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The Witch’s Grave

Old Mesilla, New Mexico
By Robin Wright

Old Mesilla and the area around it has had a dubious history, even before anyone officially settled there. The city of Las Cruces, the second largest city in New Mexico and a mere 6 miles from the quaint town of Old Mesilla was so named because of an 1830 massacre of a wagon train headed west along the trail known as El Camino Real. When the survivors buried their dead, they put up the requisite markings of crosses. Those following used it as a landmark, calling it “La Placita De Las Cruces”–the place of the crosses. Those who settled along the trail shortened it to Las Cruces. Las Cruces is now a bustling modern metropolitan, but enter Mesilla, New Mexico and you step back two hundred years.

Mesilla still has the thick adobe walled buildings that kept out both heat and dust. This was where Billy the Kid was caught, jailed, and allowed to escape. This is also the home of San Albino’s cemetery, home of the Witch’s Grave.

At the end of Calle De Lupe is the dirt packed ground that composes the cemetery. Tumbleweeds skitter across the graves, but your eyes will be drawn from the beautiful sculptures that serve as tombstones to a 4’x4’ cinderblock and cement tomb decorated with a 2‘ black cross that someone has carved with the number “666.” This, legend says, is the Witch’s tomb. It is the only headstone in the cemetery that has no name inscribed on it. There is no record of who she is or what she had done to get such a fortified grave, but it has been said that when she was buried there, her ghost kept trying to get out from its supposed final resting place. She has spent decades trying to find a crack that will set her free, and those who live near the cemetery have spent just as many years repairing the cracks that do appear.

Local lore claims a girl once slept on the tomb in response to a dare. She walked away alive, but was afterwards afflicted with incurable epilepsy. Further caution to those who feel the need to visit– in case escaping witches and mysterious illnesses aren’t enough, the fine folk who live near the cemetery do not appreciate late night visitors, and strongly discourage entering the cemetery after dark.

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from cruces says:

June 8, 2006, 1:27 pm

I always heard about a witch’s grave in Organ, but I never heard about the one in Mesilla. The Lodge in Cloudcroft is supposed to be haunted. Also the Wool Warehouse Theater Restaurant in Albuquerque. About 80 miles northeast of Albuquerque near Cuba is a spot know as Trail Creek that use to have a small pioneer village and cemetery.

brianna says:

June 12, 2006, 11:11 am

i think that all of you r on this site jus to offend other people you dont even know!!!!!!! and for all the lame a** out there who keep on saying stuff about mexicans and how much you hate them well get over it your voice is not going to be heard here this is a ghost website not a f***** chat site so stop acting so lame and start acting mature people dont want to be seeing your dumb comments unless there about ghosts

west side once again says:

June 13, 2006, 12:20 pm

HEY BRIANNA! YOUR OVER HERE SAYING THAT OUR VOICE ISNT GONNA BE HURD…. WELL YOUR VOICE ISNT GONNA BE HURD EATHER B****!! SO SHUT THE HELL UP!! O AND YOU F***EN MEXICAN… DONT BE TALKING S***, BECAUSE IF YOU DAM MEXICANS LOVE GAY A** MEXICO SO DAM MUCH THEN F***EN GO BACK YOU DUMB IDIOT!! WE ARE IN F****EN WAR AND THE U.S.A HAS TO WORRY ABOUT F****EN MEXICANS CROSSING THE BOARDER! WELL IM GLAD THAT MEXICANS CANT COME IN TO THE U.S ANYMORE! PLUS YOU GUYS COME TO THE U.S AND HATE ALL THE AMERICANS… WE F***EN PAY YOUR WELLFARE! AND YOU GUYS SAY THAT US “WHITE PEOPLE” DONT LIKE TO WORK! ITS THAT F***EN WETBACKS LIKE YOU TAKE ALL THE DAM JOBS SO WHERE THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT US TO WORK! AND I MAY BE A F***EN B**** BUT I RATHER BE THAT THEN A F****EN SEWER RAT! SO F***EN MUNCH ON THAT YOU F***EN RAT!!!!!

west side once again says:

June 13, 2006, 12:23 pm

yea what i wrote was sorta messed…….. but deal!

devyn says:

June 13, 2006, 12:35 pm

hey everybody! well the people on here are really funny! but that stories pretty down… i wanna check it out!

Daven says:

June 13, 2006, 12:37 pm

you guys are funny

sexy says:

June 13, 2006, 7:00 pm

now look i want to keep my website clean. these stories are made for the purpose of reading and sharing the spooky stories and “real haunts” that go on around the united states. and if you are from here or not it was made for the purpose of learning and getting spooked by true stories in your hometown. thare is no need for cursing and being rude. now if there is any misunderstanding please contact me at jay_paul@hotmail.com, i am very shocked at such behavier.

supervisor of real haunts says:

June 13, 2006, 7:03 pm

and do take my dearest appologies, i have a 16year old. and he is one of the ones that like to cause commotion on my site, and thought he could be a wise guy and put such a name as “sexy”. thanks.

devyn says:

June 15, 2006, 4:01 pm

way to go sexy! haha j/k your funny!

Timmy says:

June 29, 2006, 1:51 pm

John told me about the party, but I just didn’t know what to wear. Looking through my closet, I could not find anything that I felt comfortable in. On top of that, I had no idea who would be attending the party. Would Michelle be there? I really was hoping she would not show up.

