Job Corps Center
Albuquerque, New Mexico
By Robin Wright
The Job Corps initiative is a successful way for young adults who have had a rough start prepare for a smooth future. The Corps will aid you in finishing your education, train you for a job, and give you a place to stay while doing so. The Job Corps in Albuquerque is no different, except that some of those “living” there may have just been there from a time when the building was an orphanage and boys’ school.
In 1918, the Sisters of St. Francis established the orphanage and boys’ school and cared for children without homes until 1971, when the Department of Labor claimed it. There are city records that describe an occurrence of one of the nuns, a Sister “M” who went insane and seemingly randomly murdered a number of the boys. When the school was installing a swimming pool in the location of an unused well, they found the children’s bodies in the well shaft. It is said that you can still hear the cries of dying children.
Since the Job Corps has taken over the old orphanage, many of the stories have been kept hushed up. One has to wonder exactly what does the Job Corps know about the haunting of its buildings? In the Job Corps handbook, it specifically prohibits the use of Ouija boards on campus. Though the school tries to keep any hauntings “mum,” tales of strange noises and sightings have leaked out. One of the most prevalent is seeing a nun carrying a baby outside of the cafeteria. Could she be the murderous nun with a young victim? Or a caring nun who is trying to watch out for the kids even to this day?
A bench in front of the old Independent Dorm is also the location of some strange activity. If you take a seat there at night, you just might hear the laughter, cries, and noises of children playing, as well as adults scolding them. It is as if the area in front of you is a playground for ghosts.
Looking up to the top of what used to be the Chapel when the tract of land contained an orphanage, some have seen what seems to be a lantern floating about. The building at the front gate may also have some haunting activity, but the security staff are not admitting nor denying it, as they have been told not to encourage any “ghost talk.”
A student who attended in the 1980’s remembers the dorms having lots of activity. There were sounds of laughter, crying, and the click-clack of hard-soled shoes walking down the halls when there was no one there to create such a distinctive noise. Past students have also alluded to people seeing things in the silvered mirrors of the older rooms.
One of the more eerie incidences reported is that, on occasion, all clocks in the haunted Jobs Corps Center, including wristwatches, stop at the same time.
52 comments on this haunted house. Share your story »
52 Comments |
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April 7, 2009, 8:03 pm |
Where? In Albuquerque, New Mexico? I`m all the way in Michigan how am I suppose to apply over there?
jeremy says: |
April 11, 2009, 11:09 am |
I lived in job corps there in 91′ and i had to things happen. I was in the old honor dorm while they were building the new dorms and renovating the female half of the honor dorm…not the main building but the back honor dorms at the time i think it was the f dorms. any way i was there in my room alone during christmas break and my alarm went off and i ignored it and it kept going off. it was on the enterainment stand across the room ” making me get up to turn it off in the morning lol” well after about a min of the beeper it hit me in the back of the head. That was the first incident. next one was ant the phone in the same building while i was talking ont he phone with my mom and i looked acrossed to were they were renavating the female dorms. the lights were on but just the end hall way lights so you could see if any one was there. well as i was talking i looked up and saw a kid about 4 or five years old in brown pants and a striped shirt waving at me holding a ball. i looked to see if the ra’s light was on to let them know some one was over in the other dorm and looked back and the kid was gone. to this day even after three deployments to iraq and one to afganistan it leaves goose bumps all over me.
smallz says: |
April 11, 2009, 5:01 pm |
acutally, you can ask to apply for any job corps that there is…i almost went to the one in la but that was too far for me from my little sister…all you gotta do is tell them which job corps you go to…my friend actually went to the one in montana i think it was and he lived in new mexico so you can actually go to any job corps that you think would suit you the best according to location and which trade you’d like to take.
Christine says: |
April 13, 2009, 4:59 am |
Ohhhhh, That`s cool I didn`t even know that or I would have went to the one in flordia, Wish i would have known when I applied
William says: |
April 29, 2009, 2:27 pm |
Christine….hold in there you’ll be there soon i know it seems like a long
wait after you’ve made the choice to leave your “fam” the job corp program
can get you heading in the right direction.You seem smart so the less time you have to spend English/math classes the more time you spend in training classes. 1 yaer is a good goal.Good luck!
Jeremy.. I also attended in 91 were you there when Re-Run from that T.V. show “good times” came to entertain the job corps? I think he saw something that day he left early and didn’t come back for the next days show.
“blow-me”……sex with a spirt is not safe! Practice safe sex and go ___
yourself!
