‘Tis the season for ghost stories on Route 66, particularly with Halloween coming up.

I’ve heard most of them. But I stumbled upon one of which I was unaware in the Alamogordo (N.M.) Daily News in a story about a paranormal research group called the Southwest Paranormal Information Research and Investigation Team, or SPIRIT.

Apparently the team investigated reports of a spook at the Economy Inn in the Route 66 town of Grants, N.M.:

McCrary said the hotel is rumored to have a haunted third floor.

“Room 354 in particular is supposed to be haunted by the spirit of a murdered maid, and her screams can be heard at midnight on certain nights,” he said. “Also, the lounge has been frequented by shadow people in the wee hours of the morning when the bar is closed.”

The team set up their equipment and proceeded with the investigation, wrapping up about 4 a.m. and catching a few hours of sleep before heading back.

“The hotel was kind enough to let us sleep in at no extra charge so we could be fully rested for our trip back to Alamogordo,” he said. “This was by far our largest investigation to date.”

McCrary was asked what, if anything, the team found.

“That is a good question,” he said. “While there were some personal experiences felt my members of the team, we only count proven, collected data. We did indeed get data at one of the locations and can certify that it is haunted. That is the Double Eagle Restaurant in Old Mesilla.

“The Economy Inn may be haunted but we just didn’t get any data when we were there. It could be that the spirits were more afraid of us than we were supposed to be of them.”