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Thu 23 Feb 2012
In the News: Spooky times for a good cause PDF Print E-mail
Written by Phantom   
Out'n'About: Spooky times for a good cause
By Susan Prosoco / For Pulse
Posted: 07/21/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT

Move over Scooby-Doo, there's a new ghost-hunting group in town. El Paso's Paso Del Norte Paranormal Society is teaming up with the Amador Museum Foundation for a ghost tour and fundraiser. The group will host a ghost tour on Saturday, the proceeds of which will filter back into the restoration efforts of the historic Amador Hotel, 180 W. Amador. The society, part of the El Paso Ghost Tours group, has set up tours at the hotel for almost a year now.

"We are ghost hunting, but we stand above the average paranormal team," Society President Henry Flores said. "Our nonprofit organization not only provides help with hauntings and education, but we also help preserve history."

Flores said he met some great people at the Amador Museum Foundation, who wanted to make one of the area's oldest buildings into a Las Cruces historical museum. He believes with the team's help, and the help of other concerned citizens, this goal can be made into a reality.

The event includes a two-hour walking tour of the location. Guests get to experience what they see on TV, but they are the ghost hunter. They can bring cameras, video, flashlights or any form of equipment. The society does not supply these items on ghost tours.

Flores said, in past tours, patrons have caught full body apparitions by the staircase and have heard whispers upstairs.

The hotel, named for the Amador family who settled in Las Cruces in 1850 was built in 1887. It has undergone several reconstructions throughout

the years, even serving as the city's municipal offices for a time. With so much history surrounding the old hotel, the foundation was established to develop a public reuse of the building consistent with its history. Some of Paso Del Norte Paranormal Society's other projects include The Lodge in Cloudcroft for a weekend investigation, the Billy the Kind jail cell in San Elizario, Texas, a trip to Tombstone, Ariz. and events for soldiers at Ft. Bliss.

"Now we're bringing more curiosity to the Amador Hotel in Las Cruces," said Flores.

The society's best-known project is the paranormal protection that El Paso's Concordia Cemetery gets from monthly ghost tours. The proceeds collected help pay for security, cemetery beautification projects and help prevent vandalism. The profits also go to the restoration and preservation of the historic landmark. In two years, the organization has raised money from the tours to help with the funding of a Buffalo Soldier Memorial in Concordia.

"We bring business to downtown El Paso with our ghost tours and show how history and paranormal are tied together," said Flores.

The Paso Del Norte Paranormal Society has been operating for five years and has a staff of eight paranormal investigators. It began when Henry and his wife brought this idea to the Concordia Heritage Association and from there it grew immensely.

The society has been recognized by the "Ghost Adventure Crew" on the Travel Channel and "The Haunted" on Animal Planet.

The Amador Hotel ghost tour is from 8:30 to 11 p.m. on Saturday and tickets are $15. For more information on the tour and on the foundation, call Dawn Starostka, Helping Hands Event Planning, at (575) 522-1232 or visit amadormuseumfoundation.org.

For more information on the society or on how to become part of the team, Flores encourages volunteers to call him directly at (915) 373-1513 or visit facebook.com/elpasoghosttours. For a schedule of upcoming tours visit elpasoghosttours.com.



Freelancer Susan Prosoco can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .



If you go

What: Amador Hotel Ghost Tour

Where: 180 W. Amador Ave.

When: 8:30 to 11 p.m. on Saturday

How much: $15

Info/reservations: amadormuseumfoundation.org; elpasoghosttours.com
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