MZ.ACE says: |
May 23, 2009, 10:51 pm |
I was recently enrolled at the Albuquerque Job corps center…When I first started the school, a young man that attended AJCC also, hung himself at a park near by…and recently….(very recently in fact) a friend of mine hung himself in his dorm room…And when the school was an orphanage the nun M’s way of killing some of the children was by hanging them and which she later hung herself off a tree that is still there…One thing i can say about it is that it don’t matter how happy you are…if u live there u get a feeling of depression with no reason really…anyone that has gone to job corp and was a resident will tell you what im saying is true…just go on myspace and look for them through the find your school…while being there i have witnessed many tragedies, and have heard of many before that…it has a weird sense of hate.
darbee says: |
July 16, 2009, 1:33 am |
My dad was there in St Anthonys orphanage in 1925 and was there for 5 years and never said anything about sister M. we went there to the job corp this june and didn t know that it was haunted now I d like to go back to see
one of tre's sisters whoop whoop! says: |
July 22, 2009, 9:15 pm |
all i got to say is that what happened with my brother and what he did has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the hauntings on center and is very personal so stupid ****** people should stop talking about it like it’s gossip and like it doesn’t hurt people that knew him. he will always be remembered by so many people and missed dearly i’ve been missing him since he did it and i’m sorry i didn’t see the signs or else i could’ve stopped him. RIP IN SHANGRI-LA NINJA! WHOOOOOP WHOOOOOOOP!!!!!
Gothic_Cowgurl says: |
August 2, 2009, 8:44 pm |
Ur right Smallz…she did hang herself on a lamp post. That’s why those lights don’t go on. if they do she most of the time turns them back off(yes, SHE…as in the “M” nun)…& if for some reason they are still on & ur by that light you will see her hanging from that light….or atleast that’s what happened to my BF…he’s seen this woman like, 5 times…
I knew during my tour that the CPP dorms used to be part of an orphanage, but I never knew it was haunted…until lil timmy started messin with me…
my 3rd week(I think) I kept wakin up to hear the sound of lil kids runnin up & down the ha;lls & then one night it sounded like an adult was running after them…then I woke up to see the shape of a lil boy running behind the bunk across from mine & hiding underneath it…then, right before spring break, my roomate couldn’t find the book I had let her barrow when she KNEW she had sat it on her bed(under mine)…then we came back to grab our stuff & leave & saw it in the cubby part of the nightstand by that same bunk where lil timmy(I’m guessing) had hid weeks before….that same morning I couldn’t find my mp3 player ANYWHERE…I looked all through my locker(closet) & emptied out my purse…then when I grabbed my purse to leave…it was right next to my lip gloss!…it was freaky!
but that was NOTHING compared to what happened last week during the lightning storm…*shivers…
Me & some friends were sittin by the birdcage(a gazebo) explaining to this new gurl in CPP about this place being haunted…I went to point at where the nin hung herself & when I looked over there I saw to men in black(maybe priests) talking to eachother…but when I did a double take, the lightning flashed & they weren’t there anymore…
MY bf was there with me & he started feeling all weird…the lightning hit again & every(cept me & my bf) jumped)…I was like, “Babe? are you getting that same feeling like someone’s watching us?”…he was like”BABE…it’s because something IS watching us!”…he was staring at J-Building & the next day says he had seen one of the older boys that had died there…
we were on our way towards our dorms(it was getting close to curfew) & he looked over at that shed past the Cafeteria…he asked me if I was seeing who he was seeing…I asked what he was talin about & he asked if I saw who was standing by that shed…I didn’t look up…kept walking…Apparently he saw the nun that was Killed there…we kept walking until we got closer to AVO…he said goodnight & ran off to his dorm. I was still with two other gurls & they were all KINDS of freaked out…all of a sudden we see dust flying on the track as if someone was running there…then we saw someone leaning up against a dumpster…all I saw was the figure & could tell he had a hood on…but the shorter gurls I was with could see he was glaring at her with red eyes…
a lil bit later she looked like she was in some sorta transe & stared walking toward the aprtments…the gurl from CPP tried grabbing her & she snapped out of it. but FAR from where she had grabbed her there appeared scratch marks on her arms. & NONE of our nails matched the marks…it was freaky
that night none of us could sleep…I kept feeling like someone was walking around our room & so did the other gurl…she saw the figure of a woman walkin around her room & after dorm meeting I saw someone outside my window(when I’m in PRAIRIE FALCON ON THE 2ND FLOOR!)
Ya…I have no doubt in my minf this place is haunted…but I’m glad I haven’t angered any of the spirits that roam the center….like those gurls were doping…talkin about it like it was a joke…Ghoasts don’t like that/.
Gothic_cowgurl says: |
August 2, 2009, 8:51 pm |
sry bout the long comment…lol
didn’t realize I was tyoing so much…eep!
Sugga Daddy says: |
August 11, 2009, 5:52 pm |
I know that job cor is not haunted becuz everybody would have seen this stuff already and there would be nobody here exept the strong ones that don’t get intimidated easily. you guys are just wastin your time talkin about something that never even happened…Get your facts straight. Also I have made a real ouija board and there is no Sister “M”. Lies Lies Lies Man I tell you, Kids these days always exaggerate stuff, especially Girls man They thrive in drama they feel lost without it…Thats real talk baby.Take it from me.PIMP out.
