Henry Trost's 1916 Greco-Roman school on the hill — its 1985 yearbook captured a blurry unidentified figure in a class photo, and local folklore holds that a student who died in 1922 still appears at the sealed balcony.
800 E Schuster Ave, El Paso, TX 79902
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Active K-12 public school campus; exterior and grounds viewable from public street. Interior is not open to the public.
Access
Limited Access
Hilltop campus with steps and sloped approaches; exterior photography from street level only
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1916 · National Historic Landmark (designated 1980) · Designed by architect Henry C. Trost · WWII overflow morgue use (basement) · Sealed balcony area tied to 1922 student death
El Paso High School was built in 1916 to a design by Henry C. Trost, the architect responsible for dozens of significant buildings across West Texas and the Southwest. The two-story Greco-Roman structure, with marble floors, hardwood interiors, and a prominent hillside position above the city, quickly acquired the nickname 'The Lady on the Hill.' The school was designated a National Historic Landmark on November 17, 1980, and counts F. Murray Abraham and Beto O'Rourke among its alumni.
During World War II, the school's extensive basement was requisitioned as an overflow morgue when El Paso's receiving capacity was overwhelmed by bodies shipped back from the war front, compounding an existing strain from Spanish Flu casualties. Exact duration of morgue use has not been formally documented in sources reviewed, but multiple local accounts identify the basement tunnels as the location. Sealed classrooms on upper floors have been documented by journalism instructor Angelo Plecluda and others — rooms apparently closed off and preserved in mid-20th-century condition, their contents undisturbed.
The school's primary balcony stairwell was sealed off following a student death in 1922. The area remains walled shut, and accounts from students who have reportedly accessed it over the decades describe condensation or mist and unexplained dripping from the ceiling. The building continues as an active public school serving El Paso ISD.
Sources
The most persistent legend at El Paso High School centers on a student who died by suicide in 1922, reportedly falling from one of the school's interior balconies after slitting her wrists. The hallway and stairwell leading to that balcony were sealed not long afterward and remain inaccessible. Students and staff who have been inside the sealed section over the decades have described condensation, mist, and slime-like substances on the ceiling that appear and quickly evaporate. Witnesses report seeing a female figure occasionally at the sealed balcony.
The 1985 yearbook incident is the most widely documented specific event. In that year's class photo, a blurry young woman in a white dress appears among the teachers' row. School staff confirmed at the time that no one present at the photo session matched her description, and some accounts indicate she did not appear in the original negative but emerged in the developed image. Her identity has never been established.
Journalism instructor Angelo Plecluda, in an account documented by local press, described being alone in the building late at night when he saw a transparent young woman wearing a period prom dress from the 1940s or 1950s near an exit. She appeared to float slightly above the floor before fading. In the 1980s, a basketball coach and his players reported two heavy gymnasium access doors slamming open on their own, followed by a bench flying across the room.
The school's basement, associated with its WWII morgue use, produces reports of knocking, unexplained sounds of crying, and shadow entities along the tunnels. Sounds of spectral pep rallies and games have been reported in the main gym when the building is empty.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
The Greco-Roman facade of El Paso High School is visible from E Schuster Ave. The hilltop silhouette — which gave the school its nickname 'The Lady on the Hill' — and the sealed balcony area associated with the 1922 legend can be photographed from the street. This is an active public school campus; do not enter the building.
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