Barcelona might be bright and sunny most of the time, but like all big cities, it has its dark side too. From vampires and hauntings to ghosts, killers, and curses, ShBarcelona wants to share some of Barcelona’s best horror stories.
Related article: Scariest Places in Barcelona
Table of Contents
The Vampire of Barcelona
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The Vampire of Barcelona, also known as the Vampire of El Raval was a Barcelona woman named Enriqueta Martí. She earned her sinister nickname in the late 1800s and would go down in history as one of the most infamous serial killers in Spain.
The story begins when she began working as a servant for a rich family. Jealous of the wealth that surrounded her every day, she started working as a prostitute to make more money. It wasn’t long before she began to notice that the richest of her client’s preferred the young, so she set up her own business kidnapping and selling children to rich customers.
She murdered the children that she didn’t sell and used the body parts and blood to make creams and medicines that she used in her work as a witch-doctor. Her rich customers paid large sums of money for her remedies and she continued her “business” for more than twenty years.
Finally, in 1912, police discovered the remains of her victims in her home on what is today Carrer de Joaquin Costa in the Raval district. Martí never went to trial for her crimes and was killed by inmates in prison about a year after her arrest.
Related article: Myths and Legends about Barcelona
Photo by JaulaDeArdilla via Visualhunt
Carrer dels Mirallers
Nearing the end of the 19th century, the mysterious poet Jacint Verdaguer lived at number 7, Carrer dels Mirallers in the Born neighborhood of Barcelona.
He performed several exorcisms during his time living in the house and according to the legends, the demonic spirits the poet summoned are still trapped there today where they continue to haunt the house and street.
Carrer de Montcada
You might not realize it walking down this beautiful street that cuts through Barcelona’s Born district, but it was once the site of several kidnappings and ghost stories.
In Medieval times, the street became haunted after Guillem I de Montcada, the Count of Montcada, brutally killed the Archbishop of Tarragona. The count went into exile but according to the legends, had been condemned to forever wander Carrer de Montcada for his horrific act.
Mercat de Sant Antoni
Photo by loli jackson via Visualhunt
The site upon which the Mercat de Sant Antoni stands today was once the gallows of Barcelona. Due to all the deaths that occurred there, the place was said to be haunted. With reporting of strange sounds and screams during the night, no one would build upon the empty lot there after 1855.
Eventually, the government decided to take over the land and build a market. Construction began on the Mercat de Sant Antoni in 1872 and the building was completed in 1882 although it is currently undergoing restoration work.
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*Main photo by Jorge Franganillo via Visualhunt
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