Haunted Madrid

Today we invite you to discover the ghost stories some important buildings in Madrid bear. There many witnesses through the centuries who claim to have had paranormal encounters within their walls… Banging doors, voices recorded from other dimension and unsolved crimes are just some of the ingredients of the haunted Madrid!

Our trip starts besides one of the most crowded squares in Madrid: the Puerta del Sol. Just around the corner, in the Alcala Street, stands an impressive yet discreet building, work of King Charles III favorite architect Francisco de Sabatini. Today belongs to the Ministry of Finance but in its basement has prison cells and a mass grave for all those who died in them during the Republic and the Spanish Civil war. Many guards have strange feelings while doing the rounds even one of them heard a voice saying loud and clear “Why are you following me?.” They often hear the banging of doors and windows followed with a brusque drop of the temperature… Recently a medium got in touch with the ghost of a man who was murdered in 1847 who told her that many of them wandered the building during the night… few people want to work the night shift since then…

Photo: Heparina1985. Adapted under license (CC BY-SA 4.0)

This building, worthy of one of E.A. Poe’s stories, is located beside the Gran Via. The ghost of Elena haunts the building since her dead in the 16th century. The legend says she was a beautiful woman lover of the king’s son the future Phillip II. When she got pregnant, her lover had her killed to avoid the scandal… her body was never found and her father who was the main suspect hung himself from a beam in the house. Ever since her ghost appears every now and then in the roof at night seeking for justice for her crime.

Photo: Luis García (Zaqarbal). Adapted under license (CC BY-SA 3.0)

One of the best-known ghost stories in Spain is the one in the Linares Palace. Today is the headquarters of La casa America and is located in the Cibeles Square in the most touristic Madrid. They are many stories about the unusual things that go on in the palace and that have thoroughly investigated leaving only one possible explanation: the place is haunted. Our favorite could be an incredible soap opera and says that the Marquis of Linares married without knowing his own stepsister, when they found out they killed their own daughter fruit of this shameful and incestuous relationship. The ghost of little Raimunda still wanders the place.

Photo: Nemo. Adapted under license (CC BY-SA 4.0)

One of the most visited museums in Spain the Reina Sofia also has a black legend. It was a Hospital from 1603 to 1974 before it was transform into museum. During this time, religious orders look after sick people and the insane. There many testimonies of encounters with the unknown. Groups of spectral nuns have been seen in the central yard, the elevators start working even with the power off, voices and moans have been recorded in many of the halls and three bodies were found hidden behind a brick wall… Don’t forget these stories the next time you visit it!

Photo: Zarateman. Adapted under license (CC BY-SA 4.0)