Nicole says: |
August 26, 2009, 8:50 am |
I am currently attending Blackwell Job Corps in Laona, Wisconsin, and some strange things have definitely happened here. Often doors will open and close by themselves, or objects will suddeny fall (get knocked off?) off of beds when no one is near them. There are several students who claim to have seen a small Indian girl walking around the campus and boys’ dorms, and in my room two of my roommates have said they saw the ghost of a large man standing in our room. Also, on two seperate occasions, girls sleeping in the room I currently occupy have had dreams about someone standing over them and woken to find they couldn’t move to turn on their light, as if someone we’re holding them down. I haven’t experienced any of these things myself, but I don’t discount that it’s possible.
Nicole says: |
August 26, 2009, 8:58 am |
Christine- there is a Job Corps center in Laona, Wisconsin, we have a lot of people from Michigan here. Also, from what I’ve read, the rules aren’t quite so strict here. We are allowed to have cell phones and mp3 players on campus and won’t get kicked out for using them during the trade day, although they will be confiscated for two weeks. Unfortunately there is no 2nd chance if you get caught smoking or drinking on campus; if they can prove you were doing it, you’re going home or to jail. Our center is called Blackwell, and overall it’s a pretty decent place, though stress levels tend to run high. It’s worth looking into, though, if you don’t want to move too far away from friends and family.
sean says: |
September 2, 2009, 4:03 pm |
Okay i curently live here a AJCC, and can tell you that some of the things that are posted are true. Now some of the other things i cant really commit on. i havent personly experienced anything weird except the weird feeling of being really down. I mean REALLY down i can normally put up with things but this place has almost made me quite, Not just the stupid *** people but this weird feeling that i an my GF get. I dunno what it is but it is really depressing. Almost like your feeling the young kids feelings before they were gone. who knows but if anybody needs pics of this place or if anyone can tell me what exactlly tree it was that the dumb ***** hung her self in that would be great. Thanx and later i have to go on break now.
sean says: |
September 2, 2009, 4:05 pm |
sean says:
September 2, 2009, 4:03 pm
Okay i curently live here a AJCC, and can tell you that some of the things that are posted are true. Now some of the other things i cant really commit on. i havent personly experienced anything weird except the weird feeling of being really down. I mean REALLY down i can normally put up with things but this place has almost made me quite, Not just the stupid *** people but this weird feeling that i an my GF get. I dunno what it is but it is really depressing. Almost like your feeling the young kids feelings before they were gone. who knows but if anybody needs pics of this place or if anyone can tell me what exactlly tree it was that the dumb ***** hung her self in that would be great. Thanx and later i have to go on break now.
Kathy M says: |
September 15, 2009, 5:31 pm |
My Dad and Uncles were in this orphanage 1923-1928. Dad didn’t like to talk about it much. He said the Sisters were strict. Many of the children were not orphans (Dad and Bros were not), their families were unable or unwilling to care for them. I find it interesting that this site has been one of the few sources of information about this orphanage that I can find. If anyone knows where I could learn more about the history of the orphanage I would appreciate it. When did this Sister M incident take pace?
Gothic_cowgurl says: |
September 19, 2009, 3:01 pm |
I find it funny that “Sugga Daddy” thinks this is all made up…
basically he’s saying these spirits don’t exsist…which will eventually make them mad at HIM, not US thank goodness…
me & my BF recently made the decision to go non-rez…& let me tell you…SMART IDEA…both of us u can notice a change in…
I can actually concentraite & think straight now, I’m not as down as I used to be when I lived there, & I’m not as angry either…My BF doesn’t punch walls out of anger anymore, he smiles more, & he actually talks with his friends during the day more…
We may not be able to say we see weird stuff anymore since now we don’t stay past nightfall…but we can still vouch for the emotional stress of even BEING on that center…
everytime I even step FOOT on that center, I get overwhelmed with this weird feeling…& lately my past week was nuthing but cruddy…it seems like now, everytime I step foot n the grounds I feel an angry presense, like someone from the spirit world is pissed off that me & my BF got away…
I guess its cuz I’m extra sensative to the spirits on that campus or something, but . . . idk . . .I just automatically start feeling like **** everytime I step foot n those grounds
oh MAN I can’t wait till I start CNM in Jan…then I won”t ever have to feel that way again…! ^_^
MIKE MCCOY says: |
October 5, 2009, 5:45 pm |
I AM A REPORTER AT NEWSRADIO 770 KKOB IN ALBUQUERQUE. I AM INTERESTED IN HEARING FROM ANYONE WHO HAS WITNESSED PARANORMAL ACTIVITY IN THE JOB CORPS LOCATION. CONTACT ME THROUGH MIKE32549@YAHOO.COM
Sublime says: |
October 14, 2009, 12:02 am |
i was a student there in 1995 i had the knocking at the door happening alomost every other night. it happen in the oldest dorms located by the cafeteria. and when i moved to the dorm locatred right behind that bldg. the knocking was still happening also we use to hear kids laughing little kids laughing and playing and crying. that place is way creepy, we learned to live with it.
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smallsz says:
April 7, 2009, 11:28 am
wtf? how the hell do you **** a spirit? but christine, just to let you know you really hsould come here…just not if you smoke cuz if you get caught smoking on center 2x’s then you get kicked out and if you’re caught on the phone or listening to your mp3 or any kind of electronic device during the training day (8-4)you’ll get terminated. which sucks ***.