Ready to step out of your comfort zone? – Here’s an ultimate list of mysterious and haunted places in Spain.

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Dark Tourism in Spain

Mysterious and Haunted Places in Spain

While I should admit that my personal travel plans are mostly inspired by Spanish fairytale places, dreamy castles, paradise beaches, and natural wonders, some mysterious locations on my Spanish road trips have managed to leave a strong impression on me. One can’t always aim for romantic Spain and cute small towns; getting some uncomfortable goosebumps on the road can end up being a memorable moment as well. Plus, haunted places in Spain are often historical monuments with impressive architecture or intriguing legends behind them. However, let me warn you that in this post I won’t cover in detail Spanish former prisons, abandoned psychiatric hospitals, and cemeteries.

If you enjoy dark tourism, here’s the ultimate list of the most mysterious and haunted places in Spain. Also, at the end of the post, I’ll leave a few extra eerie locations across the Iberian Peninsula for you.

1. Belchite / Zaragoza

The Ruins of Belchite are rumored to be one of the most haunted places in Spain. Built in the mid-20th century, Belchite was once a prosperous small town in the Aragon region. However, the town was completely destroyed during the significant Battle of Belchite in the Spanish Civil War, which claimed the lives of over 5,000 people. After the war, Franco ordered the construction of a new town nearby, leaving the old Belchite as a ghost town. To this day, Belchite is surrounded by countless stories from visitors about strange war sounds, voices, temperature drops, and even the unexplainable feeling of “being watched.” Despite its eerie reputation, Belchite now serves as a memorial to its tragic past. Access is only allowed through guided tours, available both during the day and at night.

2. Cortijo de Fraile / Almeria

Dark Tourism fans can’t miss the ancient mines of Rodalquilar and Cortijo de Fraile. These two places are top eerie sites in the Almeria region. However, keep in mind that the road to both is unpaved and not very comfortable to drive on. Cortijo de Fraile was the crime scene of the famous Crimen de Níjar (1928). This tragic event has inspired several Spanish novels, including Bodas de Sangre by Federico Garcia Lorca and Puñal de Claveles by Carmen de Burgos. While today the place is completely abandoned in the middle of nowhere, this only adds to its eerie vibe.

3. Ochate / Burgos

A small abandoned village called Ochate is a Spanish haunted place surrounded by debates in the press. The legend of Ochate’s mystical events was originally described by a local, Prudencio Muguruza, in his 1982 article “Luces en la puerta secreta.” He claimed to have seen a light in one of the abandoned buildings and supported Ochate’s mystical reputation with local stories about three epidemics that claimed the lives of the villagers. Over the following years, numerous theories about the abandoned village gained traction. More and more people reported hearing the voices of a woman and a little girl saying “kanpora” in Basque (“get out” in English) while exploring the ruins. However, in 2017, Julio Corral and Antonio Arroyo published a book “Ochate, realidad leyenda del pueblo maldito”, stating that there was no concrete evidence supporting the epidemics or mystical stories. According to their investigations, the locals simply left the village because the nearby Royal Road (Camino Real) had slightly changed its course, leaving Ochate isolated. Nevertheless, mystical stories about paranormal activity in Ochate continue to circulate in Spain.

4. Complejo de la Misericordia / Valencia

While Valencia’s Complejo de la Misericordia is currently the headquarters of the local university UNED (Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia), it is another Spanish place surrounded by mystical rumors. The Complejo de la Misericordia was once an orphanage called Casa de los Pobres de Nuestra Señora de Misericordia. Rumor has it that severe punishments and strange deaths occurred here, including the story of a local boy with the surname Campos, who supposedly jumped out of a window. There are also stories from former cleaning staff who claim that no one wanted to work at Complejo de la Misericordia at night due to strange sounds and voices.

5. The Bride´s Jump Fall / Navajas

The Bride’s Jump Waterfall is a beautiful natural setting in the small town of Navajas, with a creepy legend behind it. You can read the full travel story here. According to the legend, many years ago there was a local tradition where brides had to jump over the Palancia River to prove their love and ensure a happy marriage. Normally, a girl would find a spot where the river narrows a bit and, in front of the villagers, jump to the opposite shore. Success was seen as a sign of a happy marriage and true love. There is a story of a young couple in love who were about to get married. Like other brides, the young lady tried to jump, but slipped and fell into the river. The groom tried to save her, but sadly, both of them drowned.

