El Paso High School-800 E. Schuster Ave, El Paso Texas, 79902

By Aaron Perez

Posted 3/5/2025-Updated 3/6/2025
The Lady in the Hill

Image Copyright: EL Paso ISD

    The oldest high school in the city, and in the county, El Paso High School was built by the Trost & Trost foundation and founded in 1916. The building features a Greco-Roman architecture, unique in the city, and sits on the foot of the Franklin mountains and overlooks downtown El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. Dubbed “The Lady of the Hill”, El Paso High School has seen countless students walk through its halls for over a century. It is also the home of the continuous student military corps in the state, which is still in operation to this very day. Being an old school can also bring in some paranormal mysteries to it, especially if the building is rumored to have several undead spirits roaming its halls. 

    Its most famous specter is that of a cheerleader who killed herself by jumping off the now closed fourth floor balcony and plunging to the auditorium below. While some say she slit her wrists, others mention that she cut her throat before the fatal jump. That section of the school has been closed off for decades, needing special permission by the administration to access it, but it is mostly used for the theater lighting. Going in there is already a creepy experience, since it is a dark and cold area that overlooks the entire auditorium. The ghost herself is said to appear on the fourth floor, by the balcony and on the west wing classrooms in the area, where the girl’s restroom is located. She is even said to roam to other parts of the school and has been spotted outside of the premises in late hours of the night. This specter is rumored to be the one shown in the 1985 yearbook photo which is on display in the school.


The specter in this photo is rumored to be the spirit of the cheerleader?

Copyright: The Tatler, The El Paso High School news publisher


    Another famous ghost is that of a football player that haunts Jones Stadium which can be seen in early moments in the morning or whenever the school is empty. This spirit is often seen running in the field, as if he was still playing a game that never ended. The Junior Recruit Officer Training Course building is haunted by the spirit of Major Moore, the instructor who tragically died of a heart attack in his office and is said to roam at night. In the old Gym, which is still in use, is said to have a poltergeist that was observed moving a bench out of its place.    

Another photo of the ghost girl

Image Copyright: KLAQ


    Other specters include shadow people, disembodied voices, and at least one incident of a phantom band playing in the auditorium when no one was around for the football team. The school is also famous for its secret tunnels and classrooms in its basement, some which have been converted to the boiler room, but the former is said to lead to Ciudad Juarez. One incident involving these tunnels and classrooms happened decades ago when a rare summer snowstorm hit the city and the district ordered the schools to close early. As the students and faculty were stuck indoors, they decided to explore the school to see what they could find. What they found was a couple of sealed off classrooms in the basement, with antique desks, books, and even a Baby Ruth candy wrapper being discovered. Nowadays this part of the school, which is located in the South wing basement, is used as a storage and some parts are also used as a boiler room. The original sealed off classrooms remain intact, and the basement has been used for Halloween tours in the month of October.

Sources

    “Ghost Girl Isn't The Only One To Haunt The Halls Of El Paso High.” 93.1 KISS FM, 19 October 2021, https://kisselpaso.com/ghost-girl-isnt-the-only-one-to-haunt-the-halls-of-el-paso-high/. Accessed 24 February 2025.

    Hudnall, Ken, and Connie Wang. Spirits of the Border: The History and Mystery of El Paso Del Norte. Omega Press, 2003.

    “Ten Most Haunted Places in El Paso.” US Ghost Adventures, https://usghostadventures.com/haunted-cities/top-10-most-haunted-places/ten-most-haunted-places-in-el-paso/. Accessed 10 April 2024.


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