Look what fell out of a dusty old box, a few photos of me conducting a ghost tour in Old Town Albuquerque. Yes, I am wearing a ghostbusters uniform, complete with a proton pack that played audio clips. I’m guessing that these were taken in 2000 or 2001.
In the early days of the tour, the company was struggling to survive so the ghostbusters gig was done to increase visibility while we were walking around Old Town. To be honest, I hated it. It was hot, the pack was heavy and on occasion, attracted too much attention.
In the first photo, I am talking about the Cottonwood Madonna. In 1970, a parishioner of the 300-year-old San Felipe de Neri, Albuquerque’s oldest Catholic parish, carved the image of the Virgin de Guadalupe into a cottonwood behind the church. Some call it the “Virgin of the Tree.” It was one of the hidden treasures of Old Town because the carving sometimes appears to move and change its position causing people wondered if it was haunted. However, it was simply caused by the movement of the tree based on temperature. it used to sit hidden away behind the church but now has on new home in front where it is more visible.
The second photo shows a creepy shortcut that I used to take the group back towards the High Noon restaurant, another stop on the tour.
