The City of Las Cruces Parks & Recreation Department will host The Haunted School House Tours at Frank O’ Brien Papen Community Center (FOBPC), 304 W. Bell Ave., during the month of October. Tour guides will escort brave souls on a 45-minute, lantern-lit adventure through the shadowed halls of the former school. Search for lost spirits of early students, persecuted teachers, and other wandering apparitions who made the facility their home.
Legends, haunted tales, and history are explored during this intriguing excursion through a century of mysterious encounters. Unexplained phenomena have been witnessed by many including actual sightings of full apparitions, which seem to vanish impossibly into thin air; disembodied voices heard in the basement; objects falling unaccountably on their own!
Formerly known as Mesilla Park Elementary School, FOBPC was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. The building was built in 1907 and was originally part of historic Mesilla. It served as a public school for its entire history before being converted to a community center.
Tour dates:
October 18
October 25
October 26
Tour times:
Tour 1: 9 p.m. to 9:45 p.m.
Tour 2: 10 p.m. to 10:45 p.m.
Tour 3: 11 p.m. to 11:45 p.m.
Space is limited. Children must be accompanied by an adult who must be present with them at all times.
The registration fee is $5 per person and is now being conducted online at www.las-cruces.org/play under the section Activities & Programs, or in person at the following locations during regular business hours through Oct. 17, 2019:
- Parks & Recreation Department Administration Office, 1501 E. Hadley Ave., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday.
- Meerscheidt Recreation Center, 1600 E. Hadley Ave., 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
- Las Cruces Regional Aquatic Center, 1401 E. Hadley Ave., 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.
- Frank O’Brien Papen Community Center, 304 W. Bell Ave., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Come with an open mind and bring your digital camera with hopes to capture the unexplained phenomena in photos.
No telephone registrations are accepted. For information, call Recreation Programs at 575/541-2454.