The White Child of Las Hurdes and other Haunted Stories from the Road

Mysterious ghostly children in the middle of the road, red eyes chasing cars and other ghosts, the roads in Las Hurdes have it all. From a place in Spain that are particularly known for its dark legends and stories, there is especially one stretch of road that people say to avoid.

Spain is renowned for its beautiful landscapes and ancient culture, but there are also some roads that are said to be haunted. These haunted roads can be incredibly dangerous at night, as many people have reported seeing mysterious hitchhikers and other strange phenomena.

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

Driving down these haunted roads can be a frightening experience, as the stories of ghosts and spirits on the highway have been passed down from generation to generation. This article will explore some of the most notorious haunted roads in Spain, as well as the dangers they pose at night.

The Dark Legends of Las Hurdes

Because they do not know that there is a God/neither a world beyond this valley
– Las Batuecas del Duque de Alba, Lope de Vega

Mysterious ghostly children in the middle of the road, red eyes chasing cars and other ghosts, the roads in Las Hurdes have it all. From a place in Spain that are particularly known for its dark legends and stories, there is especially one stretch of road that people say to avoid. — **Aceitunilla**: Classic architecture of Las Hurdes in Aceitunilla town where many of the ghost legends are from. //Source: Herrero Uceda/Wikimedia

Las Hurdes is a well known historical region in Spain and so are their ghost stories and dark legends of this remote place. Las Hurdes bordered with Sierra de Gata to the west, Sierra de Francia to the north and Trasierra/Tierras de Granadilla to the south. It is a relatively high mountain region with low population density landlocked in the Extremadura region on the border to Portugal.

Las Hurdes is a place filled with mystery and has dark legends surrounding it. It’s steeped in the macabre and dark stories that started circulating about the place as a backward and horrible place when a census about the place was written in the 16th century for the first time.

According to this census, it used to be a remote, poor and isolated place with a horrible stench. The people living there lacked basic hygiene and suffered from birth defects from inbreeding and were barely human far from God in this godforsaken place in the middle of nowhere.

Because of the remoteness there was little schooling and little church presence and it was said that old superstition prevailed in the area.

Even after all these years, the image of this remote area of Spain has stuck and Las Hurdes, and the entire region really has gotten a more haunted and dark reputation than the rest of sunny Spain.

The Haunted Road in Las Hurdes

There is a stretch of road in this landlocked region between the Hurdana farmhouse of Aceitunilla to Nuñomoral at EX-204. These old farmhouses are iconic for the region with their black roof and gray stone.

According to the local stories about the place there are tales about the apparitions of women in period clothes with monstrous babies that are crying in the middle of the road. This baby, or babies, described as an unfinished fetus or an in between thing of a child and a fetus, is the most well known haunting of this place.

Read more: Check out all of our ghost stories from Haunted Roads all around the world.

There are also those who claim to have seen the ghost of children coming from the nearby cemeteries close to the road.

The White Child of Las Hurdes

They call this phenomenon the white child of las Hurdes. It is always seen at night, when it is weeping and crying, but no one has figured out what the white child of las hurdes wants, and no one really knows what it is.

The first time this phenomena was recorded was in 1870 when ten witnesses saw the thing on the roads. Since then, there have been at least twelve similar stories over the years.

The child has been described as wearing what looks like an altar boy outfit with a white cloth reaching down to its feet, and there have even been stories where the ghosts have knocked on the nearby farmhouses doors.

The Dangerous Roads of Las Hurdes

The White Child of Las Hurdes is apparently not the only thing haunting the roads around these parts. There are also those believing to have been chased by some red eye animal.

So if you find yourself on these roads, beware, this is a haunted place and has been so for years.