La casa de las brujas
The witches’ house in the Roma neighborhood is distinguished by the peculiar shape of its roof, similar to that of a witch’s hat. This construction dates from 1908, being one of the first constructions of the emblematic colony.
Legend has it that Bárbara Guerrero, better known by the nickname of Pachita, lived in this house. She was one of the most recognized healers in the country. Some versions of the story say that she lived for several years in the servants’ quarters of the house. There she received people from the political class or entertainers to relieve them of her ills.
There were several healing methods that Pachita used, including herbal remedies and even operations without any anesthesia, so it was not strange to hear the sick scream. Today it is said that if you pass through this house at night you will be able to hear piercing screams.
Address: Plaza Río de Janeiro 56
Casa Negra
It is said that typhoid patients were housed in Casa Negra in 1935 because at the time the outbreaks of typhoid spread rapidly and caused overcrowding in the city’s hospitals.
In those times this disease was considered an evil caused by diabolical entities. This aroused fear in the neighbors of Casa Negra who decided to exterminate the sick by burning the house in the middle of the night. No one was able to escape the fire, leaving women, children, and medical personnel to die by asphyxiation or being burned alive.
Today no one lives in the house because it is said that screams can still be heard and that the souls of the sick continue to wander through its corridors.
Address: Álvaro Obregón 212
La casa de la Tía Toña
This enormous mansion is submerged in the thickness of the third section of the Chapultepec Forest. It is said that to get to the place you have to undertake a whole journey through forgotten paths.
The main version tells that Antonia was an elderly woman, lonely and with a great fortune. One fine day she decided to spend her money helping others and she began to adopt orphaned street children.
She took them to live in her mansion trying to give them the best possible quality of life. However, the children were used to life on the streets and began to steal Aunt Antonia’s jewelry and money. This bothered her, and little by little she was invaded by madness until one tragic day she took the lives of the little children and threw their bodies down a ravine.
It is said that the cries of the little ones and the voice of Tía Toña are still heard in the forest.
Casa Moira
This house is one of the most famous in the city, not for nothing has it been recognized as the most haunted house in CDMX.
The story goes that in the 1970s a boy named Marco, who was playing in front of the house, noticed that one of the doors was open. Curiosity led him to investigate. Going through the corridors and rooms he found a terrifying scene, the hanging body of a small child. Marco ran out of that place but no one believed the child’s shocking story.
Years later Marco, who was no longer a child, decided to return to prove that what he had seen as a child was real. Unfortunately, he did not leave that house again, days later they found his body hanging in the same way that he had described seeing a small child hanging years earlier in the same place.
Address: José Vasconselos 125
La casa de Don Juan Manuel
In the heart of the city is the house that its former owner Don Juan Manuel lived in for many years. He was a man of great wealth who was married to an extremely beautiful woman. Her beauty left Don Juan Manuel in fear that she couldn’t be faithful to him, he was always convinced she was having an affair.
It is said that one night he made a pact with the devil in exchange for revealing the name of the person with whom his wife was cheating on him.
Legend has it that the devil ordered him to go out at 11:00 pm sharp and to kill the first man who crossed the street, because that would be the person having an affair with his wife. Juan Manuel heeded the devil’s charge. However, after killing his first victim, he couldn’t stop: madness overtook him and he went on killing many more men, becoming Mexico’s first known serial killer.
At 11:00 pm, Don Juan Manuel would head outside and ask the first man he saw for the time. When they answered, ‘it’s 11 o’clock’, Don Juan would reply, ‘Blessed are those who know the time of their death’ and then proceed to stab them to death.
Currently, the huge house is rented as a hall for social events. It is still rumored that if you frequent this place you should be careful because the soul of Don Juan Manuel continues to haunt in search of revenge.
Address: República de Uruguay 90
