Reported Phenomena in room 5
May 22, 1993
My girlfriend (Jenny) and I visited the St. James during a road trip to Colorado. We were staying in room 5, at the end of the hall on the first floor. I was awakened by Jenny around 1:00am. She claims that she had woken up and saw a “cowboy” standing in the corner of the room, watching us. She said that as she started to shake me, he vanished into thin air.
I’m not sure if she was just dreaming or not but she is still really freaked out by the incident that occurred to her that night.
Rodger White
December 12, 1997
During my first stay at the St. James, in 1997, I reserved the Jesse James Room on the first floor. Early one morning, I awoke to hear what sounded like someone pacing in the first-floor hallway. (Remember, it’s hard to walk anywhere in the historic part of the hotel without creating some sort of sound.) I glanced at the small digital clock beside the bed (another concession the hotel makes to modern conveniences) and saw it was 4 a.m.
The pacing continued for at least a half-hour; the last time I glanced at the clock before dozing back to sleep the time was 4:30. I didn’t open the door to see whether it was a restless guest or restless ghost pacing in the hallway because I thought it would be impolite if, indeed, another guest was experiencing insomnia.
Anonymous
October 18, 2007
We are not into the paranormal but we did experience our own private haunting. At about dawn I was jarred out of bed by a loud squealing noise. It was the smoke detector on the 10′ ceiling above the bed. I sniffed and stuck my head out into the hall but smelled nothing. I returned to bed and pulled the covers up and it went off again. When my feet hit the floor, it went off. As I lifted my legs to climb back in it went off again. That’s when I thought “oh-oh – spooks!”
When I mentioned our experience to the lady at the desk that morning I got one of those ‘over-the-top-of-the-glasses’ looks. I suspect she hears about this stuff from time to time.
In looking back, the bed and the room were far from comfortable. But we are very glad we stayed in Jessie’s room. It provided a life-long memory.
Annette Watson
Reported Phenomena in Room 11
December 11 , 1992
I experienced a very strange dream while spending my first night in Wyatt Earp’s Suite. I dreamt that I was sitting in the corner of the bedroom opposite the bed watching my wife sleep, and couldn’t understand why I was out of bed. Then i heard voices, faint at first but gradually getting louder. They were muffled so I couldn’t understand exactly what they were saying. I tried to get up to return to bed, but absolutely could not move. I then tried to speak in order to get my wife’s attention, but could not speak, I tried to scream, but could not scream! I abruptly woke up. It was 4am. I realized I was only dreaming and went back to sleep.
The odd thing is that my wife dreamed of me sitting on the dresser watching her as several cowboys moved in and out of the room’s doorway.
Jeffery Miller
March 12, 2007
After a long, tiring drive, we found ourselves in Cimarron well after midnight. We saw the flashing sign for the St. James and quickly parked out front. Although the front door was unlocked, there was no one manning the desk. We walked through the dining room and into the bar, but all was quiet. We then ventured upstairs but again could find no staff. We didn’t raise our voices as we thought guests might be sleeping. After waiting downstairs for twenty minutes or so, we debated whether to drive on and try to get a bed in another hotel or just crash on the lobby sofa until a staff member woke us up. We decided to try the sofa. Alas, the antique upholstery was not what it might have been in its heyday (two grown men trying to sleep on one tired sofa didn’t help). Unsure what to do but getting more exhausted all the time, we decided to have another look upstairs. This time, we were surprised to find the door to the Wyatt Earp room wide open. We are both sure it was not open before. The room was not occupied.
Tired as we were, we decided to just lay on the bed and catch some shut eye without changing clothes or anything. Although neither of us would have admitted it at the time, I think we were reluctant to go back out to the car and then come back in– we were both starting to get a creepy sensation. We dozed off but were suddenly awakened at the same time by a loud sound that could only be a large owl that seemed to be right outside our window. There was a flapping of wings against the glass and a squawking sound. Then, just as suddenly, it was gone. That was when we smelled the cigar smoke. An overwhelming smell of cigar smoke permeated the air. It was choking in its intensity. The weird thing was (well, one of the weird things) that we couldn’t see any smoke (that’s right, we were sleeping with the light on). We opened the hall door and there was no smoke or smell out there. Still, it was strong inside the room. We might have opened the window to air out the room but we were a little reluctant to let a giant owl in.
It didn’t take long for us to decide to leave the hotel. It was only a little after 3 AM but we were now wide awake. We walked ( and I use the term loosely) down the upstairs hall, fighting a rising sense of panic. We beat a retreat down the stairs and out the front door. We hit the car and didn’t stop driving until we made it to a Motel Six in Raton. Now, you may not believe this, but as we were walking (OK, sprinting) down the hall toward the stairs to leave, I looked back over my shoulder and could have sworn I saw the figure of woman silhouetted against the streetlight illuminated window at the end of the hall! There were some plants there and it was obviously dark, but I’m pretty sure of what I saw.
