway to our room when we heard someone step out into the hall behind us. We immediately both turned around expecting to see someone there......however....no one was there at all. Now...this was heard by both of us...feet on the floor...walking...and directly behind us perhaps withing 5 to 10 feet from us. Nothing. So back down the hall we walked looking for anyone or anything that could have made the sound. Still, just us....and a quite hotel.



One time in the winter, I was driving north to Denver on I-25, and in some bad snowy weather, so decided to jump over to Cimarron and spend the night at the hotel. Well, it was snowing badly and I was glad to get there and settled into a room. I went to the bar where the bartender and two locals were sitting and having a drink or two. We chatted for some time and then off to bed I went. The next morning I awoke early and went downstairs to see if I could get a cup of coffee. The owner was in the lobby and told me she was just openning the place and would make us a cup. As we chatted I told her that I had heard new guests come in and walk and talk down the hall and it must have been real late. She told me that actually I was the only one in the hotel that night and they had closed the place up when I went to bed so everyone could make it home. The place had been locked up! She told me that guests often hear people in the hallway and this had happened before. Well, I can honestly tell you...that late in the night I awoke to men talking in the hallway, not quietly either...and then walking down the hallway toward my room. I was staying in the Mary Lambert room at the end of the hall....ummmmm. On a couple of stays at the Mary Lambert room I have smelt a rose aroma that all of a sudden is present and then dissapates. No might have...no maybe...but honestly a strong aroma. This is another thing that seems to happen to others who stay in that room.



Now, this brings us to a time that my wife Sharon and I spent at the hotel. She was excited about the place as I had told her stories of other visits and had talked to her about the history of the hotel. Once again, we were staying in the Mary Lambert room. In the middle of the night, Sharon awoke to loud voices in the hall...men talking and walking down the hallway...the sounds of heavy boots. She lay on the bed awake for a while but looked at the end of the bed and she could see in the darkness a women standing there. Dressed in what looked to be the old pioneer type of dress....up onto the bed a small dog jumped....Sharon raised her arms to keep the dog away but the dog jumped down...the lady moved away from the bed a disappeared. My wife was so excited and the next day told the owner about the events of the night. The owner told her that we were the only hotel guests that night and no one was up stairs but us! OK...Sharon believes in ghosts....she really really believes in ghosts....and there is more!