Sometimes realistic events can shape and change legends. A good example of this is the story of Rebecca Potter who, according to legend, haunts the Lodge at Cloudcroft. As one researches the various ghost stories about Rebecca, you stumble across sudden changes in the myth as the story is told through the decades. The earliest variants say that Rebecca was buried in the dirt floor of the Red Dog Saloon. However the current story suggests that she is buried “somewhere” on the property of the Lodge, perhaps even on the golf course.
The change in her burial location is due to an tragic event that occurred in 1987 when a woman went missing in Alamogordo. When her body was discovered in 2004 the possibility of Rebecca’s body being buried somewhere other than the saloon was readily accepted. The myth changes.
For a ghost hunter, finding these changes are vital because they distort or obscure the facts. Without the facts you are not going to prove anything.
