The Most Haunted Places Near El Paso

There is a lot of love and fascination for all things spooky, creepy, and scary. This includes haunted locations and ghost stories surrounding people. Regardless if you want to explore a haunted location alone or take a friendly and informative ghost tour, you are sure to feel something strange in the air.

For adventurers who love thrills, El Paso is a hot spot for ghost hauntings and strange and unexplainable things. Listed below are the most haunted places near El Paso and some fun facts about the ghosts that linger in these places.

Magoffin Home

Joseph and Octavia Magoffin built his homestead on land inherited from Joseph’s father, James Wiley Magoffin in 1875. They had 2 kids and 5 grandchildren with each other. For the next 109 years, their descendants continued to inherit the home. But, what makes it haunted? What is so interesting about this family and their home?

Firstly, Joseph was a justice of the peace and a four-time mayor of El Paso. He was passionate about the town and wanted to expand it with electricity and a public school. Joseph was not the only one who gained love from members of the town. Octavia was known for her kindness and hospitality. She entertained business leaders and became the face of the El Paso social circles. Josephine, their daughter, took on this role as well and had the most fashionable wedding El Paso had ever seen. Octavia Magoffin Glasgow lived in the home even after it was purchased by the City of El Paso and the State of Texas.

Visitors can view the restored home during visiting hours. Some visitors have reported seeing ghostly figures in the windows wearing pieces from the late 1800s. Could it be Octavia? Or maybe it’s Charles Richardson, known to the family as Uncle Charlie. He passed away napping in his favorite chair. Sometimes the chair moves by itself.

Contact Information

Address: 1120 Magoffin Ave, El Paso, TX 79901
Phone: (915) 533-5147

Fire Station #11

Most people don’t automatically assume that fire stations are haunted, but how could they not be? There are lots of stories circulating fire station 11, some dating back to 1998. While you can’t take a ghost tour inside the station, since it is open and operating, you can talk to firefighters about their experiences. They might surprise you!

Fire Lt. Ramiro Rios was interviewed about his experience and stated there is a bed that no one touches because it swings and moves by itself. The blankets will also be snatched off or tugged by something that they can’t see, something like a playful or angry ghost. No one knows who the spirit is, but maybe it’s better not to know.

Contact Information

Address: 314 Leon St, El Paso, TX 79901

Concordia Cemetery

Cemeteries are some of the most haunted places in the world and it’s clear why. For most people, cemeteries are their final resting place. Concordia Cemetery has seen a lot of grief and history, which has manifested in many spooky and chilling ghost stories. First, let’s discuss the history of this location. It first opened as a ranch in the 1840s by Hugh and Juana Stephenson. The ranch included a chapel and a cemetery. Juana died after a pet deer attacked her and she sustained an infection. She was the first buried in Concordia Cemetery.

A few years later, a catholic church was built on the land. In 1882, the city of El Paso purchased a piece of the ranch to bury the poor. Soon, multiple groups including the Chinese, Catholics, Freemasons, Jewish people, African Americans, and the military bought different sections of the cemetery. Because of the diversity, no one took care of the cemetery as a whole, which has led to a lot of confusion. For example, more than 60,000 graves lay on this site, but some people believe it’s a lot more. Since no one was documenting the graves at the cemetery, unmarked graves for babies are scattered throughout the cemetery, some are buried underneath houses. The babies likely died because of the 1918 influenza pandemic.

On select nights, you can take an after-dark ghost tour into the cemetery. The professionals tell spooky stories and point out important graves belonging to sheriffs, El Paso mayors, socialites, and criminals.

Contact Information

Address: 3700 Yandell Dr, El Paso, TX 79903
Phone: (915) 842-8200

Southwest General Hospital

While the Southwest General Hospital is likely haunted, few people know about the lingering ghosts. This hospital is still open but under the name “El Paso Long Term Acute Care Hospital.” The hospital saw its first patient in 1907 while serving as a tuberculosis sanitarium. The hospital did a great job helping people recover from this awful illness, but death was common. There are two ghosts that many people claim to see including a young nurse and a maintenance man still in uniform.

The young nurse does not have an identity. But it is rumored that she died in the hospital after contracting tuberculosis. Strange smells also appear without a cause like the smell of blood or cleaning supplies. Supposedly, the maintenance worker people see wandering the halls and opening the elevators is Charlie. He died in the hospital in an elevator-related accident. Supposedly his spirit causes the elevator to malfunction, bringing passengers to the 4th floor or basement.

Contact Information

Address: 1221 N Cotton St # 3, El Paso, TX 79902
Phone: (915) 546-5822

Fort Bliss Pershing House

There are multiple buildings in Fort Bliss that are haunted, but the one we will discuss is the Pershing House. During the Mexican revolution, WWI General John J. Pershing was stationed on the Fort Bliss Military Reservation in 1914. This historic general lived in the home, but now you can visit it and view the 20th-century artifacts and furniture.

One of the most popular ghost stories is about General Pershing, whose spirit still lingers in his home. According to visitors, they sometimes see a tall figure wearing official military clothing from a century ago. EVP devices have caught some strange noises, some of which sound like spirits trying to communicate. One recording caught whispering after the recorder asked for the spirit to make a sound. Could it really be a ghost trying to tell their story? Or was it just a low breeze? Even if you don’t spot a ghost while visiting the Pershing House in Fort Bliss, you can still enjoy the historical artifacts inside the building.

Contact Information

Address: 228 Sheridan Rd, Fort Bliss, TX 79906
Phone: (915) 534-0600

Gravity Hill

For decades, El Paso residents have heard chilling stories of the “ghost hands” and orb lights along Gravity Hill. Allegedly, a section of the road is haunted because a school bus crashed on the road, killing the children and driver on the vehicle. Another story states that a speeding vehicle killed a mother and her children and when they encounter someone walking, their spirits push and pull at them to stay away from the road.

The children’s spirits push cars and other vehicles leaving small white handprints that car owners notice later on. Cars will also stop working and break down on the road. At night, some drivers have stated they have felt unsafe and their cars get surrounded by little bright lights. While local El Paso news stations have debunked this story, residents still drive up and down Gravity Hill searching for the wandering spirits. Knowing this, are you tempted to take a trip through Gravity Hill at night?

Contact Information

Address: 820 Thunderbird Dr, El Paso, TX 79912

Up Next:

• The Most Haunted Places in Florida
• The Most Haunted Places Near Fort Worth
• The Most Haunted Places In New York

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Susan Barnum, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons / Original