Mystery Location No. 76: November 26, 2017

First Clue: sun symbol

This is the Shaffer Hotel, 103 W. Main Street, Mountainair, New Mexico. It was built in 1923 by a man called Clem “Pop” Shaffer, who decorated the building, inside and out, with Indian statuary and symbols, such as the whirling logs, better known as the swastika. In 1940, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt arranged for a showing of Pop’s artwork in Washington, and in 1978, the hotel and the Shaffers’ home, called “Rancho Bonito,” were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Since Pop and Lena Shaffer died in the 1980s, the hotel has had several owners and it is now closed, but is expected to open again in the next few months.

The New Mexico flag has a red Zia Indian sun symbol on a bright yellow background. Mountainair is in Torrance County.

One of the tragedies in the building happened when Mrs. Shaffer caught her husband going upstairs with his mistress. She and the mistress both pulled out their pistols and shot at each other, but both missed. Mrs. Shaffer's bullet lodged in the ceiling behind the stairs and the other woman's lodged in the ceiling opposite the staircase.

Pop Shaffer and other ghosts, including a man who hanged himself in Room 16, are said to haunt the hotel.