Learn about the history of the Wigwam Museum in Downtown El Paso while partaking in a paranormal investigation
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The folks at the Paso Del Norte Paranormal Society, or Ghosts 915 take pride in telling the history of El Paso "with a twist."
"We do history and ghost tours," said Alberto Telles, who is the lead investigator at Ghosts 915, "we promote the history of El Paso, but we say with a twist because sometimes when we're doing tours, the paranormal kind of sneak up on us like they're saying 'hello I'm here, don't forget about me!'"
The Wigwam Museum, located at 110 E San Antonio Ave, is the headquarters of the Paranormal Society. Visitors can browse around the many artifacts collected through the years from the building that has been around since the 1800s. In fact, the Wigwam was the very first saloon with electricity in El Paso.
"Back in the 1800s, it was a gambling hall, brothel, and saloon owned by John Wesley Hardin, one of the most notorious pistoleros back then," Telles told ABC-7. "This building is haunted. There have been things that have happened to us, all of our members of our crew, something has happened to them," he continued.
Telles did not stray from sharing some of his own experiences with the paranormal:
"One time, I was cleaning back there (pointing) towards the back, and Peter, our vice president, was up here working on something. And then I hear boots walking across the floor. And when you walk across the floor, it's a wooden floor, so I look, and I don't see anybody. And I look back, and Peters still sitting there, and I ask him, 'you've been sitting there the whole time?' and he said, 'yeah, why?' and I said because I just heard someone walking in the back and he chuckled. And then I heard the boots come back the other way, and I was like...ok, cool."
After learning about some of the ghosts that haunt the Wigwam, including Lilly- whom they think may have worked in the brothel- the ghost enthusiasts invited ABC-7 to go down to the basement with the most paranormal activity.
Telles talked about the various instruments the ghost hunters use during an investigation, such as their K2s, Dowsing Rods, Ovilus III, Rem Pods and more. Then the climb down the steep stairs into the basement began.
The basement is not for the light-hearted, as it is extremely dark and seemingly ominous. The ghost hunters and their equipment shared more experiences they've had with the paranormal as they guided us around. At many points, their equipment would go off, possibly indicating a ghostly presence in the vicinity. The experience was overall spooky, as one may expect.
Ghosts 915 is entirely volunteer-driven. They conduct investigations often, as El Paso is one of the most haunted places in Texas. If you are interested in investigating the paranormal yourself, you can buy tickets from Ghosts 915 here. For more information on the organization or the museum, here's a link to their website.
