THE BÉLMEZ FACES [PARANORMAL]
Mysterious face-like images that appeared within an Andalusian house are surrounded by legends of the paranormal.
The Bélmez Faces or the Faces of Bélmez (Spanish: caras de Bélmez, [ˈbel.meθ]) is an alleged paranormal phenomenon in a private house in Spain. Reports of appearances in Bélmez began on 23 August 1971, when María Gómez Cámara claimed that a human face formed spontaneously on her concrete kitchen floor. María's husband, Juan Pereira and their son, Miguel, destroyed the image with a pickaxe and new concrete was laid down. However, the Pereira story goes, a new face formed on the floor. The mayor of Bélmez was informed and forbade the destruction of the new face. Instead, the floor concrete was cut out and taken for study.
María's home was advertised to tourists as La Casa de las Caras (The House of the Faces). By Easter 1972 hundreds of people were flocking to the house to see the faces. For the next 30 years the Pereira family claimed that faces continued to appear, both male and female and of different shapes, sizes and expressions.
Various faces have supposedly appeared and disappeared at irregular intervals since 1971 and have been frequently photographed by the local newspapers and curious visitors. Many Bélmez residents believe that the faces were not made by human hand. Some paranormal investigators claim that it is a “thoughtographic” phenomenon, purportedly subconsciously produced by the deceased former owner of the house, Maria Cámara.
Skeptical researchers have performed extensive tests on the faces and believe that they are fabrications possibly created as part of a hoax, but haven't been able to 100% prove it.
The Bélmez Faces or the Faces of Bélmez (Spanish: caras de Bélmez, [ˈbel.meθ]) is an alleged paranormal phenomenon in a private house in Spain. Reports of appearances in Bélmez began on 23 August 1971, when María Gómez Cámara claimed that a human face formed spontaneously on her concrete kitchen floor. María's husband, Juan Pereira and their son, Miguel, destroyed the image with a pickaxe and new concrete was laid down. However, the Pereira story goes, a new face formed on the floor. The mayor of Bélmez was informed and forbade the destruction of the new face. Instead, the floor concrete was cut out and taken for study.
María's home was advertised to tourists as La Casa de las Caras (The House of the Faces). By Easter 1972 hundreds of people were flocking to the house to see the faces. For the next 30 years the Pereira family claimed that faces continued to appear, both male and female and of different shapes, sizes and expressions.
You can visit the house, check it out on Atlas Obscura
Various faces have supposedly appeared and disappeared at irregular intervals since 1971 and have been frequently photographed by the local newspapers and curious visitors. Many Bélmez residents believe that the faces were not made by human hand. Some paranormal investigators claim that it is a “thoughtographic” phenomenon, purportedly subconsciously produced by the deceased former owner of the house, Maria Cámara.
Skeptical researchers have performed extensive tests on the faces and believe that they are fabrications possibly created as part of a hoax, but haven't been able to 100% prove it.
