Family Ghosts and the Haunting of La Posada
It had all been for Julia, right down to the lavish bedroom up on the second floor.
Episode Transcript
They say that blood runs thicker than water. That for better or for worse, family is the one guarantee we are all born into.
Okay, so that may be a bit of a controversial statement. Because on a personal level, there are many of us who know firsthand that family isn't a right or a guarantee. But on a much larger scale, it's true. Our ancestry really is the only thing that ties us to this world.
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Of course, as paranormal researchers, we are likely all too familiar with this concept. After all, when it comes right down to it, we are merely just historians and biographers attempting to peel back the layers of a life gone by. And what better way to do that than through the spirit's living genealogy?
Take, for instance, the ghost of La Posada--a Victorian woman who supposedly haunts a grand hotel, nestled in the heart of Santa Fe. To most guests staying at La Posada, this specter isn't much more than an eerie legend--a phantasmal tale that's more likely based in fiction than it is in cold-hard facts.
But for a select few who have stayed in this charming BnB over the years, the ghost of La Posada went by a few different names. Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, or even Great-Great-Grandmother, Julia Staab. And of course, to them, Julia's story was a bit different than what the ghostly lore made it out to be.
You see, in their perspective, as well as what it should be in ours, Julia Staab was a real person who lived a real life. Though it was tragic and haunting in its own right. She was and still is more than just a ghost that allegedly haunts some Victorian home-turned-hotel out in Santa Fe.
If I’m being honest, I think that fact is something that we often forget, as paranormal investigators and researchers. These hauntings that we are all too determined to investigate are so much more than a scientific anomaly to be measured and documented.
These spirits are people not unlike you and me. People who once had their own problems, ambitions, and needs. So throughout the course of this episode, I’m going to challenge you to put aside the intrigue that comes with any good ghost story and instead appreciate the intricate story of Julia Staab’s life.
Together we’ll come to know the woman who came before the ghost. We’ll learn about her problems, her ambitions, and her needs. Then through the eyes of her ancestors maybe we’ll come to understand the haunting that inevitably followed.
I'm Courtney Hayes and you're listening to Haunts. Stay tuned.
Hannah Nordhaus was just a teenager when she first heard the story of her great-great-grandmother. Of course, she knew the name Julia Staab. After all, it was she who brought Hannah's ancestral line to the United States from Germany in the 1860s. But it wasn't until that moment that Hannah discovered the mystery surrounding Julia's name.
You see, there is a beautiful Victorian mansion sitting on Palace Avenue in Santa Fe. Today, the mansion operates as a four-star resort and spa called La Posada. But back when it was first constructed in 1882, the residence acted as the private home to none other than the Staab family.
Now if you were to go to the hotel's website, which I'll have linked in the show notes, you'll find information on accommodations, dining, and spa services. Oh and if you click on the history tab, you'll be redirected to a page entitled "Ghost stories."
It's here where La Posada documents Julia Staab's story in short form. She is depicted as the hotel's resident ghost. One who allegedly haunts her old bedroom--now guest room 256. Those who have encountered her say that Julia's spirit is unsettling, if even, downright frightening. All thanks to the traumatic nature of her life and death.
Evidently, at least according to the ghost stories, Julia Staab went mad after the death of her infant daughter, Henrietta. They say that she locked herself away in her bedroom, refusing to eat or even sleep for about two weeks. Then by the time she emerged her raven black hair had turned a ghostly white.
Okay, that's a pretty wild claim to make. But hey, the loss of a child would be enough to send any mother to hell and back. And what's worse is that, in Julia's case, this tragedy may not have been a mere accident.
In fact, some variations of the tale take things a step further--claiming that Julia had been an unfaithful wife and that her husband, Abraham, felt he had no choice but to take matters into his own hands. So they say that it was he who killed baby Henrietta after chaining Julia to the radiator in her bedroom where she too eventually met her own demise.
I know, like I said, Julia's story is traumatic, to say the least. So really it only makes sense that the ghost of La Posada would be radiating with a grim sort of aura. Well, that is, if the story itself is true.
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Of course, when she first heard this legend as a teenager, the allegations made about her great-great-grandparents weighed heavy on Hannah's shoulders. This is likely what led her on a quest to find the truth about Julia Staab, her ghost, and the mysteries shrouded by that old mansion on Palace Avenue.
Throughout her adult life, Hannah has spent a great deal of her time investigating the life and death of Julia Staab. She read countless diary entries, sifted through newspaper archives, and traveled to Santa Fe then Germany. Hey, she even wrote a book entitled American Haunting, which was dedicated to finding out what really happened between her great-great-grandparents.
