A few miles south of Albuquerque, off of Highway I-25, is the small town of Los Lunas, New Mexico. West of the Highway 314 and Highway 6 crossing, is the lovely mansion called Luna Mansion. The food is wonderful, the atmosphere is comfortable, and the ghosts are usually friendly!

The mansion was built in 1880 by the Santa Fe Railroad in exchange for a right-of-way through the Otero-Luna property. Owner Don Antonio Jose died before the home was completed, and his son Tranqulino took possession for a time, before the property passed through the hands of various family members.

In the early 1900s, the property was in the hands of Don Eduardo Otero and his wife, Josefita. A very respected and much loved lady who loved tending to her gardens and painting. Her paintings decorate the walls of the mansion to this day.

Josefita was responsible for many of the improvements to the property including the solarium, the ironwork, and the front portico.

The Luna Mansion was made into a restaurant in the 1970s, and after this, the apparition of Josefita began to appear to employees. She is described as looking very solid, and appears in clothing from the time of her life.

A woman who once worked as a waitress at Luna Mansion tells of a night when she went into the wine cellar to get a bottle of wine for a table she was serving. The cellar door slammed shut behind her, and a wine bottle was thrown at her, although she was alone.

Josefita is known to be a friendly spirit, and it doesn’t seem likely that she would throw a wine bottle at someone. She has been seen in the Northeast Room wearing a white dress, and playing with the fringe of an Art Deco lamp.

The apparition of Josefita has also been sited in the barroom that was once her bedroom. Employees and visitors often experience extreme cold in this area.

The current owner/manager of Luna Mansion reports that Josefita often seems to be watching him from the second floor window.

Josefita, or possibly another entity, enjoys unscrewing light bulbs in the main dining room. She also likes to sit in an old rocking chair on the second floor landing.

In December of 1987, a young man complained that something kept pulling his ponytail. At the moment he began to speak of it, all the light bulbs in the chandeliers in the room began to explode!

When an antique dining table called the Mandefield table, is brought into the house, from storage, for special occasions, crazy things always begin to happen: glasses shatter, doors fly open, and water faucets turn on by themselves.

The culprit might be the spirit of a servant who once worked in the home. His name was Cruz, and he is often seen walking about the mansion.

References:

http://www.sgha.net/nm/loslunas/luna.html

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/NM-LunaMansion.html

http://albuquerquedailyphoto.com/?p=172


http://www.ghostinmysuitcase.com/places/luna/index.htm

http://www.ghosteyes.com/luna-mansion-hauntings