The Luna Mansion in Los Lunas closed these days, but that hasn’t stopped its reputation for being a haunted house.
Stories of kitchen doors opening and closing on their own, unoccupied chairs rocking back and forth and flashing photos of a mysterious child have lived for decades through shared stories from guests and staff.
"I hear things," Farid Himeur told KOAT in 2016 when he served as the general manager. "I see things that aren’t supposed to happen."
According to legend, the spirit of the original interior decorator, a woman named Josefita, haunts the mansion, which was built as a gift from the Santa Fe Railway in exchange for the right-of-way through the Luna-Otero extensive land grant holdings and dates back to the 19th Century. A rocking chair under a portrait of Josefita has been seen rocking over the years without anyone sitting in it.
Also, a photo in the mansion showed a woman eating dinner, and what appears to be another woman and a child over her shoulder. Yet, other diners at the time the photo was taken said the woman and child were never there.
KOAT’s Byron Morton went through the mansion in 2016 with Cody Polston, president of the Southwest Ghost Hunters Association. Polston used a special device attempting to locate signs of paranormal activity. Despite his best efforts, he didn’t find any, but it hasn’t put to rest the legend of Josefita’s ghost.