Julia Staab
The Legend
Julia Staab was the wife of a wealthy businessman who amassed a fortune as a supply contractor for the U.S. Army during the Civil War. The Staab family included six children and lived in this three-story mansion, built in 1882, but when Julia's seventh child died soon after birth, she fell into a deep depression and her hair was said to have turned prematurely white overnight. After several more unsuccessful pregnancies, she became more and more reclusive and spent nearly all of her time in her second story room until her death at age 52 in 1896. She is said to have gone completely mad in her later years. Legend has it that she loved her mansion so much that she never left, even after death.
The Location
La Posada de Santa Fe Resort and Spa is actually a collection of adobe casitas and buildings constructed around the original Staab Mansion and carriage house. The property was converted to a hotel in the 1930s. Over the years, so many guests and employees have reported sightings of Julia's spirit that it has been featured in television shows such as Unsolved Mysteries and Weird Travels. A beautifully dressed, translucent woman has been spotted in various locations throughout the main house. Supposedly upset by the presence of a drinking establishment in her fine house, the hotel's bar has been a particular target of the spirit with reports of glasses flying off the shelves and crashing to the floor and the fireplace turning itself off and on, seemingly of its own accord. Julia's room is now Suite 100, where a portrait of her still hangs and guests have reported cabinet doors slamming, moving objects and other ghostly phenomenon.
The Cache
The cache is accessible from the sidewalk that runs alongside La Posada. From this vantage point, you can see the old mansion (to your SW) rising above the other buildings in the complex and the window (on the left) of Julia's second floor room. The cache is not on private property so there is no need to look on or over the walls here.
The Series
Most of the caches are located in downtown Santa Fe and are easily accessible on foot at night should you be bold enough to do so. Please post photos if you encounter any otherworldly entities while searching!
Other caches in the series are:
- GC2KEY4 Santa Fe Ghost Hunt #1: La Llorona
- GC2N92H Santa Fe Ghost Hunt #3: The Old Hospital
- GC2NWWG Santa Fe Ghost Hunt #4: Grant Corner Inn
- GC2PNEV Santa Fe Ghost Hunt #5: State Pen Spirits