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Black Masses, the Devil and Witches at Mercat de Santa Caterina

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At the old marketplace in Barcelona Mercat de Santa Caterina there are stories about the devil that made an appearance after witches used to congregate on this place for black masses. 

Barcelona, a city steeped in history and rich in culture, has its fair share of haunted tales. Among the many haunted locations, Santa Caterina Haunted Market stands out as one of the most intriguing. 

Read more: Check out all of our ghost stories from Spain

The city’s turbulent past, marked by wars, plagues, and religious conflicts, has left an indelible imprint on its architecture and folklore. Barcelona’s ancient buildings and narrow streets seem to hold the secrets of a bygone era, and whispers of the past still echo through its cobblestone alleyways. From the Gothic Quarter to the Montjuïc Castle, stories of ghostly encounters and unexplained phenomena abound. This is also the case with the Santa Caterina Haunted Market that truly captures the imagination, drawing in thrill-seekers and history enthusiasts alike.

Mercat de Santa Caterina: The old traditional marked in Barcelona was once thought to be the place were witches met to hold black masses and where the devil himself made an appearance. //Source:Enric/Wikimedia

Santa Caterina Market, located in the heart of Barcelona, has a history that dates back over eight centuries. Let’s explore the significance of this market and how it became entwined with the supernatural.

The History and Significance of Mercat de Santa Caterina

This old market of Mercat de Santa Caterina dates back to 1845, but its history is even longer. It was built on top of the Convent of Santa Caterina from 1243. The Spanish government confiscated all of the church property in 1836, and the church itself was demolished only a year after. 

Mercat de Santa Caterina was the first market in Barcelona with a roof over its head. Before it got the new colorful roof it is known for today, it was a rattling one, that made violent sounds, scared children and it happened that the tile or ceramic flew off during the worst storms. People started to talk about that it was something else than the wind that made the sounds and rattling, and in these stories, even the devil himself made an appearance.

The Roof: The Santa Caterina Market is clearly visible now with its colored roof. //Source: Fred Romero/Wikimedia

Local folklore and beliefs surrounding the haunted market

The Santa Caterina Haunted Market has long been shrouded in local folklore and beliefs. Barcelona’s residents have passed down tales of supernatural occurrences and strange happenings for generations, creating a rich tapestry of ghost stories and legends. The market’s proximity to the ancient Convent of Santa Caterina only adds to its mystique, as many believe that the spirits of the nuns who once resided there still roam the halls.

Among the many haunting legends and ghost stories associated with the Santa Caterina Haunted Market, one tale stands out as particularly spine-chilling. According to local lore, the market was once the site of a black mass for witches, with the devil himself making an appearance according to numerous witnesses. 

Local lore claimed that whenever the Devil passed through Barcelona, he would make a visit to this place at midnight. It is said that during these dark ceremonies, the witches would invoke supernatural forces and perform rituals to harness their power.

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References:

El Mercat de Santa Caterina, una tormenta multicolor – Architecture Walks and Tours in Barcelona

Haunted and Mysterious Places in Barcelona | 19 Local Legends

¿Qué santo visitaba el convento que se levantó donde hoy está el mercado de Santa Caterina?

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Kolkata’s New Market and the Ghosts of the Murdered Women

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The ghosts of two women allegedly murdered at the New Market in Kolkata is said to be haunting the area. As does the former police commissioner and the one that built the market.  

Since its inception in the late 19th century, the historic marketplace New Market in Kolkata has been full of life and activity, attracting locals and tourists alike with its eclectic array of shops, stalls, and vendors with almost 3000 different shops. 

Even after several huge fires the market has bounced back and offers everything from From traditional textiles and exquisite jewelry, local cheese only found in the market to delectable street food and aromatic spices. 

Read more: Check out all of the ghost stories from India

The local lore of this place is that you can find everything at the New Market, perhaps even a ghost or two if we are to believe the stories.

New Market: This market is celebrated for its wide range of products, catering to virtually every need and preference. From clothing and accessories to electronics, household items, spices, and fresh produce, New Market offers a plethora of shopping options. //Source: Rajarshi MITRA/Wikimedia

The History of New Market

The New Market was first known as Sir Stuart Hogg Market and comes from the English colonists. By the 1850s, the British had a strong holding over large areas in the city then called Calcutta. 

Because the colonists didn’t want to mingle with the native Indians at the local Bazaars they decided to build one for themselves. In 1874, the market opened to the English residents and held a big colonial sway well into the 1900s. And it is from this time that the ghost stories emerged.

The Ghosts of the Murdered Women

According to local lore, New Market is haunted by more than one ghost. The most prominent reports about the haunting at the market is about women that were murdered close to the market.

How many women that haunts the market is uncertain. Most people talk about two separate ghosts although sources vary. Although one can be sure that throughout the years there have most likely been murdered more than three women there.

The women are also said to be Anglo-Indian and are often connected with the string of murders in 1868 that had at least five victims.

Read Also: The Chanting Monks Haunting La Boquería Market

Their restless spirits are said to wander the corridors of the marketplace, forever trapped between the realms of the living and the dead. It is said that they appear sometimes in a narrow lane next to the clock tower by the market.

People at the market claim they have heard the voices of the women, crying out for help. When they went to help them though, there was no one there. 

New Market: The ghost of the two murdered women have been said to appear right by the clock tower. // Source: Sudipta Mallick/Wikimedia

The Ghost of Hogg

The murdered women is not the only one said to haunt the New Market though. The man that the market was once named after, Commissioner S.S Hogg is said to have appeared among the stalls and stores, refusing to leave the market he helped build.

He was both the Police Commissioner of Calcutta were he established the Detective Departed as well as a chairman for the Calcutta Municipal Corporation. 

Through his time working as a policeman, he was involved with many murders that happened throughout the city. Perhaps also with the alleged killing of the women in New Market. Perhaps the ghosts haunting the market are connected to the string of murders from 1868, targeting white women in the streets not far from the market and close to the police station. 

Especially the murder of the Anglo-Indian sex worker Rose Brown that was found on Amherst Street north of the market changed the way the police worked as the first case where they used photographic evidence. Another five women were killed that year, and it looks like they never found the killer. 

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References:

https://www.kolkataonwheels.com/story-details/202

Stuart Saunders Hogg – Wikipedia 

10 haunted places in Kolkata you MUST visit to see what a horror movie really looks like

New Market, Kolkata – Wikipedia 

Searching ghosts in haunted houses 

The Amherst Street Murder and Calcutta’s Real-Life Sherlock Holmes 

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The Chanting Monks Haunting La Boquería Market

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Every year it is said that a procession of ghost monks are haunting La Boquería market in Barcelona. They are still mad about how the monks that lived in the monastery that were there behaved, and the story is that it ended bloody. 

The thought of a haunted place is enough to make many people shiver. Some people love nothing more than to explore the creepy corners of spooky locations, while others run the other way. But what happens when a church is haunted? In Spain, there is a former monastery that has been the subject of many spine-chilling stories. The haunted church is known for the ghost that is said to be lingering there. Are these stories true or just a legend?

Read more: Check out all of our ghost stories from Spain

Right by the bustling La Rambla in Barcelona there is a famous food market called La Boquería or The Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria. Fresh vegetables, traditional food, al within the enclosed marked that has become a staple of Barcelona landmarks now. But there used to be a time were it was a place of worship, and ended with a visit from the devil himself.

La Boquería Marked: Today the place is a bustling marked for food and no one really pays any attention to the haunted legends about this place. But it is said that every year a procession of ghost monks wanders and chants after the devil himself made an appearance in the monastery that used to be there.

The first mention of the La Boquería is from 1217 when a few tables were put up by the old city gate to sell meat. Until the 1800s the market wasn’t officially recognized and not enclosed as it is today. It was simply growing and spreading until the city decided to make a roof over the stalls and recognize it as a proper marked. 

La Boquería market was built on top of an old monastery built by the Carmelites Descalços in 1586. There was a time in Barcelona filled with riots towards the monesteries and churches and it is from this place the ghost story takes place. 

The Broken Traditions in the Monastery

The haunting incident happened in 1835 and according to the stories the monks had become too relaxed in their ways of worship. Their whole tradition was built on prayer and celebrating their patrons and weren’t even praying on the date of their patron saint Our Lady of Carmen. 

Read more: Check out all of our stories from Haunted Monasteries and Churches from all around the world.

There was only one monk who cared about their lacking ways and spoke up about it to the higher ups. But the convent prior didn’t care about the young monks’ warnings and the monks relaxed ways continued until the warnings came back to haunt them. 

According to legend the place became haunted when a group of dead friars suddenly appeared to the brothers of the convents, singing to them, perhaps cursing them, perhaps warning them about their oncoming demise?

The Chanting Skeleton Monks

One night the monks in the convent woke up by the chanting and went to the church where the sound came from. They found a choir of skeletal monks singing a sinister psalm, one more sinister than the other to the monks of the monastery. The skeleton monks chanting to them were all dead brothers of the order that used to live in the convent.

The living monks waited in terrified silence until the singing was over before they lit up the candles and led the ghosts back to their tombs in the convent cemetery. The tombs of the skeleton monks were already open and didn’t close before the chanting skeleton monks returned from their nightly choir session.

The Murder of the Monks

Why did the ghost monks appear to them? What did they want, chanting sinister psalms to their living brothers? There are several stories about what happened, and they all ended in fire and blood.  

One version of the legend is that the monks returned to where the choir had been singing and found the young monk that had complained about the lack of prayer dead. Why he died and by what means was never found out. There is also a version that tells that he was the only survivor of his brothers. Because what happened next was a bloodbath.

The Chanting Monks: Only one monk is said to have spoken up about not honoring their traditions and responsibilities as monks. The monks were all murdered in a riot after he warned them in the place were the La Boquería market today is.

Because, ten days after the apparition of the ghostly friars chanting their ghost songs, the monastery was attacked and burnt to the ground in the riots and the monks that lived there were all killed. It was because of riots that happened against religious buildings at the time and the day was remembered as Burning of the Convent. 

There is a really complex and long history of why the convents were attacked. Barcelona was in a state of unrest, and a riot were culminating under the lid, only waiting for a chance to blow up.

The riots started after an especially bad bullfight in El Torrin which was a bullring in Barcelona not too far from La Boquería market. The angry people watching the bullfight turned into a mob and started rioting, dragging decapitated heads of the bulls around the city and set fire to churches. And the convent were La Boquería is now standing was dragged into the mess.  

The Chanting Annual Ghosts at La Boquería

After the destruction of the convent the city of Barcelona decided to expand on the La Boquería market to fill the empty void the convent left. The blood bath was soon forgotten, and people returned to discuss meat and vegetable prices across the stalls, not vague talk about ghost monks and the devil appearing… at least for most of the year. 

According to legend the monks come back every year to haunt the La Boquería marked on the place were the monastery was. On the day the monastery was burned, July 25th, you can still hear the ghostly voices of the monks singing through the whole market. 

There are also those that say that the singing on La Boquería market happens on July the 15th on Our Lady of Carmen’s Eve. 

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References:

The Gothic Arch of Sant Adrià: Gateway to Barcelona

History of the Boqueria | Market of the Ramblas of Barcelona

La Boqueria – Wikipedia

13 Barcelona Haunted Houses & Places that will creep you out

Haunted and Mysterious Places in Barcelona | 19 Local Legends

Halloween: Spain’s most haunted places – The Local

Visiting Spain’s Most Haunted Locations | Right Casa Estates