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Editor鈥檚 note: The fourth Sunday of each month, Journal Arts Editor Adrian Gomez tells the stories behind some of the hidden gems you can see across the state in 鈥淕imme Five.鈥�

Generations of humans have called New Mexico home.

As the city grows into its future, the history of the city isn鈥檛 forgotten.

With Halloween right around the corner, Cody Polston is extremely busy.

The author and 鈥渟cary story aficionado鈥� has heard his share of scary tales.

He鈥檚 working on a new book about sa国际传媒官网网页入口 set for a release in the next year, but he decided to pull out some stories to share with readers for a special treat.

Polston, is one of the founders of the Southwest Ghost Hunter鈥檚 Association, which investigates some cases, as well as puts on a ghost tour in Old Town.

鈥淚 get a lot of requests from people to look into ghost stories,鈥� he says. 鈥淎 lot of them, I haven鈥檛 personally investigated. The history is so crazy and a lot of stuff people haven鈥檛 heard of it.鈥�

One fact most people don鈥檛 know is that sa国际传媒官网网页入口 had three red-light districts 鈥� and each one of them has ghosts.

1. It all begins in Old Town

Polston says the first was located in Old Town, right across from Old Town Alleyway.

During the 1880s, it was the first red-light district in sa国际传媒官网网页入口.

鈥淭here were brothels and wine rooms,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a ghost, they call her Scarlet.鈥�

Polston says the first story of Scarlet surfaced in 1999.

鈥淭his guy was sure he saw a ghost, and we agreed to meet in Old Town,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e went to the alley across the street from La Placita and began his story.鈥�

The man said he went to smoke in the alley while waiting for his girlfriend.

鈥淗is lighter is dead and sees a woman at the opposite end of the alley who is smoking, so he approaches here,鈥� Polston says. 鈥淕etting within 25 feet, his girlfriend shouts and when he turns around the woman is gone.鈥�

The woman had red hair, and it seemed like it hadn鈥檛 been washed in a while. She was wearing a dark blue or purple dress.

鈥淎t first, I blew off the story,鈥� Polston says. 鈥淭hen this waitress told me that she had seen the woman and was going to give her food. She boxed up a bunch of sopaipillas to give to the woman and when she approached, the woman disappeared.鈥�

Polston says in the 1880s, the area was home to Rumalda Griego鈥檚 Wine Room 鈥� and it was rambunctious.

鈥淚f you read some of the newspapers and reports from back then, the area was always being shut down,鈥� Polston says. 鈥淢ore and more stories surface from back then, and they are interesting.鈥�

Polston says if you have your back to San Felipe de Neri Church and point in any direction, there are plenty of stories 鈥� many are untold.

2. Red-light district in Downtown

Polston says the next story takes place between Copper and Central avenues between Third and Fourth streets.

On Sept. 12, 1893, a woman named Alcaria Baca was one of the women working in the district and was found dead in a nightgown.

鈥淗er skull had been bashed and her throat cut,鈥� Polston says. 鈥淭hey initially suspected her boyfriend and he died seven months later. We have this Jack the Ripper-like murder in sa国际传媒官网网页入口. Nobody knows about it because it鈥檚 buried in the papers.鈥�

Polston says people have seen a woman wearing pink in the area today.

鈥淭hey see her near Dumpsters and in the dark corners,鈥� Polston says. 鈥淲hen women are walking in the area, they can hear a woman鈥檚 voice saying 鈥榙on鈥檛 trust him鈥� and things like that. I鈥檝e had five different accounts of people seeing a woman in the alley, and she moves off into the shadows and disappears.鈥�

Ghosts of the past: sa国际传媒官网网页入口 is full of haunting tales and spectral sites

3. Back to Old Town

Polston says in 1915, prostitution was illegal and most of the women left town.

Those who stayed went back to Old Town, located in the area of Charlevoix Street and Mountain Road.

Reading through the sa国际传媒官网网页入口, Polston says he came across a woman named Minnie, who would constantly get into incidents.

鈥淏ack then, if you danced with a woman, you were obligated to buy her a drink,鈥� Polston says. 鈥淎 man didn鈥檛 buy Minnie one, and she knifed him.鈥�

Polston says when the ghost tour was first started, people would see this short woman standing in the road crying.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like the last story that when she is approached, she moves away or completely disappears,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 have a friend in Old Town that says every place he opens in Old Town is haunted. He鈥檚 seen this Hispanic woman walk into his store, and then he tried to help her and she just disappeared. He described her as short, with her hair put up in a bun.鈥�

4. Sawmill area time

Polston recently did a show with 96.3 KKOB with the Painted Lady Bed & Brew owner Jesse Herron. The segment airs from 3-6 p.m. Oct. 31.

The story of the Painted Lady is one that is shrouded in mystery.

Believed to have been originally constructed in 1881, the property has quite the colorful past. Many knife fights and shootings are just some of the echoes of its sordid past.

Herron says New Mexico鈥檚 Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett are purported to have once been patrons of the property.

Polston says the building first started appearing on maps in 1900. It was called the Swastika Saloon.

It was operated by Cesario 鈥淪ario鈥� Gonzales. According to a relative, Sario immigrated to the New Mexico Territory from Spain at the age of 14 (fleeing accusations of witchcraft). Sario opened the Swastika Saloon, a 鈥減lace of bad repute,鈥� as early as 1904 (records show that he gained title to the property in 1899).

The original meaning of the swastika symbol is one of life and prosperity. Its origin goes back thousands of years.

The Swastika Saloon billed itself as a dance hall with a 鈥渨ine room in connection.鈥� Wine room was code for a brothel.

With the American Lumber Company sawmill just across the street, and an early 20th century ratio of five men to every woman, the brothel thrived.

鈥淭he one female ghost that is there, Jesse says it felt like someone crawled over him,鈥� Polston says. 鈥淲e did get a couple of EVP (electronic voice phenomena) and they are ghost voices.鈥�

5. La Placita in Old Town

Polston was doing research on La Placita Dining Rooms, which closed during the pandemic.

He found an sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Tribune article from 1977 about the area being haunted.

鈥淭he place is haunted by a teenage girl,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what the article also confirmed.鈥�

But there鈥檚 another story.

Polston says Victoriana Armijo was the daughter of Don Ambrosio Armijo and there are two stories surrounding her.

One is that she died of the plague. The other is that she died at birth.

鈥淚 can find the grave for everyone in the family, but not her,鈥� Polston says. 鈥淭his leads me to believe that she died of the plague and had to be cremated.鈥�

Polston says it lines up with people on the ghost tour seeing a little girl.

鈥淣ext to the patio market, when it鈥檚 locked up at night, people hear this little girl鈥檚 voice singing 鈥楽e帽ora Santa Ana,鈥� 鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey hear tapping noises on the gate. People who are smoking in the area get pebbles thrown at them.鈥�

Polston says for the longest time, the ghost tour kept how the ghost looked under wraps.

鈥淪he鈥檚 dressed in a communion dress and has sunwheels on it.鈥