Location Description and History

"Las MañAnitas" is a folk song of celebration that is traditionally sung on a person's birthday or Saint's Name Day. There is no written record of when the adobe structure standing on the northwest corner of present day Indian School and Rio Grande, Albuquerque, NM. was built. Legend and word of mouth has it that parts of the building are over 300 years old. Paul and Linda took over Las MañAnitas in 1991. Before Paul and Linda, it was a restaurant operated from 1985 to 1990 by a previous Albuquerque Mayor. Before becoming a restaurant the property was owned and used as a residence by Sheila Garcia, The Kinney's, The Harrison's and the Gilstrap's. There are stories of huge social parties held by previous owners. Before its use as a residence, verbal history has it remembered as a brothel, saloon and billiards hall. Reportedly the structure was originally built as a stagecoach stop along the historic El Camino Real.

Neighbors and previous owners have told Paul and Linda some of the events and history of the building. At one time there was a farm and a blacksmith located on the property as well. Neighbors would hear the bang and clang of the blacksmith at work.

Original wooden ceiling beams and kiva fireplaces still exist. When the building was renovated in 1991 over five tons of dirt was removed from the original sod roof. There are light fixtures in many rooms and medicine cabinets in both bathrooms that were saved from the famous Albuquerque Hotel Alvarado. (The Alvarado stood from 1896 to 1945.)

Paul and Linda were told when they took over the restaurant in 1991 that it was haunted.

In their fourteen years at Las MañAnitas, Paul and Linda have witnessed and been told first hand of several occurrences. There does not seem to be any pattern. The building will be quiet for months at a time then there will be a flurry of unexplained activity for several days in a row.

Reportedly, one previous owner, Mrs. Kinney was plagued by what she thought were 'evil spirits'. She stated that plates flew out of the oven at her and that the doors inside the building would slam shut after she walked through them. The slamming doors unnerved Mrs. Kinney so badly that she had all of the interior doors removed and to this day they remain stacked in the garage.

Supposedly Mrs. Kinney brought in members of the church to perform an exorcism to no avail.

The wait staff employed when Paul and Linda took over the restaurant told them to be sure that they "left toys out for the kids". They were told that the ghost's of a boy and a girl were often seen playing out on the patio or heard playing in the house. Linda leaves toys in hidden areas of the building and then returns to find that they have been somehow broken.

We found two unusual EM fields both at 12Hz in the main dining room. The fields were present for a several minutes and then vanished. Photographs taken with a full spectrum camera contained oddities in them.

Photographs

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