Anonymous
November 7, 2010
It was about dawn, I was in the state of being asleep and awake. I was lying on the left side of my body when I saw a little boy, about the age of eight to ten years old at the side of the bed. He had short blonde-brown hair, and all I can see of him was from his nose up, looking at me as I lay in bed. I saw his left arm go up. He was wearing a white gown, the kind worn in the 1800’s.
He was holding a small stick in his hand, and he placed it underneath my nose. I can distinctly smell chard, damp wood, like the smell of wood from a campfire that was doused with water, and the coldness of the stick as it touched my skin. I immediately woke up. The little boy had disappeared and I still had the residual feeling underneath my nose from where the stick had touched me. I said, “hello,” turned over to my right side, and fell back to sleep. that is my story, and I’m sticking to it.
I have stayed at the hotel several more times after that first encounter and I never have the same experience twice. The St. James Hotel is real and it is haunted.
Anonymous (room 11)
Reported Phenomena in Room 16
November 12, 1993
We left a pack of cards in the poker room and invited T.J. to deal a hand after we left, but he hadn’t taken us up on our offer by the time we returned in the morning.
We spent the rest of the night in the Doc Holiday Suite, and aside from a surprising, startling “bang” from the bathroom area (caught on an audio recording) that occurred shortly after we turned the lights off, we both felt pretty comfortable and slept soundly. However, I did clown around a bit too much before we turned off those lights, perhaps showing disrespect to any resident spirits, and I suddenly felt a cold wave and a painful tightness in my chest. That led me to apologize in Spanish for the chistes(jokes) and to ask for permission to sleep there. The only other occurrence we had during the night was the sound of footsteps moving up and down the hall. This occurred four times and on two of them the footsteps seemed to stop in front of our door. When i opened the door to see if anyone was there, the hallway was completely empty.
Armando Armijo
Reported Phenomena Room 17
November 10, 1990
Stayed at the St. James while in route to Taos. i knew nothing of the “ghost” stories there but selected the hotel out of my interest of the Old West.
I stayed in Room 17. While most of the night was “normal”, I was awakened around 3:30am by a STRONG scent of perfume. When i say that it was strong, I mean it literally made me cough. It had a rose type of smell and vanished after few minutes. I then went back to sleep.
The next day I tried to investigate the source of the smell. After searching the room and talking to several of the hotel employees, I have no idea what may have caused this. Thought you would be interested.
Richard Smith
December 19, 1990
We had reserved Mary’s room, which we’d heard was extremely haunted. It’s on the second floor, the furthest room back on the left side of the hallway. As you enter room 17 the bed sets with the headboard against the wall on the right and the bathroom is on the left. Past the bed is a sitting area and window. I woke up a couple hours after we’d gone to bed that first night and needed to use the bathroom. But when I glanced down at the foot of the bed, a little lady stood there, smiling at me. I decided I didn’t’t have to go that bad and tried to go back to sleep. I couldn’t, so I looked down there again. The little lady smiled at me again. My husband was snoring beside me, and I shook him awake. I said, “I have to go to the bathroom and there’s someone at the foot of the bed.” (I didn’t mention whether the person was male or female.) He glanced down there and said, “Oh, it’s just Mary.”
Yep, Mary was still there. I said, “I’m not going to the bathroom with her standing there unless you stay awake!” He agreed to do so, and I edged past the foot of the bed, took care of business and rushed back in bed. Mary had vanished and my husband was fast asleep.
Renee Goldman
April 09, 1992
It was raining as we pulled in front of the hotel. We parked and ran inside to register at the front desk. I loved the old lobby and immediately felt like we had traveled back in time. In between the rain fall, we grabbed our bags and climbed the staircase that took us to our 2nd floor rooms. I was please to find out we were the only two people with reservations on the 2nd floor. I believe there was a family of 4 staying downstairs.
Since the ” haunted” room is not available to the general public, I asked for the closest room to it…so we had the room next door to room 18 at the end of the hallway. I unlocked the door and stepped inside. “There’s no phone…there’s no TV…and…there is NO bathroom!
I went up to the door to the Mary Lambert Room (Room 17) and smelled the essence of perfumed roses one often associates with her presence. And every time I passed Room 18, I challenged the ghost to come out into the hallway. I even knocked on the door hoping he would fling it wide open to see who was there.
The next morning the rains had subsided. I opened the door to our room as we were preparing to go downstairs and pack up the car. As I neared the door, I stopped dead in my tracks. The strong odor of an old cigar was over powering. The smell seemed to be originating from Room 18. I went downstairs and informed the desk clerk who promptly followed me back upstairs. The odor was completely gone.
Anonymous
December 11, 1993
That first night, I stayed in the Mary Lambert room and as I was getting ready to take a shower I noticed a small mirror hanging on the wall that was rocking back and forth. Click, click. Click, click. Though I tried to ignore it, the clicking sound persisted until I finally walked over to the mirror and felt the wall to see if it was vibrating. It wasn’t.
Before going to the shower, I looked at the mirror and said out loud, with a smile on my face, “What’s the matter, are you tired of playing?” The mirror went, click, click and stopped.
