The Legend of ‘Devil Dave’ And El Paso’s Most Haunted Hotel

El Paso has no shortage of ghost stories, but few have crawled so deep into the city’s collective imagination as the legend of Devil Dave and the De Soto Hotel. What began as whispers about strange noises and flickering lights in one of the city’s oldest buildings has evolved into a full-blown urban legend, one laced with occult rituals, unexplained activity, and a mysterious man who some say made a deal with the devil right under our feet.

The Hotel With Too Many Stories

The De Soto Hotel has stood downtown since 1905, a relic of El Paso’s early boom years. Over its century of life, it’s been a boarding house, a crash pad, and, for decades, a quiet background character in the city’s nightlife. But in more recent years, it’s gained a new reputation as the most haunted building in El Paso.

Paranormal groups from all over Texas have visited the De Soto, documenting their findings through late-night investigations, EVP sessions, and countless photos of glowing orbs. But among all the creaks and whispers, one name keeps resurfacing: Devil Dave.

The Man Behind the Legend

According to local lore, Devil Dave was a property manager who lived at the De Soto sometime in the 1990s. Residents described him as reclusive, intense, and unpredictable. When he wasn’t pacing the hallways late at night, he was said to be conducting bizarre rituals in the basement.

Stories claim that he smeared the walls of his room with blood and symbols, burned candles in strange patterns, and often shouted at things no one else could see. Some tenants swore they heard him talking to “something” in the basement. Then, one night, the rituals stopped, and so did Dave.

No official record confirms exactly what happened to him, but most versions of the story end the same way: with Devil Dave’s death inside the hotel. Since then, guests, squatters, and paranormal teams have reported shadowy figures, violent knocks, and the sound of something heavy dragging across the basement floor when no one is there.

Fire, Fame, and the Return of the Devil

The De Soto’s reputation only grew when national paranormal investigators like The Paranormal Files visited the property, capturing unsettling activity on camera and linking it directly to Devil Dave. Weeks later, in early 2022, the De Soto caught fire. Though officially ruled accidental, the timing only deepened the mystery for those who already believed the hotel’s walls were cursed.

After the fire, access to the De Soto was restricted, but that didn’t stop ghost tours from circling the block or curious thrill-seekers from peering into the broken windows. Those who claim to have stood outside the burned shell at night say they can still hear faint music drifting from within, a low hum, like a ritual chant buried under decades of dust.

Fact, Folklore, or Something in Between?

There’s no police report, obituary, or public record tying a man named Dave to a death in the De Soto during the 1990s. The details that exist come from eyewitness accounts, ghost hunters, and word-of-mouth passed through the paranormal community. Still, something about the legend persists. It’s one of those stories that won’t let go, one that feels too detailed, too eerie, to simply be made up.

Maybe Devil Dave was real. Maybe he was a man who lost himself in the dark corners of downtown, or maybe he’s just a story born from the strange echoes of an old hotel that’s seen too much. But if you ever find yourself walking near the De Soto after midnight, look up at the top floor. Some say you can still see a light flicker in room seven, where the devil’s favorite tenant might still be keeping watch.

Whether it’s fact, folklore, or something in between, the legend of Devil Dave continues to haunt El Paso, proof that in this city, even the past refuses to stay buried.