EPCC Mission Valley Campus-Haunted Location Where One of the Worst Movies of all Time was Filmed

By AaronPerez

Published 3/26/2025

Updated 6/1/2025

Image Credit: Harold P. Warren

   EPCC Mission Valley is one of the newer facilities in the college district, which itself dates all the way back to 1969. Though completed in 1998, Mission Valley has served countless students throughout its years, especially those interested in law enforcement. Though the campus itself is new, the land it is sitting on has a rich history, even if the initial results say otherwise. To explain it even further, one must go back to 1966, when the film Manos: The Hands of Fate had its theatrical debut downtown El Paso. The film was both a ratings and a box office disaster, due to the poor quality, incoherent voice acting, plot, and the circumstances it was made. Originally made as a result of a bet that Screenwriter Stirling Silliphant gave to fertilizer tycoon Harold P. Warren, the film would be forgotten for decades, but thanks to the TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000, it found a cult following. Since then, the film has been featured in many documentaries and spoofs, even being followed up by two sequels. Most of the original set that was located west of the poles has been demolished and the land is now being developed for private use. As for the poles featured in some of the scenes of the movie, they still stand to this very day, just meters from the EPCC Mission Valley campus. 

Image Credit: Map Spirits

Haunting

    Known for the infamous and Best Worst movie Manos: The Hands of Fate, the six poles in this EPCC campus property are said to be haunted by various ghosts. Before the notorious movie was filmed there, a woman is said to have been killed in a freak accident and the dead of night. It was then used for the film and later abandoned in the desert, forgotten by time until the EPCC built the Mission Valley campus just meters of the pillars. The area is also said to be the site of various satanic rituals and other witchcraft due to its ominous look. Since this area is just meters from the campus, it would be hard nowadays to perform such rituals, due to the property having active security at all times. The other location where the movie was filmed is also located nearby but was torn down for commercial and residential purposes. Hopefully, when these projects are finished, I hope that no one meets Torgo when visiting this part of town, as he takes care of the area while the master is away.

Sources:

Barba, Joanna. “What is Six Poles in East El Paso and is it Haunted?” 95.5 KLAQ, 12 January 2022, https://klaq.com/is-the-six-poles-area-in-east-el-paso-haunted-im-totally-invested/. Accessed 16 April 2024.

“Historical Timeline.” Historical Timeline, epcc.edu, https://www.epcc.edu/About/history. Accessed 12 3 2025.

“History Map.” epcc.edu, https://www.epcc.edu/About/history-map. Accessed 12 3 2025.

Williamson, Samuel. “The Amazing History of the Worst Movie Ever Made.” Collider, 13 March 2023, https://collider.com/manos-the-hands-of-fate-movie-history/. Accessed 16 April 2024.

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