Anonymous
November 27, 1996
When we arrived, I asked to stay in Mary Lambert room, because Mary was suppose to roam around leaving the smell of her rose perfume behind. Unfortunately, the only other overnight guest had already booked the room so we took the Doc Holiday Suite right next door to Room 18.
That night, my wife stood on a chair and took pictures through the crack between the top part of the door frame and the window above it. She snapped several pictures and we headed down to the restaurant for supper. After dinner we had a few drinks before heading back to our room. It was about 1.30 am.
While my wife fell asleep quickly, I was not as fortunate. I was thrashing back and forth but was not remotely sleepy. Around 4:00 am, while staring up at the ceiling, I heard the sound of a camera motor followed by a flash of light that came in through the window above the door and hit the ceiling. A few seconds later it happened again. This time I heard the sound of the motor winding (like a camera winding). I nudged my wife awake and it happened twice again with her seeing it too.
I thought, what in the world could someone be taking a picture of at 4:00 in the morning? When I looked into the hallway, no one was there. I never heard any footsteps coming or going. Only hearing the camera and seeing the flash of light were the only clues we were not alone.
The only logical conclusion I could come up with was that the other guest had heard us snapping the photos earlier and maybe was playing a trick on us.
Later that morning, my wife began telling the desk clerk about what had happened earlier in our room. The lady told us that the gentleman staying in the Mary Lambert Room was out of the hotel at that time and did not arrive back until around 6:00 am. Apparently, my wife and I were the only ones in the hotel, because staff members do not stay overnight. When my wife had her film developed, but none of the photos of Room 18 came out, they were all black. I’m still a bit skeptical of that first night, but I can’t come up with any other explanation.
Anonymous
November 1997
The Van Horn’s were on a road trip from their home in Salina, Kan., seeing historic sights along the Trail. A side trip to the hotel in Cimarron was a must stop on the tour, after Joanne’s sister, Kathy Williams, told her of a weird experience she had during a stay at the hotel in 1997.
Picard, an educator who also lives in Salina, Kan. visited the St. James as part of a 12-person tour group. She says she knew nothing of the hotel’s reputation for supernatural events. She knew only of its legendary status as a key stopping point on the Santa Fe Trail. While tagging along at the rear of the tour group, Picard says, she was visiting with a 10-year-old girl when something curious happened as she approached a room near a stairway landing.
“The rest of the group was already in the room as we approached the doorway. We both noticed a strong smell of roses, and mentioned to each other about the smell. We started looking around for some rose-scented room spray or some potpourri, but we saw nothing. I then asked the other tour members where that strong rose scent was coming from. They looked at me as if I was rather strange. None of the others had noticed anything. Only the little girl and I had noticed the scent,” Picard says. “Later, when I got my pictures from the trip developed, I noticed something else. In a picture of that same stairway there was a flash of white, almost like the reflection fro a mirror or a window. But there was nothing in that area which could have caused such a reflection.”
Picard says she never felt threatened or frightened by the experience. She says that she wasn’t a believer in ghosts, but the experience certainly changed her attitude.
(Third Hand Source)
December 19, 1999
My friend Ashley and i stayed in room 17 at the St. James Hotel. We were sitting on the bed in the room talking when I had gotten up and gone into the bathroom. Ashley was talking to me when suddenly she became quiet. I walked out of the bathroom and saw that her face had turned extremely pale and drained of all color.
She jumped up off the bed and ran out the door. I chased after her and asked her what had happened. Shaking with terror, she explained to me that she had seen a transparent lady dressed in Victorian-era clothing with light brown hair walk straight across the room, but she only had seen the reflection of her in the mirror.
She refused to go back into the room so we went down to the front desk and requested to switch room. We spent the rest of our stay downstairs in the Pancho Griego Room.
Carol Grimes
February 12, 2000
I worked at the St. James Hotel for one season as apart of a student exchange program. Me and several others of the housekeeping staff were from Russia and we cleaned the rooms in the morning after the guests had left.
On several occasions we were reprimanded by the hotel manager for carving figures out of the soap bar in room 17. None of us ever did such a thing, we did not have the time for it. we have also encountered the rose perfume smell inside of that room. It is over powering and we often wondering if the smell would be in our clothes for the rest of the day (it never was). I never saw any ghosts though.
Anonymous
March 27, 2001
I was staying in room 17 of the St. James Hotel on my way back from a business conference in Denver. I had read about the hotel on-line and decided to check it out for myself.
Most of the night was rather uneventful, until I had to go to the bathroom (no fun intended). While in the bathroom I kept hearing clicking noises. I assumed they were coming from a air vent or something, but still uneasy I hurried up, finished my business, and left the bathroom. Still curious I went back to my room to see if I could hear anything, But hear nothing. Starting to think I was just overreacting about everything when suddenly I’m hit with this intense smell of perfume. It seemed like it just came of of nowhere. It lasted for about 30 seconds and then completely vanished, just the same as it materialized.