Of course, by now you guys are probably wondering what actually did happen between this set of star-crossed lovers. Did Abraham Staab really murder his infant daughter and by proxy his own wife? Could his and Julia's marriage been so tumultuous that he would have been willing to commit such a vicious act?
I'll admit, that does sound like the beginnings of a really good ghost story. But at the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if it was all just a bit of local gossip, with the truth hiding behind the Staab's so-called rocky marriage. So, not unlike Hannah herself, let's travel back to the 1860s where it all began.
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It was undoubtedly a small wedding set in the little village of Lügde, Germany. Of course, it had been here where both Julia and Abraham grew up and by the day of her wedding, Julia had spent her whole life in that little valley town.
Abraham, on the other hand, had seen much more of the world by that time. In fact, at the crisp young age of 15 he had left Germany together--traveling to the United States, Santa Fe to be exact, where he opened a rather successful dry goods store with his brother Zadoc.
Together, the Staab Brothers made a small fortune selling food, clothes, and really any sort of supplies one might need on the great frontier. Then, after he had made these riches, Abraham returned to Lügde for a short stint in 1865 when he married then-Julia Schuster on Christmas day.
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Like I said, it would have been a small wedding--a simple union between two ordinary Jewish-German Families. But by all accounts, there did seem to be at least some merriment in the air.
After all, Abraham and Julia were married at long last and now the bride had the opportunity to see what all this world had to offer. Even if that did mean leaving everything she ever knew and everyone she ever loved.
I can imagine that Julia felt a twinge of loneliness as she watched the coastline disappear from view. Germany had been home to her for her entire life. Her whole family was still living there, and she had no way to know when or if she would see them again.
Sure, she may have been with her new husband, en route to Santa Fe and the new life they were meant to embark on together. But that alone couldn't have been enough to ease the ache that came with leaving her old life behind.
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Not to mention, the journey to the American frontier was going to be a long and grueling one. In fact, before all was said and done, the Staabs would travel by passenger ship, then railroad, steamboat, and finally stagecoach before they ultimately made it to New Mexico.
There, Julia found that Santa Fe was a small dusty little town in the furthest reaches of the American territories. It was far from the likes of New York or even California, and it most certainly did not hold a resemblance to her beloved Lügde.
Surely, that fact likely made Julia feel that much more isolated. But it's worth mentioning that, while she may have been lonely, Julia Staab was never really alone.
In fact, by the time the mansion was built, Julia had carried a total of 7 children. With the 8th, little Henrietta, being born just a year after the Staab's moved into their new home. There was also a handful of friends--other ladies who had moved from Europe to the American frontier.
Then, of course, there was Julia's closest, albeit rather unlikely friendship with Jean-Baptiste Lamy--a French archbishop who had been commissioned to build a cathedral in downtown Santa Fe. Evidently, Julia and Lamy were quite literally thick as thieves. They would spend hours together speaking only in French and when weather permitted they could be found strolling through the gardens surrounding what is now La Posada.
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On more than one occasion, Hannah and her family joked that Lamy must have been the other man that the ghost stories talked about. Of course, these jokes were made in good fun and were always far from serious. After all, they were both very devout in their faith. And really what would a Catholic Archbishop and a proud Jewish Frau have in common outside of a purely platonic friendship?
Yes, it's highly unlikely that Julia and Lamy were anything beyond what they were: good friends and close confidants. But just for fun, Hannah did one of those genealogy test kits a few years back. And to her surprise, they did in fact discover a bit of French ancestry running through her veins.
So by now, I think it's pretty obvious that this ghost story has given Abraham Staab a bad reputation--one of a needlessly jealous husband and a cold-blooded murderous father. But full transparency here guys, this impression we've been given probably couldn't be further from the truth.
You see, in a historical context, Abraham Staab was by all accounts a stand-up individual. He was a man who doted on his children, and for what it's worth, it does sound like he was a generous friend and devoted husband.
He even helped to finance the very cathedral that Jean-Bapiste Lamy was building. Not because Julia asked him to but because he genuinely wanted to help. Now, I don't know about you, but that hardly seems like the act of a jealous husband if you ask me.
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Not to mention that the Staab children spoke very highly of their father. In fact, throughout her research on the topic, Hannah came across the diary of her Great-Grandmother, Bertha. And through the pages of that diary, Bertha painted a very different image of her father than what we've been led to believe.