As I stepped from my closet, I glanced at the clock on the wall. Why was it ticking so fast? My gosh, the party was going to start in less than forty minutes. I had no idea what I was going to do. I walked down the stairs and sat down next do my dog and best friend, Randy. I could always count on his wagging tail brightening my day.

Marie and Becca says:

July 27, 2006, 6:23 pm

Dear everybody involved in the Mexican/Westside fight,
WE’RE BACK!!!!!!!!!
anyhoo we just want to say that we have quit this fight cuz west side is being a total rascist, and everyone believes we are big rascists. We’re just commenting back on what you guys said to us.

P.S. i’m outta the wheelchair now and on crutches now.

P.S.S. Cate{Katilina] is actually Hispanic so she can’t be rascist against herself. duh. Savvey

jenny says:

July 30, 2006, 11:57 am

iam a mexican there’s alot of wierd stuff that happen in mexico but believe in any kind of scary story some are really ridiculouse but anyways some of these story’s are pretty scary !!!!!!!!!!!!! i love mexico mexican pride !!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE MEXICO!!!!!!!!!

Abrana says:

August 9, 2006, 6:43 pm

I believe the person who posted this. I know a lot about the paranormal and have witnessed and experienced a great deal of the paranormal world.
I walk both sides of the veil. I have to – because of my Ancestry and work that I do in the realms of both the paranormal and genealogy.
Billy the Kid is my Cousin by Marriage.
Viva Nuevo Mexico!

india says:

September 3, 2006, 9:43 pm

Robert, when I used to visit Silver City there is a place going up towards Pino Altos. It’s like a little town with an old church and graveyard and places of antiques and ice cream fountain, there is also a sort of museum of a military fort and that’s where I believe is a true haunting.
One day about 13 years ago, my husband and I went to check out the little town and we went into that little museum. While looking at the fort we thought we were the only ones there. However we (or at least) I saw and heard another family come in. I saw them and waved and they waved back but I notice my otherwise friendly husband totally ignored them. We went around a bend in the fort toward the horse’s corral and came back but I didn’t see them anymore. It’s such a small area I thought surely we would meet up with them but we didn’t. Then I stopped to buy a museum soveigner and commented to the cashier that it was very quiet there and I was glad he had at least another family visiting the museum. He looked at me like I was crazy, then he said very quietly that we were the only visitors so far that day.

lauren holley says:

September 7, 2006, 5:38 pm

this is a load of **** there might be some hanted houses but this is a bunch of bull **** so just scure all of the haunting **** cause your scaring the kids.

p.s. you stink

Bridjet says:

September 20, 2006, 7:45 pm

I live in Maine and there is a witchs grave there too. Although we dont have the same idea. Our grave was a regular woman from yester-couple-of-years like in the 1800s. She was just belived to be a witch, I wonder what would happen if yall’ let a crack come, would it become haunted??

Bridjet says:

September 20, 2006, 7:45 pm

I live in Maine and there is a witchs grave there too. Although we dont have the same idea. Our grave was a regular woman from yester-couple-of-years like in the 1800s. She was just belived to be a witch, I wonder what would happen if yall’ let a crack come, would it become haunted?? You know what i mean??

Lori says:

September 27, 2006, 4:27 pm

Well, so much for Real Haunts plea to try and keep this place looking classy. I wish they would adhere to their reserved right to remove inappropriate comments. I can plainly see that the New Mexico school system needs to require more time in their grammar/language classes in the school system. Many people, such as myself, enjoy sights such as this to explore Southwest myths and legends. Thank you Jordan for your directions to the Witch’s grave. Also, thank you to the others for mentioning places such as Silver City and Deming. I have personally researched the Bonito Lake area in Ruidoso. There are many paranormal sightings in that area. An old mining town was flooded when the lake was created and the old town still exists beneath the lake. It’s a great place to check out if you are ever traveling in that area. If anyone else know of any Ruidoso “haunts” please post and let me know.

Z says:

September 30, 2006, 1:31 pm

Well first of all all youcanadians, south americans,europeans and any other people from any other country shouldn’t be talking **** and saying that the mexicans should go back to where they came from. if they do that so should you. the real natives of america are the people that you white *** trailer trash mother f***ers put on reservations and killed off to the point of extinction. me, myslef have no desire to be in that country that you white *** americans call the greatest f****ing country in the world, although i don’t want to be there to have a home, there is no reason why i don’t want to visit. i heard new mexico has wonderful sunsets and sunrises.
Timmy, what is the point of your story? who the frick cares, Timmy!
What if that cashier didn’t see that family come in and leave, india?
F*** u lori, about the new mexico school system. how the frick are we typers supposed to know that we amde a mistake while trying to type so fast and put our comment out into the world. I bet i messed up a couple of times. My speeling isn’t that bad, haha speeling. I bet the only edumacation you got was up to the eighth grade. funny-edumacation.

Tammy berger says:

September 30, 2006, 10:18 pm

In the years between 1985-1987, several of my friends and I would go to the witches grave. I now reside in Houston,but I can remember the location and what I saw as if it were yesterday. The cemetery is complete dirt and tumbleweeds in Old Mesilla. The grave is of cinder blocks and cement. It stand 4ft. high and is 4ft. across. People including me, have wrtten and sat on the top of her grave. There is a 2ft. black cross with 666 engraved very lightly. I am shocked I found this sight and can give you a picture of this witch’s Grave.. I am sorry if I have offended anyone,but I am telling a story that someone will listen to after all of these years

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