Post by Graveyardbride on Sept 16, 2020 8:23:44 GMT -5
Teen Ghost Hunters Robbed Near Haunted El Paso School
On the night of Wednesday, August 5, two teenage ghost-hunters sitting in their car near El Paso High School were robbed by a Hispanic man with short hair and bushy eyebrows. The two told police they were hoping to catch sight of one of the many spooks said to haunt El Paso High when the man, who appeared to be around 18- to 20-years-old, knocked on their window. When they lowered the window, he brandished a handgun and ordered them out of the car. He then rummaged through the vehicle, stealing an Apple iPhone and some loose change, before fleeing on foot.
El Paso High, nicknamed “The Lady on the Hill,” because of its mountainside position overlooking the city, opened in 1916. During its 104-year history, thousands of students have matriculated within the walls of the stately Greco-Roman structure: young men and women who went on to become elected officials, real estate moguls, doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers, actors and actresses, musicians, professional athletes and yes, some might say, more than its fair share of criminals.
An establishment with such a long history is bound to have acquired a few ghosts along the way and today, El Paso High is said to be one of the most haunted schools in America and there are those who insist it’s the most haunted.
One of the most active spirits is that of a girl who allegedly committed suicide, either by slitting her wrists or jumping from a balcony. According to former students, the area where her body hit the floor is no longer accessible, but there have been reports of a strange mist in the hall leading to that particular location. Lending credence to the claims is the photo (below) of the graduating class of 1985 which clearly shows the apparition of a female student who wasn’t there when the picture was taken. (The ghost is the girl in white in the middle of the second row. Click here to enlarge photo.)
While the suicide has not been verified, there’s no doubt about the bodies in the basement. During World War I, the corpses of men killed in combat and those who died of Spanish influenza were shipped to El Paso and stored in the immense area beneath the classrooms until they were claimed by their next-of-kin.
There also are stories of students and faculty members discovering locked and forgotten early 20th-century classrooms, complete with old wooden desks and black chalkboards, in the school’s labyrinthine nether regions.
But old classrooms and bodies in the basement pale in comparison to the numerous supernatural encounters. In addition to the mundane phantom footsteps, slamming doors and cold spots, many have reported hearing a spirited pep rally taking place in the gymnasium, but when the door is opened, the gym is empty and silent as the tomb. Others have seen two girls in what one witness described as “old-fashioned cheerleader uniforms with skirts down to their knees” carrying orange pom poms in a hall leading to the gym. In the same general area, there also have been sightings of a handsome boy in a vintage basketball uniform bearing what appears to be the number 11.
Some years ago, a male teacher who had been working late in his classroom caught sight of a girl in an old-style blue dress at the end of the hall as he was leaving. Curious as to why she was in the building after hours, he walked in her direction only to watch her slowly fade away before his eyes.
Even those who don’t believe in ghosts admit the old school is decidedly creepy after hours.
But does El Paso High encourage flights of fantasy? Some seem to think so. “What do you expect from a school that chooses orange and black as its colors?” one waggish former student quipped. “When everybody dresses like they’re going to a Halloween party, people’s imaginations run wild.”
Sources: David Burge, KVIA, September 12, 2020; Jala Washington, KFOX, October 8, 2019; KISS.FM 93.1, February 19, 2005; El Paso High School; and Haunted Rooms.
