By Arlan Ponder

The Village of Cloudcroft received national attention in April when The Lodge was featured on the Travel Channel's Haunted Hotels. With tourism numbers dropping in southern New Mexico over the last few years, this should be a small shot in the arm for Cloudcroft.

The 15-minute segment featured the story of "Rebecca The Ghost" and was the first portion of the hour-long program. Footage of several local businesses including the Cloudcroft Hotel, the Western Bar, the Buckhorn Cabins, Two Bears and the Texas Pit were combined with employee interviews and re-created scenes.

This should bring in new guests that have never thought about visiting Cloudcroft, Jason Baldwin, Cloudcroft chamber director said. Receiving positive nationwide attention is something many business owners will welcome.

Lisa Thomassie, general manager at The Lodge, said this form of exposure is good advertising for the Village since the Travel Channel will air this segment several times over the course of the year.

Locals portrayed as characters in the re-creation were: Baldwin (Rebecca's love interest); Rebecca Sheriff (Rebecca); Tice Sheriff (Rebecca's lumberjack boyfriend); Tim Sullivan (Lodge bartender); Heidi Lopez (Lodge waitress); George Mitchell, Eddie Taylor and Marty Ware (Lodge guests); and Natalie Streander (little Rebecca).

Other locals shown were Beth Reese, Marty Mills, Rachel Ward, Russ Wright, Terra Ponder, Lisa Ward and Thomassie.