If your idea of an exciting weekend is hunting for hints of paranormal life in ghost towns, Dawson, New Mexico may be the perfect place for you. In fact, Dawson Cemetery might just be the most haunted park in New Mexico. Found 17 miles east of Cimarron on US 64 and A38, the town has been deserted since 1950, making for some pretty spooky ghost stories. But the reason why the town was deserted in 1950 almost proves that Dawson Cemetery is haunted.

The Dawson coal mine opened in 1901 and helped the area grow into a flourishing town with a hospital, swimming pool, and movie theater. However, on October 22, 1913, tragedy struck.

Wikimedia Commons/Legends of America Archives (Legends of America)

There was a horrendous explosion in the Dawson coal mine that killed more than 250 miners and rescuers. This tragedy is what makes Dawson Cemetery so spooky.

Albert Mock via Flickr

But Dawson, New Mexico, hadn’t yet escaped their bad luck. Ten years later on February 8, 1923, the mine suffered another explosion which killed 123 men. In less than 10 years, almost 400 people in a town of just 9,000 died in these explosions.

Douglas via Flickr

Most of the graves in Dawson Cemetery are marked with iron crosses, but other tombstones and statues can be found throughout. Among these crosses and tombstones, visitors have reported spooky activity in the cemetery.

Albert Mock via Flickr

There have been reports of lights bobbing around the cemetery, like a ghost is walking with a lantern, and sightings of men wearing mining helmets walking though the park. There have even been reports of moans heard by those brave enough to stay after dark.

Albert Mock via Flickr

Located deep in the hills of New Mexico, Dawson Cemetery has all the makings of an incredibly spooky place. Isolated, and home to a terrible tragedy, it seems as if those unfortunate souls who lost their lives in the explosion have decided to stick around Dawson to haunt the place.

Google Maps Imagery Landsat/Copernicus

Have you been to Dawson Cemetery? Do you think it’s haunted?

Wikimedia Commons/Legends of America Archives (Legends of America)

Albert Mock via Flickr

Douglas via Flickr

Google Maps Imagery Landsat/Copernicus

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Address: Dawson, NM 87740, USA