New Mexico has a lot of history, culture, and beautiful scenery. That being said, it also has some scary and dark spots where the past lives on and the present is creepy. One of these places is the Fort Stanton Hospital, which used to be a TB hospital but is now a museum and a mental health center. Many terrible things have happened in this hospital, and some people say it is still haunted by ghosts and other evil spirits.
The Story of Fort Stanton Hospital
When it was first built in 1855, Fort Stanton was a military fort meant to protect residents from Apache raids. Some well-known people, like Kit Carson, Billy the Kid, and the Buffalo Soldiers, used it as a home base. During the Civil War, Confederate troops took it over for a short time, but Union forces quickly took it back.
In 1899, the fort was turned into a sanitarium for people with tuberculosis. Most of the patients were officers and sailors in the Merchant Marines. At the time, tuberculosis was an illness that killed and could not be cured. People with the disease thought that the dry, sunny weather in New Mexico would help them. Over the years, the hospital grew and got more modern. It is now one of the biggest and best hospitals of its kind in the country.
They did not have an easy or nice time at the hospital, though. A lot of them had to go through painful and novel surgeries like lobectomy, pneumothorax, and thoracoplasty. Some of them died from the disease or problems that came up after the surgeries. Others killed themselves or were killed by other patients. There are more than 1,500 graves in the hospital graveyard. Many of them are not named and only have numbers on them.
What Haunts Fort Stanton Hospital
It’s not a surprise that Fort Stanton Hospital is thought to be one of the most haunted places in New Mexico. It has a long history of pain and death. Strange noises, apparitions, cold spots, and poltergeist activity are just some of the weird things that visitors and staff have reported. The following are some of the most common sightings:
A nurse from the dead who walks the halls and checks on the patients. It is thought that she is Julia Staab, who died of tuberculosis in the hospital in 1925. She was married to a rich businessman. People say she is nice and willing to help, but she also guards her territory very carefully.
A ghostly soldier who walks around the grounds and greets people who come to see it. He might be Captain Henry Wright, who died in 1862 at the fort in a fight with a doctor. People say that he is faithful and polite, but also very strict and demanding.
Someone scary who hides in the basement and strikes people who aren’t paying attention. It is thought that he is a former patient who was violent and crazy and was locked up in a guarded cell in the basement. People say he is mean and angry, and he scratches, beats, and bites the people he hurts.
What Will Happen to Fort Stanton Hospital?
Even though the hospital has a reputation for being cursed, it is still open today, though with only about 200 involuntary patients who were sent there by civil court commitment cases. Because of worries about crowds, a new building in Galen opened in 2024.
The old hospital is now part of the Fort Stanton Historic Site, which also has a museum, a tourist center, and some buildings that have been fixed up. There are guided trips, special events, and educational programs at the spot, which are open to everyone. But guests aren’t allowed in some parts of the hospital for safety reasons or to protect the privacy of the people who are already there.
It’s possible to see both the past and the wonder of New Mexico at Fort Stanton Hospital. There are both live and dead people there, as well as people from the past and the present. It is a place that challenges and excites, as well as fascinates and scares. Without a question, it’s one of the scariest spots in the state.
Conclusion
In conclusion, New Mexico’s Fort Stanton Hospital has a troubling past. It was once a military fort and is now a TB sanitarium. People think that ghosts of past patients and warriors haunt the hospital, which is now a museum and mental health center. Even though it has a bad reputation, it is still used as a historic place and offers walks and educational programs while being aware of how it is used now and the people who live there. Fort Stanton is an interesting and scary place to visit in New Mexico because it has both historical and supernatural elements.