October 24, 2009

CONFIRMED HAUNTED PROPERTY IN NEW MEXICO GHOST TOWN FOR SALE ON eBay®

CUCHILLO, NM - An historic adobe home in a remote New Mexico ghost town is being listed for sale on the Internet auction site eBay®. Josh Bond, owner of several of the ghost town properties, including the Old Cuchillo Bar & Hotel, decided to offer the home for sale after paranormal investigation experts recently confirmed the building's haunted status. The 100-year-old adobe home, which Bond has owned for three years, had two previous owners who also owned the bar and hotel property. Bond said it didn’t take long for him to realize that he was not alone in his efforts to renovate his properties. "They seem to be benevolent spirits, and I often find them offering help in little ways with my preservation of the bar, general store, post office and hotel," Bond said while studying old documents related to the property.

The haunted home will be sold with several of its original furnishings Bond believes are related to the haunting, including an antique wood burning stove, an antique wedding dress and a large religious shrine discovered tucked away in a back closet. “I have only added a few more religious items found around the house to the shrine, but it stands largely as I found it when I purchased the home out of respect for whoever built it,” Bond said. Bond hopes to use proceeds from the haunted home's sale to finance ongoing renovations and to install a roof on the old bar, store and post office buildings. Time is of the essence, he said. “These historic adobe structures aren't going to make it through another New Mexico monsoon season,” Bond said. “Adobe brick plus rain equals mud so protecting these walls from the elements is my first priority in the restoration."

The house’s paranormal status was confirmed in May 2009 after bond contacted the West Coast Ghost and Paranormal Society (WCGAPS ), who recently traveled to Cuchillo to investigate the ghost town properties. Shortly after their ghost town visit, Society personnel confirmed Bond’s suspicions that the property was in fact haunted.

The results were no surprise to Bond. "I have no doubt that I am not alone on these properties, yet, I stay a bit cynical in part to keep my sanity. I have to live here all the time and don't want to spook myself too bad," he said. The investigation yielded evidence of voices, shaking door handles, and footsteps when no person was present.

Society staffers reviewed the data — and, after eliminating possibilities of reasonable explanations, and the multiple experiences and evidence captured — WCGAPS concluded, for the second time in many years of investigating, that the properties investigated in Cuchillo, NM are in fact haunted.

Additional information on the West Coast Ghost and Paranormal Society (WCGAPS) can be found at www.wcgaps.com.

A native New Mexican, Josh Bond, 36, is an artist who works in metal, paint and digital fine art. Josh Bond discovered Cuchillo in 1995 after moving to Truth or Consequences, and was immediately inspired by the spotted desert hills of the small valley and ghost town. Bond purchased his first property in 2001 — an old adobe he restored and sold, and in 2006, Bond was then able to purchase the Old Cuchillo Bar and Store .The historic wild west property has housed the old saloon, general store, mercantile, post office, barn, stables, and hotel since established as a stagecoach stop in the 1850s. Additional Information can be found at www.CuchilloBar.com.

Several buildings are severely damaged due to an incredibly destructive electrical fire in 2000. The Bar remained open until 2003 with much of the roof missing over the old general store and post office leaving the adobe walls exposed to the elements and in a deteriorating state. Bond has finished the restoration of the hotel, which he has remodeled into a beautiful vacation rental, and is currently in the process of the restoration and preservation of the remaining historic adobe buildings. With plans to open a microbrewery, and vacation rental on the historical property, Bond also intends to house a small museum with local historical artifacts and documents he received when he purchased the historical properties. Bond's love for adobe preservation comes from his parents who were passive solar adobe builders in Albuquerque in the 1970's. His artworks can be found in galleries and collections worldwide and through his website www.CynicArts.com. Bond has recently been featured for his artworks on HGTV and in New Mexico Magazine.

The Auction began on October 1, 2009, and will End on Halloween day, October 31, 2009.

Auction Link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180414565873&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Contact: Josh Bond, Owner
The Old Cuchillo Bar and Hotel
HC 30 Box 7
Cuchillo, NM 87901
505.990.5057

www.CuchilloBar.com
info@CuchilloBar.com