The 6 Most Haunted Places in Mexico City

Haunted Places in Mexico City

Mexico City is at the heart of Mexico. It is a populous, bustling place where peace is rare, even for the dead. There are many buildings within the city limits that look the part of a haunted destination, but a select few stand out as the most haunted places in Mexico City.

6. Templo Mayor Ruins

Within the heart of Mexico City lies ruins from a lost civilization not to be forgotten with age. Crumbling rock and faded artwork surround a vast area that has stood the test of time. Here the Templo Mayor Ruins sit, an abandoned Aztec temple that was once the main place of worship for their capital city, Tenochtitlan.

The Templo Mayor was where the last Aztec Emperor, Cuauhtémoc, made the Aztec’s final stand against the invading Spanish. War ensued here for many days before this young emperor was caught, tortured and then executed.

This was also the place that around 4,000 people were killed being sacrificed to Aztec Gods. Ritual sacrifice was an Aztec way of life used to please their Gods. Victims, who were mostly prisoners would be taken to the top of this temple to have their still beating hearts cut and ripped from their chests by priests. Their limp, lifeless bodies would then be kicked to roll down the temple’s steep set of stairs.

To this day, cries and screams can be heard coming from the empty ruins. Many have also reported strange sensations in the area and the existence of shadow figures.

The Templo Mayor Ruins now operate as a museum and attraction for tourists to explore. You’ll find the museum at 8 Seminario St., Downtown, Cuauhtemoc, D.F.

5. House of Aunt Toña

One very well-known urban legend hangs heavy over Mexico City and is widely told. It takes place in the city’s parklands known as Chapultepec Forest. Here, hidden behind the protective height of a deep gully and overgrown vegetation sits a house that was infamously owned by a woman known as Aunt Toña.

Aunt Toña was an elderly lady of extreme wealth who lived her reclusive life in the forest and her large foreboding mansion. It is told that her solitude, which came after the death of her husband, caused her to slump into a depression. To alleviate her sadness and quell her loneliness Toña took in homeless street children. Inviting them into her mansion and taking care of them. This kindness was noticed and appreciated by the town’s people, leading to Toña becoming well known and liked for her charity towards others. Though most were appreciative towards Toña, the children who were welcomed into her great mansion were not. They were cruel to Toña, constantly playing pranks and teasing her.

This story has two variations to its end, both are as equally tragic as one another. The first tells of a mental break that Toña had, causing her to retaliate against the cruel children she had been helping. Aunt Toña supposedly murdered the children and disposed of their bodies in the creek concealed by the gully next to her home. Stricken with guilt, she then took her own life within one of the rooms of her great mansion. The second variation tells of rumored treasure hidden within the mansion, which some of the children tried to locate. This story ends with the children brutally beating Toña to death in an attempt to locate those riches.

Despite these different story adaptions, the area is still thought to be extremely haunted. Many claim to hear the voices and cries of children in the area, especially from the deep and empty gully that surrounds Aunt Toña’s house. Others also claim to see the apparition of a haggard old lady peering out of one of the windows of Toña’s once home.

Today, the house still stands, yet cannot be accessed by the public as it is a private property. The best view of it can be found at 19.404750, -99.221056 or 19.404222, -99.220667. If you visit on a calm quiet night, you may just hear the cries of Aunt Toña’s children.

4. La Posada Del Sol Hotel

In the Doctores District of Mexico City lies an abandoned hotel, which was once set to be an artistic and cultural center for the city. Today it rests as a decrepit shell of shattered dreams, crumbling and rotting behind a tall fence and heavy security. Local lure tells of a curse and ghost stories related to this particular hotel, La Posada Del Sol.

La Posada Del Sol was the most important piece of designer and architect Fernando Saldaña Gelván’s life. He wished to create one of the world’s most elaborate hotels and for the most part, succeeded. The glorious hotel in the heart of Mexico City was a true feat of ingenuity featuring gardens, terraces, a life size chessboard, ballroom and Turkish bath. Though the space was grand and luxurious it was only open to the public for 8 months and met a dark and extremely mysterious end.

Some rumors as to why the building closed allude to the escalating debts of Gelván, which he was unable to pay off. It is told that this lead him to hang himself in the court yard of the hotel, but not before cursing the place and murdering his own family. Many believe that his ghost continues to haunt the empty halls of the hotel, yet his may not be the only one.

Within the hotel’s basement is a macabre alter paying respect to a little girl. Surrounded by candy offerings left by visitors looking for safe passage to explore the abandoned grounds, this alter has dark origins. It is told that the body of a little girl was found within the basement of the hotel. Mystery surrounds this story as the identity and cause of death for the little girl was never discovered. Her spirit is also thought to roam the hotel.

To add to the hotel’s sinister backstory, many believe that the building was actually built to perform human sacrifice as part of Satanic rituals. Whatever the truth about the La Posada Del Sol may be, it continues to add an ominous and mysterious presence to its neighborhood. You’ll find the haunted Posada Del Sol at Av. Niños Heroes 139, Doctors, 06720 Mexico City, CDMX. It is surrounded by tall barb-wire fences and has an around the clock security presence, making entry next to impossible.

3. The Palacio De Lecumberri

Corruption, murder and torture have tainted one of the most recognizable government buildings in Mexico City. Today, the Palacio De Lecumberri holds the country’s National Archive but it earnt its reputation and nick name of ‘The Black Palace’ long before this, being one of the most feared prison institutions in Mexico.