Barry Tillman
November 11, 2001
I am writing you regarding the ghost story of T.J. Wright. I was told a different story by my grandmother who often stopped at the hotel on her way to Santa Fe. This is the story as she told it.
Mary Lambert was often neglected by her husband Henry. Eventually she took a lover, a local miner named Thomas James (T.J.) Wright. Often T.J. would rent a room at the hotel, sometimes using an alias, in order to have secret rendezvous with Mary. They often used room 31, now room 17, to conduct their affair in secrecy.
Eventually Henry found out about the affair and hired a gunfighter to “deal with his problem”. Henry put in gunfighter in room 18, where he would wait to ambush T.J. the next time he visited the hotel. In exchange Henry offered a hefty sum of money which the gunfighter would receive after T.J. had been dealt with and offered a permanent residence at the hotel.
Finally the fateful evening came. T.J. snuck into the hotel and went to the second floor to meet Mary. The gunfighter appeared from room 18 and drew his gun, however T.J. was a faster draw and shot the gunfighter in the head, killing him.
T.J. dragged the gunfighter’s body into room 18 and closed the door behind him. Now he would be wanted for murder, so his only choice was to leave the territory. He climbed out of the window of room 18 and left Cimarron, his escape covered by all the commotion at the hotel from the sound of the gunshot. He would never to return.
Mary was heartbroken and eventually moved into the room where she and T.J. had their affair. This was also the room that she would die in.
According to my grandmother, Mary haunts the hotel because she is looking for T.J., even in death. The ghost of room 18 is not T.J. but rather that of the gunfighter. After all, he did deal with Henry’s problem and he desired his payment, permanent residence in Room 18.
Silvia Melendez
November 13, 2001
A couple staying in Room 17 complained to the front desk about an intense perfume smell in their room.
(Third Hand Source)
January 11, 2003
My husband and I stayed in Room 17 in the beginning of 03. I wasn’t expecting to see a “ghost” but something did happen that night.
In the middle of the night I woke up and I saw this flickering thing on the wall. I looked and focused my eyes and it was a tall black figure that seemed to be made of black mist. I sat frozen for a minute and the spirit reached one of it’s hands down and touched me. I felt as if cold liquid spread through my body and my eyes burned in a weird way. I like I was slightly lifted off the bed and I came back down. I sat bolt up-right and I looked for the spirit; but it was gone. I woke my husband and told him what happened but he didn’t believe me and turned over to go back asleep.
Pope Higgins
December 31, 2004
I was sitting on the bed in room 17 when from out of nowhere my purse flung off the window sill and hit the floor. I jumped up and just looked around a second and sat back down and convinced myself it just fell off by accident. About 5 mins later, the light in the room went off for no reason. Thinking that the bulb had burned out, I decided to go to the front desk to request a new one.
I stood up and left the room and I was walking down the hall when I turned around and I saw the light come back on and it was flickering uncontrollably. i went back to the room and the flickering stopped.
Well, it wasn’t about 10 to 15 mins later when the lights went back off again. I got up off the bed and there was smell of roses that seemed to come out of no where. It was really intense, so much that I had to leave the room.
I came back about 20 minutes later and the smell was gone. the lights “behaved” for the rest of the evening.
Jeni Park
May 25, 2005
Since ghost hunting is our passion we could not wait to spend the night in room 17, the most haunted room that is available. Room 18 is secured for safety of the staff and for respect of the ghost that habituates that room. We found high EMF readings that we could not explain at the end of the upstairs hallway. A picture of the window at the other end of the 2nd story hall still sends chills down our backs as we view it.
Staying in the room of the late Mary Lambert was exciting. As we were fading off to sleep, I felt a light touch on my back. Although feeling quite soothing, I noticed my wife was turned away and could not have touched by back. Upon questioning if she had just touched me…she had not! A moment later she shivered as invisible fingers lightly touched her hand.
About 3 AM we heard a hideous scream that seemed to originate inside our room. Upon immediate picture taking we discovered a vortex (thought by many to be the spiritual presence of a deceased person.)
Anonymous
December 1, 2006
A couple complained about an obnoxious perfume odor in Room 17 when checking out.
(Third Hand Source)
December 4, 2006
My Ghostly experiences all occurred on the second floor in Room 17, Mary Lambert’s room. As my husband was taking pictures from the doorway, I walked over to the large window, which has a wide sill and sat so I could look down at the street below. I imagined that Mary Lambert used to do this same thing. Then ever so subtle, the smell of roses was present around me. I thought it might be a fragrance spray, but could locate no plug-ins and no scent on the curtains. I sat and just experienced it.
My husband entered the room to take more , but his expensive digital camera stopped working and just displayed the word “Busy” on it’s readout. The camera is a professional grade Canon and this had never happened before! He stepped back into the hall and the camera started working. Back into the room another “busy” and out into the hall again, it worked. Finally as he came back into the room, the rose scent met him in the doorway. Once I gave him permission to photograph me on the windowsill, the camera mysteriously became functional again.
(Third Hand Source)
February 11, 2007
A couple of years ago, my boyfriend, my two daughters, his daughter, and I went on vacation. We had been in Southern New Mexico and decided to drive to Cimarron.
My boyfriend and I stayed in room 17 while the girls stayed in the Wyatt Earp suite next door. Immediately upon walking into my room, I felt like there was something in there, especially around the vanity/bathroom area. As I stood at the sink, I felt like there was someone right behind me, and I kept looking over my shoulder. Of course, no one was there. I hurried up and brushed my teeth etc. because I really didn’t feel comfortable in that area at all.
Later that evening after dinner, I returned to the room to discover a overbearing smell of flowers near the bathroom. I also had this strange feeling, as if someone was watching me. My boyfriend came in seconds afterward and the smell just vanished. I told him about it and we searched the room for a possible cause. We were unable to figure out what would cause such an intense smell like that.
Karen Whitaker
March 12, 2007
After a long, tiring drive, we found ourselves in Cimarron well after midnight. We saw the flashing sign for the St. James and quickly parked out front. Although the front door was unlocked, there was no one manning the desk. We walked through the dining room and into the bar, but all was quiet. We then ventured upstairs but again could find no staff. We didn’t raise our voices as we thought guests might be sleeping. After waiting downstairs for twenty minutes or so, we debated whether to drive on and try to get a bed in another hotel or just crash on the lobby sofa until a staff member woke us up. We decided to try the sofa. Alas, the antique upholstery was not what it might have been in its heyday (two grown men trying to sleep on one tired sofa didn’t help). Unsure what to do but getting more exhausted all the time, we decided to have another look upstairs. This time, we were surprised to find the door to the Wyatt Earp room wide open. We are both sure it was not open before. The room was not occupied.
Tired as we were, we decided to just lay on the bed and catch some shut eye without changing clothes or anything. Although neither of us would have admitted it at the time, I think we were reluctant to go back out to the car and then come back in– we were both starting to get a creepy sensation. We dozed off but were suddenly awakened at the same time by a loud sound that could only be a large owl that seemed to be right outside our window. There was a flapping of wings against the glass and a squawking sound. Then, just as suddenly, it was gone. That was when we smelled the cigar smoke. An overwhelming smell of cigar smoke permeated the air. It was choking in its intensity. The weird thing was (well, one of the weird things) that we couldn’t see any smoke (that’s right, we were sleeping with the light on). We opened the hall door and there was no smoke or smell out there. Still, it was strong inside the room. We might have opened the window to air out the room but we were a little reluctant to let a giant owl in.
It didn’t take long for us to decide to leave the hotel. It was only a little after 3 AM but we were now wide awake. We walked ( and I use the term loosely) down the upstairs hall, fighting a rising sense of panic. We beat a retreat down the stairs and out the front door. We hit the car and didn’t stop driving until we made it to a Motel Six in Raton. Now, you may not believe this, but as we were walking (OK, sprinting) down the hall toward the stairs to leave, I looked back over my shoulder and could have sworn I saw the figure of woman silhouetted against the streetlight illuminated window at the end of the hall! There were some plants there and it was obviously dark, but I’m pretty sure of what I saw.
Anonymous
January 13, 2008
Two years ago I took my wife to the St. James Hotel in Cimarron for some time away from the kids.
After dinner my wife started to complain about a head ache so we went back to the Inn (room 17). She tried to lay down but it got worse so she took one of her pills for migraines which knocked her out.
I read a book for awhile and was about to doze off when I heard the toilet flush. I walked into the bathroom and the toilet was filling back up (as if someone had just flushed it) I went back and laid down. I went to sleep thinking nothing of what had just happened. I woke up because I felt something ice cold on my right foot, it was as if someone was rubbing it.
I rolled over and my wife was asleep. I pulled my feet under the covers and lay in a fetal position. I was pretty scared. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep but I heard a woman’s voice and I opened my eyes, there was a woman standing at the foot of the bed. She was just standing there watching me. I screamed and grabbed my wife’s arm. The woman disappeared before my wife woke up.
We got dressed and checked out.
Anonymous
December 20, 2008
My friend and I went to stay at the St. James, in early Nov. 2008, to see if indeed the stories about it being haunted are true. Well, we were not disappointed. We stayed in the Mary Lambert room #17.
We had placed a digital recorder on the night stand and it was “on” while we were just kicking back and taking before going to bed. My friend had washed her face and was putting lotion on it. I asked her “Is that real Oil of Olay that you are using?” She responded “yes this is all I have ever used on my face”
When we played back the recording later that night, there was a female voice on the recording that said in a fairly loud and clear whisper “your skin is beautiful”. This was picked up right after my friend said “yes this is all I have ever used”. It is the best EVP I have ever heard to date.
In another instance, my friend was saying that when she dies she wants her ashes scattered in Ohio and New Mexico at that moment you hear a loud voice say “Ahh”.
When we were discussing whether we should go through Wyoming a male voice said “no”
When we came back from dinner earlier that night we found some “candy” on the middle of the floor in the bathroom. We don’t know where that came from.
We were not frightened by the experience it was interesting and exciting to say the least! I am a “certifide” paranormal investigator after all!
Anonymous
November 8, 2009
Ok, so my husband and I live in Albuquerque and try to go to Red River at least once a year in the summer…it’s the off season there and nice and quiet. We usually take a drive north of Red River for a look at the beautiful scenery toward Angel Fire, NM. In Sept. 2008 we took a trip and were driving north of Red River into Eagle Nest when my husband said, “Hey, it’s 23 miles to Cimarron we should drive up there.” I asked why and he said the St. James hotel was up there (he is a history buff). I asked what’s so great about the St. James and he told me he had read it was haunted. I said sure! We walked into the hotel and were directed to a TV that would play a movie about the area and hotel and how Cimarron was settled so we sat down and turned it on. Hubby was mesmerized by the history but after what seemed like forever but was probably 6 minutes, the movie’s theme of the push west in the 1800’s hadn’t even gotten to New Mexico. I said I was bored and was going to look around do I walked down the hall looking at the rooms. Several rooms had their doors open but had those red cords across them like you see in movie theatres. I found out they rent those rooms just don’t people walking around inside unless they are staying there.
After looking at those, I saw the wide staircase leading upstairs. There is a sign that says only hotel guests are allowed upstairs but I quickly ignored it and went on up (sorry St. James). Now remember, I don’t know anything about this place, never even heard of it. I noticed that one of the rooms had a padlock on it and figured they kept extra furniture or supplies in there. I really liked how old the place was and how the doors didn’t exactly fit in the frames – I also liked the glass panels above the ill-fitting doors. The housekeeper was coming up behind me and I told her how great this place was and could I see some of the rooms up there. (Hint: if you ever want to see anything in a hotel, ask a housekeeper – they are almost always friendly and accommodating) She said she had just finished cleaning a room at the end of the hall and let me in. I noticed how small it was. I also noticed the smell – kind of like cheap perfume. I told her that smell was way too strong for me to stay in that room. She said she didn’t spray the rooms with anything and just used lemon pledge.
Thinking she was just pulling my leg….you know, hotel supposed to be haunted… I said, “Oh, I see …great marketing tool”. I asked why that room down the hall had a lock and she said, “that’s the bad man’s room”. I thought man, they really are hyping it up. She left and I was trying to take pictures through the crack at the top of the door of the “bad man’s room”, when a couple came down the hall to look at the room she just showed me. I said hi and wasn’t this a great place and they said they were looking at a room and were staying there that night. They asked if I wanted to see the room they were looking at. I walked back into the same room I had just looked at and remarked how strong the smell was. They said they didn’t smell anything and what did it smell like. I said, “you really can’t smell that?” They both said they didn’t smell that horrible rose scent. My husband, by this time, had finished his movie and was yelling down the hall looking for me. I was practically getting a migraine from the smell and called to my husband to come down there – he couldn’t smell anything either – that’s when I knew they weren’t lying to me. We stayed there 2 months later in the same room – Mary Lambert’s room – for a murder mystery they do.
We had a lot of fun but I never smelled anything the two nights we stayed there. By the way, I looked and found the housekeeping closet the first time we looked at the hotel…it’s that door right outside the lobby in the hall …looking for rose scented air fresher ( I’m a snoop and a skeptic) went in (sorry St. James) and didn’t find anything in there but regular cleaning supplies – none of which was rose scented. I found out after that first look at the hotel, the history and how people smell Mary Lambert’s rose perfume. If you don’t believe me, go there yourself…if you do smell her perfume beware, most people probably won’t believe you. It’s ok …I know what I smelled and it was strong and unmistakable. My husband told me that day, “oh yeah, that smell was in the movie”.
Anonymous
November 14, 2009
A female guest staying in Room 17 hear a disembodied voice say “Close the window”.
(Third Hand Source)
December 21, 2009
I was lucky enough to smell Mary Lambert’s rose perfume also! At the time, it was daytime, probably about 10am. I had just gotten out of the shower and was walking down the hall back to my room when it hit me…it was VERY strong, almost cloying, like the smell of walking into a flower shop full of roses.
I dismissed it as my friend’s perfume, and I joked with her (she is a funeral director) that she was bringing the smell of funerals wherever she went. She told me she hadn’t put any perfume on yet, and she didn’t have anything rose scented anyway. The tales of Mary Lambert’s rose scented perfume is true! I’ve stayed in room 17, the Mary Lambert room, and have heard mysterious tapings on the window when no one was there. I have also stayed in the Bat Masterson suite at the top of the stairs and woke up out of a dead sleep feeling like someone was staring at me…..but intending me no harm.
William Bryant
February 12, 2010
We started out dining in the bar, because the dining hall was packed. The food was alright. Then after dinner we went on a guided historic walk. We learned about all the hauntings that went on as well as historic facts. We went into the old jail which is really old like late 1800’s old. That was too much for me. It was also still the town jail up until the 60’s which was really creepy. After the tour we played ouija and many creepy things happened there. The strangest was the odd smell of perfume that suddenly appeared when we asked “Are you a female?”
We then went to stake out more haunted areas and got really spooked. Not one of us could really sleep through the night. The next day we learned we had a “bad” room where spirits supposedly make a unrested stay for the guests. Lots of cool ghost stories
Anonymous
Reported Phenomena in Room 18
November 16, 1994
After having dinner I went up to the second floor and sat down in the hall near Room 18. Suddenly out of the corner of my left eye I saw a figure approaching me. The figure wore a hat and had a general “cowboy” appearance. I turned to look as the figure approached and it suddenly vanished.
I was a little bit startled. i got up and went back to our room (#23) to tell my wife what i had seen. By the time i got there my back felt like it was burning. So I lifted my shirt and had my wife take a look. There were several scratches running diagonally across my back.
Scott Edwards
November 30, 2000
While my wife and I were visiting the hotel, we took a tour of the second floor. We were at the door to Room 18 when we both distinctly heard a male say “Leave me alone!”. The voice came from behind the door, we are both certain of it.
The door was padlocked on the outside so I’m fairly certain that no one was inside the room.
Anonymous
March 23, 2008
I would never stay in the hotel by myself because of the paranormal activity. My husband and I and our adult son were the only guests staying in the old hotel and did have some experiences. Room 18 did not want a picture taken through the crack at the top of the door.
The camera would go dead every time it was attempted yet work immediately on return to our room. A female voice was heard holding a conversation in another room and my husband could smell smoke. There was no source for it to come from.
Matthew Bennett
Reported Phenomena in Room 19
November 06, 1996
During our stay at the hotel we were fortunate enough to be only one of 4 guests staying at the hotel. We were staying in the William Cody Suite.
After dining me and my friend John went outside to have a cigarette. As we enjoyed the night air, John looked up and noticed that the curtain in the room above the front door was moving, as if someone was peering out. I wondered, out loud (and jokingly), who would be so interested in us? The curtain was held back for about 10 seconds, then it was released.
It took us a moment but we realized that the curtain was in our room. we quickly rushed upstairs. The door was locked and no one was in the room.
Kris Crawford
Reported Phenomena in Room 20
December 15, 1995
I hadn’t had anything along the lines of a strange experience until the night I stayed at the St. James Hotel. I was staying in room 20 while my travel mate was in #12. After hanging out at the bar until midnight, I went up into my room, shut off the light, and had JUST climbed into bed when a pair of pants went flying through the air and hit me in the face.
There was no one in the room just me. Naturally I freaked out and left the room. i stayed the night with my friend in her room, sleeping on the floor. The next morning we both went back to room 20. My clothes had been pulled out of my suitcase and were in a pile on the floor. I quickly packed everything up and we checked out.
Crystal Castillo
December 18, 2002
I was sleeping in room 20 during my stay at the hotel. I was in bed and I was facing the wall when all of a sudden I got the urge to turn around because I felt someone there so, as I turned around I saw a tall blonde long haired skinny guy standing there. He looked like 20 something and his face was unshaven. He was wearing a ragged duster and a black hat. I only saw it for 10 seconds and I wasn’t afraid but just shocked. He just stood there and then faded away. I never felt threatened or anything but thought that it was really cool that I had an paranormal experience.
Jill Young
December 18, 2004
I had a rather odd experience when I stayed at the St. James Hotel. I wanted to get room 17 but it had already been reserved so i got the closest room to it (#20). Nothing much happened for most of the night. Bored, I proceeded in going to bed and was about to turn the light off when I saw something on the right by the window. I didn’t think much of it and turned the light off instead. So, I was laying down looking at the window and I see something walking back and fourth, slowly or regular pace, to the door and back. I was so scared after it went away maybe half an hour later I didn’t fall asleep till 6am and had the weirdest dream that “the guy” was saying something to me that I could not understand.
Anonymous
September 28, 2005
A guest (male) staying in room 20 complains about the noise coming from the room next to him. (Room 18) Room is vacant and still padlocked.
(Third Hand Source)
December 25, 2007
At 10PM, the hotel shuts down and everyone leaves. I was the only guest staying in the hotel. They actually locked me in. I spent about two hours walking around just checking out everything and trying to imagine what it must have been like in the 19th century. I was also waiting for a glimpse at a ghost or haunting. It never appeared. I even went and knocked on the door of room 18. Nothing.
As there is no tv, no phone, no cell phone coverage, no radio, no books; I went to sleep. Around 1 am or so, I could hear a door banging shut, followed by three quick thuds, like something being dropped on carpet and bouncing. This repeated over and over. It is also coming from the other end of the hotel, near room 18 by my guestimation. The hair on arms and neck stood on end. It took about 20 minutes for me to get up my nerve to go check it out, but I found nothing. All the doors were locked.
I went back to bed, but couldn’t sleep. The banging of the door kept up all night long. It would repeat for about 15-20 minutes at a time and then quite for a while. I could also here someone walking outside in the hall, but never could find anyone. I could here walking up and down the stairs. Nothing. I could here reeking in the hall way on the wood floors several times through the night. There is probably a logical explanation for it all. A, it was very windy and snowy that night; it could have been something on the roof being blown around by the wind and my imagination was just running wild. B, it could have been the staff messing with me; highly doubt it though since the wood floors and hard to open doors make it hard to hide and easy to identify.
Anonymous (in Room 20)
February 20, 2008
A couple staying in room 20 complains to the front desk about someone smoking cigars just outside of their door. although they didn’t see anyone, they could smell it and the wife was allergic to tobacco smoke.
(Third Hand Source)
March 2009
While renovating the dining room (added onto the hotel in the 1930’s) the roof had to be replaced. Steve would gain access to the roof by going out the window or room 20.
One day after work, he was preparing to leave when he noticed that room 20’s window was still open. He went back into the hotel and closed the window. As he left the room he was hit by the overpowering scent of roses. He described it as if ” someone poured 5 gallons of rose oil over your head”.
Steve Boyce
Reported Phenomena in Room 23
November 14, 1990
We stayed in room 23 on the second floor at the top of the stairs. Around midnight, we could hear banging and muffled voices in the hall. I went out to get the luggage from the car and the noises stopped. No one was in the hallways or the lobby. Later that evening this happened again and as before I opened the door and looked into the hallway and stairs. No one was there.
The next morning we were told that we were the only ones staying in the hotel that night.
Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Jameson
December 01, 1996
During my visit at the St. James, I stayed in Room 23. I went to bed around 11:00. A few hours later, I woke up suddenly. I looked around because I got that funny feeling that I wasn’t alone. To my surprise I was right. I don’t how I could see him because it was so dark but there he was at the foot of my bed. I was frozen, I couldn’t move nor speak because I was so scared. I tried telling myself it’s just a dream, but something about him scared the heck out of me. I couldn’t figure out how I could see him. It was like he was darker than the rest of the room. I could tell exactly what he was wearing. He had on all black long coat with a hat. Despite being able to see all this I still couldn’t see his face. It was like he was a shadow, but solid.
I then suddenly jumped, you know the way you do when you’re dreaming that you’re falling. I looked around and he was gone. I was relieved and thought it was just a dream but the experience just seemed to real.
Kim Fuller
January 10, 1998
My experience at the St. James occurred in the Waite Phillips room (23). I had only been in bed 15 minutes and I was facing the wall of my room, trying to go to sleep. I remember I was tired and frustrated that I couldn’t`t fall right asleep. I recall letting out a deep sigh and turning over and there leaning against the other wall opposite my bed was a cowboy. I couldn’t make out much detail as the room was dark but there was definitely someone there.
i quickly reached for my purse, which was beside the bed, and grabbed a container of mace that I always keep with me. However, when I looked back towards the wall, he was gone.
Kelly Coleman
October 2009
A lesbian couple staying in Room 23 fled the hotel ar 12:05am. When asked why they were leaving they claimed that a cowboy was sitting in a rocking chair watching them.
(Third Hand Source) Judy Kahlor
June 2010
The cook and a waitress were outside in front of the hotel smoking when they noticed that someone was watching them from the window of Room 23. No one was checked into the hotel.
Jake (Hotel Chef)
Reported Phenomena in Kitchen
September 13, 1993
Silverware was rolled into napkins at night and placed in the dining room to give the morning crew a head start on the day. On several occasions the morning crew would come in to find that the silverware had been removed from the napkins and shrewd about the tables.
(Third Hand Source) from Waitress at the restaurant
December 02, 2000
I worked as a server at the hotel for the past six months. One night when I was cleaning the coffee machine at the end of the day, one of the cups (stacked two cups high on top of the machine) fell to the floor. I picked it up and carefully replaced it, only to have it fall off again. I tried again, and held it to ensure it was steady before removing my hand, upon which the cup levitated about 6 inches into the air, hung for a moment, and then fell to the floor.
I looked over my shoulder to see the bartender staring at me, she had seen it too. Wanting to be respectful, and having been told by the stories about the ghosts before, I apologized aloud to them for repeatedly putting the cup where they didn’t want it, and stacked the cup elsewhere on the coffee machine, where it stayed.
Anonymous
November 2004
While working in the kitchen, a knife, supported on a magnetic knife holder, flew off and stuck in the floor.
Jake
Reported Phenomena on Stairs
June 2010
A couple staying upstairs were on their way to the bar. As they walked, the wife taunted T.J., saying that she was not afraid of him.
The husband reached the bottom of the stairs first and waited for his wife, who was some distance behind him. When she was half way down the stairs an unseen presence grabbed her and threw her over the banister. She suffered a mild concussion from the fall.
(Third Hand Source) Judy Kahlor
Reported Phenomena in Dining Room
September 13, 1993
Silverware was rolled into napkins at night and placed in the dining room to give the morning crew a head start on the day. On several occasions the morning crew would come in to find that the silverware had been removed from the napkins and shrewd about the tables.
(Third Hand Source) from Waitress at the restaurant