Today, some locals claim that on moonlit nights, they still hear voices, and the river becomes radiantly white, like a wedding dress. Despite the legend, the place has become a popular picnic destination for families and couples. What I find even more amusing is that it’s now a popular spot for wedding photoshoots.

6. Parador de Cardona / Catalonia

No list of haunted places in Spain would be complete without a dramatic ghost story. Parador de Cardona is currently a four-star hotel in the province of Catalonia, but centuries ago, it was a castle with a tragic legend behind it. Today, many guests claim to have experienced strange occurrences during their stay, especially those who spent the night in room 712. Some even say they have seen the ghost of a girl in a white dress. The Castle of Cardona was once owned by Viscount Raimon Folch, whose daughter, Adales, had fallen in love with a young Muslim boy named Abdala. The girl knew her parents would never approve of this union, so she planned to escape with her lover. However, her father had different plans for Adales and arranged her engagement to a nobleman. Once rumors of her love affair spread, the family of her fiancé canceled the wedding and stopped supporting the Viscount. Furious, Raimon Folch decided to teach his daughter a lesson and show everyone that no one should ever defy his orders, not even his own daughter. He locked Adales inside a tower, Torre Minona, and gave her only bread and water for weeks. Despite this, the girl never begged for forgiveness or admitted guilt. According to the legend, Adales died in that very tower, and her ghost is said to still wander around Parador de Cardona, especially near room 712, which once belonged to her.

7. Santuario de la Virgen de Balma / Castellon

Santuario de la Virgen de Balma is a small sanctuary carved into a rock and located near the village of Zorita del Maestrazgo in the Province of Castellon. This place is situated near Morella and it gave me some real goosebumps. Built between the 16th and 18th centuries, it is nestled in the rock in the middle of nowhere. In the Middle Ages, Santuario de la Virgen de Balma was a major destination for those “possessed by the Devil.” People would come to the sanctuary seeking Divine Healing and miraculous cures. While many of those seeking holy treatments had illnesses that modern medicine now clearly defines (such as epilepsy), back then, they were simply considered doomed. Although the site does not have an official ghost story, centuries after the exorcism tales, there are still some unsettling vibes in the air.

8. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia / Madrid

Bet you had no idea about the ghost stories surrounding one of Spain’s top landmarks, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. I certainly didn’t know about them despite my numerous trips to Madrid. Apparently, this museum has a long history of strange reports surrounding it. Before its restoration and transformation into a national landmark in 1992, the building was abandoned for quite some time.

In 1556, it was used as part of the local Hospital de Caridad, where orphans and mentally ill people could find refuge. Their bodies were often buried in the building’s underground. This history was largely forgotten until the museum’s renovations in 1992, when numerous human remains were discovered. Over the years, many mediums have claimed to communicate with the spirits of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, with some ghosts even being linked to real people, such as the spirit of a former worker named Livinio.

9. La Cornudilla / Valencia

La Cornudilla is an abandoned village located between the towns of Requena and Utiel (popular day trips from Valencia). Rumor has it that the village was abandoned due to strange voices and poltergeists terrorizing its inhabitants. Some believe these events were linked to an ancient Arab cemetery, upon which the village of Cornudilla was built.

More mysterious and haunted places in Spain

• Hospitals: Preventorio de Aguas de Busot (Alicante), Psiquiatrico de Miraflores (Sevilla), Hospital del Torax (Catalonia).
• Witchcraft places: Zagarramundi Caves (Navarra), Rupit (Catalonia), Soportujar (Andalusia), Anboto (Basque Country), Trasmoz (Zaragoza), Sort (Lleida).
• Buildings: Cortijo Jurado (Malaga), Torre Salvana (Barcelona), La Casa Duende (Zaragoza).
• Popular Cementeries: La Almudena (Madrid), El Cementerio Ingles (Malaga), Cementerio General / Ruta del Silencio (Valencia), La Carriona (Aviles), Cementerio del fin del mundo (Galicia).

Map of Dark Tourism Locations in Spain

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