Offerings for Room 18 Our creepiness rating 💀💀💀💀💀
The Santa Fe New Mexican reported in 2023 that offerings to "the infamous ghost T.J. Wright," including cigarettes, dollar bills, playing cards, chewing tobacco, bullets and letters, collect on a mantle in the room where he is believed to have died after being shot in the back. Room No. 18 remains locked and is not rented to guests; offerings are left outside and later brought in. The Albuquerque Journal's 2024 reopening story said ghost hunters were among those welcoming the news. Source: Santa Fe New Mexican, 2023.
Facts below are drawn from the linked sources.
Real history
The NPS says Henri Lambert opened a saloon here in 1872 and that by 1880 it had grown into the two-story adobe St. James Hotel. The NPS also calls Lambert Abraham Lincoln's personal chef, a claim this check found no documents for (National Park Service). Wyatt Earp, Jesse James and Buffalo Bill Cody stayed there, and it is on the National Register (Wikipedia). The Albuquerque Journal reported in December 2024 that the hotel reopened under new owners after closing in mid-September (Albuquerque Journal, 2024).
Ghost stories
These are reported legends, not verified events. The creepiness score (1–5) is Spook Atlas's own editorial rating, not a measurement.
Then and now
Public access
Access unverified No official hotel page could be fetched. Last checked: Oct 31, 2026.
Explore more
- More places in Cimarron and New Mexico
- More haunted & abandoned hotels
- Nearby: Dawson (Dawson, NM), Elizabethtown (Elizabethtown, NM), Ludlow (Ludlow, CO), La Fonda on the Plaza (Santa Fe, NM)
⚠️ Please read: This information may be outdated and conditions change. Verify access with the owner or operator before you go. Spook Atlas does not encourage trespassing. Entering private, closed or condemned property can be illegal and dangerous. Report a correction.
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