According to Hannah's book, which I'll have linked down in the show notes, this diary documents the events of a trip to California that Bertha and Abraham had taken together.
She wrote about lavish hotels, decedent dining experiences, plays, shows, and of course, shopping; and through it all, it was Bertha who said her father was "so good" for making such an effort. So at least from where Bertha was standing, Abraham had not been the violent father that the ghost stories made him out to be.
Okay, but what about Julia? Did he love her the way that a husband should? Or did he see her as a trophy--a piece of property that only he could own?
That's certainly what the ghost stories made it sound like. If we were to believe this legend, then it would seem that the Staab's marriage was a loveless one and that Julia may have been compelled to find true love in the arms of another.
But if you want my honest opinion, I really don't think this story gives Julia or Abraham a whole lot of credit. Because again, if you were to peel back the layers of this whole kit and caboodle, you'd find that the Staabs were in every sense of the word in love.
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Sure, it's true that Julia was uprooted from her life in the first few weeks of her marriage. And it's likely that she felt lonely here and there. But we have to realize that this was a sign of the times.
It's not like they were the only young couple rushing to the American West in search of better opportunities. And regardless of the gossip and the rumors, that's exactly what the Staabs found in Santa Fe.
Oh and to Abraham's credit, he did his best to make his wife feel happy and at home there. In fact, that's exactly why he built a quintessential Victorian Mansion and admits a sea of adobe-style homes. It had all been for Julia, right down to the lavish bedroom up on the second floor.
Now, while we're on the topic let's address the elephant in the room. Because by now you guys are surely wondering what became of baby Henrietta. Please tell me that this part of the story isn't true, right?
Well, I hate to say it but the Staab's did have a daughter in 1883, and she did, in fact, pass away only a few weeks later. It was a devastating loss for both Julia and Abraham. And as such, they both mourned for Henrietta in the quiet solitude of their own home.
To make matters worse, Julia had been suffering from some ongoing health issues in the wake of this tragedy. So it is very possible that Julia became a bit of a recluse--shutting herself into her bedroom in an attempt to recover both physically and emotionally.
But this is not to say that her isolation had been imposed by her husband. Quite the opposite actually. In fact, Abraham even made arrangements to send Julia home to Germany where he afforded her the best medical treatment money could buy.
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In short, it seemed that Julia and Abraham Staab took their wedding vows very seriously. In love, they stood by each other's side for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, until death inevitably forced them to part.
Julia Staab was 52 years old when she passed away. It was a long life back then, and I think it goes without saying that Julia left quite the impression on Santa Fe's history.
Of course, the legend lives on, with many who still believe that Julia's death followed a slow descent into madness within the confines of her cold and isolated bed chamber. It's the ultimate ending to an equally cold and isolating tale.
On the other hand, you and I both know that this ending is fantastically untrue. I mean, it's quite obvious that the Staab family went to extreme lengths and distances to safeguard Julia's health and well-being. And thanks to Hannah Nordhaus, I think it's safe for us to assume that this family's history is far less scandalous than the ghost stories made it out to be.
Still, that doesn't exactly change the fact that La Posada is said to be haunted by the Ghost of Julia Staab. So to close out this complicated and winding tale, I think it's only right to revisit the haunting that it inspired.
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It wasn't until 1979 that rumors of a haunting at the hotel began to swirl around Santa Fe. It had been nearly a hundred years since Julia's passing, 50 since the hotel first opened its doors, and yet this was the first time that Julia's spirit had been encountered.
Evidently, on this particular occasion, a room attendant had been cleaning room 256 when they saw a translucent specter standing near the fireplace--a beautiful woman dressed in ornate clothing.
Now this description is a far cry from the frighteningly vengeful spirit that I spoke about at the top of the episode. But it was this first encounter that sparked the legend and the mystery sounding Julia's name.
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In the years since then, Julia's ghost has been seen on a handful of occasions. Once by a security guard who had been spooked during their nightly rounds; another time by the hotel's night auditor who saw her lounging in an armchair. She was just sitting there, every bit as tangible as she was the day she died.
So I guess we're left with the question: could this ghostly presence really be Julia? And if so why exactly was she still lingering here?
Well, maybe the legend is true after all. Perhaps hidden somewhere within the pages of a diary or in the lines of a newspaper archive, there's some evidence to indicate that Henrietta's death was more sinister than it seemed.
But then again, maybe it's just that she's hoping to clear her family's name.
Sources
https://www.laposadadesantafe.com/resort/history/
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8028152/julia-staab