Opening in 1900 and serving as a prison for the next 76 years, the Palacio De Lecumberri was once one of the harshest prisons in the Americas. It was a place where corruption was rampant, holding many political prisoners and innocent souls.

Many jailed within the Palacio De Lecumberri faced torture and the risk of being murdered on a daily basis. It is rumored that those who were unfortunate enough to meet the end of their lives within the prison’s walls may still linger inside the building. Ghost stories have surrounded the former prison for many years with countless reports of tortured cries and screams echoing through the empty building being reported.

One ghost story has become somewhat of a legend for the Palacio De Lecumberri. This ghost is believed to belong to a man named Don Jacinto, a former inmate. Don is rumored to appear at night, walking the halls near former cells, muttering “Again, Amelia didn’t come.” It is told that Amelia was the great love of Don’s life, yet she cheated on him and then framed him for a murder he did not commit. Another story describes Don as a cleaner of the prison who passed in the 1940’s, still awaiting his lost love.

The Palacio De Lecumberri today, continues to stand and houses some of Mexico’s most important documents as the National Archive. Workers sit in retrofit cellblocks, with former cells storing documents. The building is open to the public as a type of museum, free of entry. You’ll find the haunted Palacio De Lecumberri at 4a. Cda. San A. Tomatlan, Penitentiary, 15280 Mexico City, CDMX.

2. Palace of Inquisition

Facing Mexico City’s famous Santo Domingo Plaza is the Palace of Inquisition. One of the city’s most strikingly beautiful buildings. Though this building’s beauty is apparent from afar, entering or simply knowing the past this building played a part in is enough to make anyone’s skin crawl.

The Palace of Inquisition was built between 1732 and 1736. Once completed it operated as the New Spain Tribunal of the Holy Inquisition until 1820. This operation had the job of denouncing heretics, or anyone who stood for some sort of threat to the church, which also included those accused of witch craft and blasphemy. Anyone who was unlucky enough to enter the Palace of Inquisition during these years was tortured until a confession was gained, put to trial and then executed. Disturbingly, every single case that was put to trial here ended in an execution.

The building was once fitted to include a special secret prison and a torture dungeon. It was here that countless individuals spent their last days in agonizing pain. The primary method of torture was known as the ‘strappado.’ This saw individuals have their hands tied behind their backs before being hung up to the ceiling where weight was then applied to pull their body down. Another favorite was using what is known as the rack, which would excruciatingly stretch prisoner’s bodies up to 20cm longer. Many more evil methods were used to inflict maximum pain and suffering.

After the inquisition ended for Mexico in 1820, which saw this torture operation cease, the building was placed up for auction. After several owners passed through, the Palace of Inquisition finally became home to the Museum of Mexican Medicine. Although the pain and suffering once so common within the building had come to an end, many believe that the souls of tortured victims may still lurk within the Palace of Inquisition. Many claims of sighting shadow figures throughout the museum have been made. There are also numerous reports of feeling strange presences and hearing disembodied voices in the property. Perhaps the most commonly reported paranormal occurrence is hearing the sound of agonized screams emanating from the empty museum long after dark.

Today, the museum is still in operation and can be found at the corner of Republic of Brazil and Republic of Venezuela streets in Mexico City, Mexico. Admission is free to those brave enough to enter. The building once housed a Museum of Inquisition, which was closed upon my visit in April 2018. The macabre medical museum is still in operation and definitely worth checking out.

1. La Moira House

La Moira is well known for being Mexico’s most haunted house. The ominous, yet neat looking house standing in the San Miguel Chapultepec area of Mexico City is painted black, which is fitting to the disturbing local legends surrounding it.

The story that most would be familiar with is that of a young boy named Marcus. It is told that Marcus entered the abandoned La Moira house at the young age of eight years old. It was then that he witnessed and experienced something that would traumatize him for the remainder of his life. Marcus supposedly heard strange, unexplainable voices emanating throughout the house and upon entering one of the upstairs bedrooms saw the apparition of a man who had been hanged from the ceiling. Scared, Marcus fled the house only to develop an obsession towards what he had seen. This dominated Marcus’ thoughts for many years, until 10 years later he returned to the La Moira House, entered the same bedroom he had witnessed the apparition and proceeded to hang himself.

While it is not known why Marcus returned to La Moira, some speculate it was curiosity that coaxed him back and that he was then possessed by a dark entity, which lured him to commit suicide himself. Others believe that he had witnessed his own fate as a child and returned to fulfill his death prophecy.

Whether this story is true or just Mexican folklore it is still widely believed that the La Moira House is indeed extremely haunted. It exhibits a wide array of paranormal phenomena such as moving shadow figures, unexplainable sounds, disembodied voices, light anomalies, poltergeist activity, cases of visitors experiencing visions and it is widely thought to host demonic entities with the ability to possess the living.

Today, the La Moira House is a private residence and is off limits to the general public. You’ll find this haunted place of Mexico City at Cto. Interior Mtro. José Vasconcelos 125, San Miguel Chapultepec I Secc, 11850 Mexico City, CDMX.

Visiting Haunted Mexico City

Mexico City is a colorful and lively city full of historical relevance to Mexico. It makes for a great visit to immerse one’s self in the culture of Mexico. For those seeking out the paranormal or interested in ghost stories, it is a truly remarkable experience with so many great places to explore.

If you enjoyed this article and are looking for more haunted places to visit around Mexico City, I recommend checking out the haunted Doll Island of Xochimilco, just outside of Mexico City.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo