A series of mysterious murders of newborn women caused suspicion to fall on the inhabitants of the Cortijo Jurado house. It is now believed to be haunted as it was the site of gruesome Satanic rituals.
In the Campanillas district on the outskirts of Malaga there is an elderly 19th century mansion that once belonged to the wealthy Heradia family from La Rioja. They built a house with 365 windows, one for each day.
In later years, the mansion was called Casa Encantada (House of the Enchanted), but it is more sinister than fairy-tale and is mainly known as a satanic murder house for those interested in the paranormal.
Missing women who were victims of satanic rituals
This 19th-century English Gothic bourgeois residence was the site of suspected kidnappings of local girls. Over a period of over 30 years, from 1890 to 1920, at least 5 newborn girls went missing in the area, and some of them turned up dead near the river near the house, covered with strange wounds. People thought that the wounds must have been the result of a satanic ritual and torture that the girls went through in the last moments of their lives.
Rumors spread that those staying at the mansion, along with other wealthy families in the area, had something to do with the missing and dead girls, and that tunnels had been built under the house and chambers underneath it were used for torture. Legend has it that the missing women were used in Satanic rituals.
Whether or not it is true that the family living in the mansion had something to do with it, it is true that many newborn girls went missing during this period and were never able to prove anything. Although local lore claims that the opulent family used their wealth to escape justice.
Ghosts of Cortijo Jurado
Subsequently, many claim to have heard strange noises coming from Cortijo Jurado and seen ghostly figures in the darkened windows of the first floors and in the courtyard. They were believed to be the spirits of missing girls who were still calling for aid and trying to prove and show what really happened to them.
According to legend, the basement contains torture tools used against girls allegedly buried under the house.
They did find hidden tunnels, although they are now blocked. The testimony we have on this subject comes from Manuel Martin, who in 1942 dared to enter the tunnels found by the estate's workers in front of his friends.
He came back as pale as a sheet and told about the torture machines and bones he had seen. According to both his neighbors and those who have conducted research on the subject, the man has kept his word for years. Who really knows where they lead?
Prison during the Spanish Civil War
The house also served as a hospital and prison during the Civil War, where torture and executions were commonplace in the building, further staining the walls with death and blood.
Urban explorers who discovered hidden tunnels under the house also discovered what appeared to be a torture chamber. One wonders, perhaps it even preceded the war.
Renovation Plans
Today the house is abandoned and mostly in ruins, although not completely forgotten. In 2000, they tried to make a film using a haunted mansion as a location and backdrop, but due to freak accidents and battery and electrical equipment failures that hampered production, they had to give up and the film was never completed.
In 2004, plans were approved to renovate the property into a 4-star hotel, but these plans were thwarted in 2015 with the onset of the economic crisis.
Today, along the nearby highway, you can spot a haunted mansion, a gloomy stain on the glowing days of the Costa del Sol.
Reference:
Cortijo Jurado, a haunted house in Malaga full of secrets and disappearances
Cortijo Jurado – Wikipedia
The 5 most haunted places in Spain
The 10 most famed haunted houses in Spain – idealista
Ten paranormal places you can actually visit in Spain
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