6 Most Haunted Places in Bogota, Colombia

Haunted Bogota

Bogota is claimed by many people to be one of the most haunted cities in Colombia. It has a colorful, albeit dark past and is extremely old. Many of the buildings and areas around the city have stories to tell that relate largely to the paranormal. Let’s explore where you can find the most haunted places in Bogota, Colombia.

6. Calle del Fantasma and La Candelaria

To kick this list we have the Calle Del Fantasma or the Street of the Ghosts. Although the name of this particular street fits in perfectly to this list, there aren’t a lot of specific paranormal stories related to it. However, this street does lie at the epicenter of haunted places in Bogota, La Candelaria. This is a suburb within the city that consists of its oldest parts, which have particularly dark and gruesome backgrounds.

It is noteworthy to mention that a lot of the houses in La Candelaria are over 200 years old and a lot of them are claimed to be haunted. Furthermore, it was only in more recent times that cemeteries were utilized in the city for burials. Before this, loved ones were commonly buried in the back yards of properties and it’s not uncommon for bodies to be accidentally uncovered because of this from time to time. Just one of the reasons some say could have contributed to all these hauntings.

5. Brujas Restaurant

This next haunted location is a little different since it is today run as a restaurant. That’s not to say that the building which holds it hasn’t seen dark times. It is actually believed to have at one point imprisoned a witch. This history is what gave the restaurant its name, La Brujas, which translates to The Witch.

Like most historical tales involving witches, it is highly unlikely that the woman claimed to be a witch in this story, actually was. There is a tale that has circulated about this location since the mid-1950s when the building was used as a dungeon and the country was under a dictatorship. At this time, a woman would frequent the dungeon is search for her missing son since she feared he had been imprisoned within it. In order to gain information from the military that ran the prison facility, she attempted to befriend them. She would often bring them food and drink, which at first was welcomed, yet soon became suspicious. Not long after this, she was accused of being a witch and in turn, thrown into the dungeon. Here she was doomed to spend the rest of her days, slowly driven mad. Since her death, many people say that she continues to haunt the building, still in search of her missing son.

In addition to this witch ghost, two others supposedly haunt La Brujas Restuarant. Both a male and female spirit are said to exist within the building and have been known to occasionally become aggressive. Apparently they have attacked one of the restaurant managers, pinning him face down into a sofa.

4. The Casa Sámano Museum

The next haunted place on this list is the Casa Sámano Museum. This museum was once the home of an important historical figure, Juan Sámano. Sámano was a Spanish military officer and the viceroy of New Granada in the early 1800s during the War of Independence. Although Sámano was an important man, he has also been described as remarkably vile. In life, he was known to kick and spit on others who he saw as being lesser than he, or who he didn’t take a liking to.

It is Sámano who is said to haunt the museum still to this day and his ghost hasn’t been described as being any more pleasant in the afterlife. His spirit is particularly vengeful actually. Most of the reports of paranormal activity here have come from guards who work within the building at night. They’ve heard footsteps, seen this spirit with their own eyes (describing him as deformed and hunchbacked) and have even reported having been kicked or spat on from an unseen presence.

Those who work within the museum don’t need to be convinced that their building is truly haunted. Yet, there has been some pretty interesting ghostly footage captured on CCTV running inside the building, which only serves to add weight to their paranormal claims.

3. Bolivar Square

One of the most popular and busiest corners of the city now makes it’s way on to this list, known as Bolivar Square. This paranormal hot spot is said to be haunted by Jose Raimundo Russi who was executed there in 1851.

The reason for this execution was that Russi had murdered another man, stabbing him to death in front of his own home. Interestingly Russi’s murder victim is also said to haunt the place where he died, but he disturbingly seems to relive his murder. Those who live in the area claim to hear his screams of pain and stabbing noises late at night.

This haunting aside, many have claimed to hear and see Russi roaming around the pigeon and people filled Bolivar Square to this day.

2. Calle del Sol

Along Calle Del Sol sits our next stop, an old apartment complex that is equal parts stunning and dark. Back 1945 this building was used as a base for the Columbian Intelligence Services. In the years following its opening, many people passed through this building to be interrogated. It is said that some very brutal torture methods were used to gain confessions out of anyone unfortunate enough to be brought here.

This is the main reason why the building is believed to be haunted today. Supposedly, those who live within the apartment complex often hear sounds that can only be described as torture being carried out late at night. These might include, disembodied pleading, screaming and moaning. Yet, some residents have also reported hearing sounds that resemble the cracking of whips. These sounds are described as being so intense and loud that the ghostly torture sounds also extend to the street that passes by.

There are also reports of residents seeing mists in the corners of rooms and floating orb-like lights in the corridors of the building. Though interestingly, no one has actually ever seen a full apparition there.

1. Silva House of Poetry

The most haunted location in Bogota, Colombia is a quaint, little house with great historical importance for its connection to the famed poet, Jose Asuncion Silva. Silva is well known and renowned throughout Colombia, even making an appearance on Colombian currency.

Not only did Silva live within this house, but he also died there. He met a tragic end in 1896 when he took his own life by shooting himself through the heart. He was found dead in his bed one morning by a housemaid after taking his own life the night before. Sadly, there’s a number of reasons that likely added up to Silva taking his own life. His sister had recently died, he had also lost a ship that had sunk containing a number of his poetry works and he was also in a great deal of debt.

Many people say that his spirit has lingered in the house and so has his melancholy. It is said to be very common for people to visit this home and experience a sudden onset of overwhelming sadness and lingering depression. Some people have even started to cry as they enter the house.

It has also been described as a house of whispers, for it is common for visitors to hear whispers and even moaning around dawn and dusk within the house. These sounds are of course thought to be Silva’s spirit. It is so sad to think that this much sadness and emotion still exists in the house and that Silva could still be there continuing his depression.

If you enjoyed this article, you may also find interest in learning about the most haunted places in Peru.

Thanks for reading!

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