A string of mysterious murders of young women made the suspicion land on the people residing in the House of Cortijo Jurado. It is now believed to be haunted as it was a place for gruesome satanic rituals.
In the Campanillas neighborhood in the outskirts of Malaga there is an old mansion from the 19th century that used to belong to the wealthy Heradia family from La Rioja. They built the house with 365 windows, one for each day.
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In later years the mansion has been called Casa Encantada (House of the Enchanted), but it is more sinister than fairy tale-like and mostly known as a satanic murder house for those interested in the paranormal.
The Missing Women Victims of Satanic Rituals
This bourgeois 19th century English Gothic styled mansion was the location of suspected kidnappings of the local girls. In the span of over 30 years from 1890 to 1920 at least 5 young girls went missing in the area, and some of them showed up dead near a river close to the house covered in strange wounds. People thought that the wounds had to be from the satanic ritual and torture the girls went through in their final moments.
Rumours spread that those in the mansion together with the other rich families in the area had something to do with the disappeared and dead girls and that there were tunnels built under the house and chambers underneath it used for torture. Legend has it that the missing women were used for satanic rituals.
Whether it is true or not that the family in the mansion had anything to do with it, it is actually true that many young girls disappeared in this period, they could never prove anything. Although local lore claims that the rich family used their wealth to escape justice.
The Ghosts of Cortijo Jurado
After this, many claim to have heard strange noises coming from the Cortijo Jurado and seeing ghostly figures in the darkened windows of the first floors and in the courtyard. It was believed to be the ghosts of the missing girls and that they are still calling for help and trying to prove and show what really happened to them.
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In the basement there is according to the legends the torture instruments used on the girls who are allegedly buried under the house.
They have actually found the hidden tunnels, although they are now blocked off. The testimony we have of this comes from Manuel Martin who did a dare in front of his friends to go into the tunnels in 1942 the workers of the property had found.
He came back out white as a sheet and told about the torture machines and bones he had seen. The man kept to his words for years according to both his neighbors as well as those that have done research on it. Who really knows where they lead?
Prison During the Spanish Civil War
The house was also used as a hospital as well as a prison during the civil war were torture and executions were also a part of the every day occurrences in the building, further staining the walls with death and blood.
The urban explorers that uncovered the hidden tunnels underneath the house then uncovered what looked like a torture room as well. Perhaps it even predated the war one may wonder.
Plans of Renovations
The house is today abandoned and mostly in ruins, although not completely forgotten. In 2000 they tried to make a movie with the haunted mansion as a location and a backdrop, but because of weird accidents and failure of the battery and electric equipment that bothered the production, they had to give up and the movie was never completed.
In 2004 they approved plans to renovate the place into a 4 star hotel, but the plans fell through in 2015 as the economic crisis hit.
Today you can spot the haunted mansion on the nearby motorway, a dark spot on Costa del Sol’s bright days.
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References:
Cortijo Jurado, haunted house in Malaga with mystery and disappearances
Cortijo Jurado – Wikipedia
The 5 most Haunted Places in Spain
The 10 most famous haunted houses in Spain — idealista
Ten paranormal places that you can actually visit in Spain
