Guide to Magical Madrid: do you know all the mysteries of the city?
Oblivious to its magic, we go through Madrid every day, but What do we know about its legends and mysteries? Many of its streets, neighborhoods and residences hide unusual stories that deserve to be discovered. Perhaps this is the reason why you will surely never leave home without the Guide to Magical Madrid (Ediciones Luciérnaga) which has been reissued this month by the writer and graphopsychologist Clara Tahoces.
It is a guide that allows discover legends and mysteries with practical itineraries to do through imagination, on foot or by bicycle . Collect just about anything, from occult historical and esoteric clues, to strange phenomena and closely guarded secrets in a total of 150 places which may sound like a lot to you. Some of them are completely fanciful and others based on real events, you can discover them close to home or in the Community.
The Guide to Magical Madrid also includes a brief approach to the origins of the city and a division according to Madrid's astrological zones, that is, an astrological map by neighborhoods . It's time to tour Madrid with another look!
The guide to discover the magic of Madrid.
**FROM FANTASY TO LITERATURE**
A Clara Tahoces Perhaps you will know her from her participation in programs such as Cuarto Milenio or Milenio 3 on Cadena Ser, but this writer and graphopsychologist was already interested in mysterious stories from a very young age.
“I was intrigued by the story of San Isidro, the patron saint of Madrid. I don't remember if someone told me about him or if I just read about this saint. I have always grown up surrounded by books . In my parents' house there were many and I read everything that fell into my hands that distilled a certain mystery. His story is fascinating and some of the places where his life unfolded are still present in the city. Many of these stories, like the one about San Isidro, I have used later in later novels, like the one about the Virgen de la Almudena or the Virgen de Atocha”, she tells Traveler.es.
In her adult stage, it was her when she began to collect this information about her native Madrid, as a result of which this guide was born.
“I have to say that the project was not initially born as a book. By then, I was already dedicated to investigating strange phenomena, mysteries and anomalies , and she collaborated with several specialized publications. One day I realized that I had enough material to write a book, so I submitted an index of topics and the publishers welcomed it. Many of the cases that appear I have personally investigated. . For older ones I have gone through archives and newspaper libraries, and I have read classic works on the history of Madrid”.
It was during this whole process that she discovered some of the most interesting stories, such as the one about the demoniacs of San Plácido, the blood of San Pantaleón, the mysterious crime of Calle de la Cabeza , some very symbolic facades in emblematic buildings, etc.
“I would stay with the area that includes the House of the Seven Chimneys , the Linares Palace (today Casa de América) and Cibeles Square . In the book it is zone 2. The reason is that this axis includes places with a strong charge of magic and symbolism in very little space and in the heart of Madrid. Those buildings and enclaves are emblems of mystery and, coincidentally, they are all together”, she adds. In fact, this was part of the route we took years ago in her company, discovering, step by step, Madrid with different eyes.
Clara has dedicated her life to collecting legends and mysteries about the city.
And this is how the guide is structured, by zones, which allows you to discover the history of the Palacio de Linares at the same time, but also the area of influence of the Cibeles-Café de Lyon- Puerta de Alcalá... Or, when he talks about Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial you will continue reading surrounding mysteries: El Escorial-Navalagamella-Robledo de Chavela- Fresnedillas-Valley of the Fallen.
Madrid is a city of contrasts , suddenly you can cross from one neighborhood to another, totally changing the third; from the most intimate and quiet, to the busiest. That is why this guide is not only for “cats” from Madrid, but also for visitors. For the latter, Clara has a recommendation: “I would recommend the Temple of Debod at the time the sun sets. The postcard is unique for photography lovers. Also, for those who have not been, the terrace of the Circle of Fine Arts also at sunset. And the monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.
Do you know the history of the Palacio de Linares?
MADRID AND ITS GHOSTS
And what puzzles does Clara deal with in this guide? Madrid becomes a little more mysterious when she enters, for example, the ghosts of the Reina Sofía. There will be many people from Madrid who do not know the past of today Reina Sofía National Art Center Museum , opened in 1986, but already listed as a homeless shelter in 1590.
During the reign of Philip II, work began on the San Carlos Hospital , many people who died from the epidemics that hit the town were cared for there. Later it had many uses, from a psychiatric hospital, a nursing home and a blood hospital during the Civil War, where torture was also carried out. **Curious case that in 1991 some witnesses and Museum workers claimed to have seen and heard strange voices making their rounds. **
Throughout this article, the name has also been mentioned a couple of times. Linares Palace . You know why? At the end of 1990, a radio program broadcast some alleged EVP recorded within what is now the America House , located in the heart of the city. Voices could be heard in them in a pitiful and agonized tone, but who could they belong to?
Apparently, of the many theories that emerged, the most plausible was that those voices belonged to Raimundita , daughter of Don José Murga y Redolid and Raimunda de Osorio y Ortega. The story between the two was already worth commenting on: Raimunda and Don José discovered once they were married that they were stepbrothers , but they decided not to separate and live in chastity in the Palacio de Linares; and even so, they adopted a daughter to leave offspring, who was called Raimundita (apparently the author of the voices).
The Hepta group , dedicated to paranormal research, carried out a dowsing examination, a photographic sweep, a meditation and vasography session and psychophonic experimentation, recording abnormal voices and sounds of whipping . Not going so far, in 2014, history repeats itself and the staff of Casa América once again affirm that inexplicable voices and sounds continue to be heard. Will it be true?
A station that hides more than it appears.
The guide also takes us into another fascinating story, which is that of the House of the Seven Chimneys , current headquarters of Central Archive of Culture of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports . It may seem -right now- unattractive because of the name, but under its foundations is kept the story of a huntsman of Felipe II and his daughter, a young woman of extraordinary beauty to whom he gave the house.
Legend has it that the daughter was going to marry a yellow guard belonging to the Zapata lineage, but shortly after moving into the house, he was assigned to Flanders where he died. The young woman could not bear the sadness and she was consumed until she appeared dead in the house . No one knew under what circumstances, of course.
Some witnesses claimed to have seen her ghost walking on the roof , and when works were done, disturbed earth appeared in the basement, with the skeleton of a woman and coins from the time of Philip II. True or not, the history of the house has never had a very good reputation , their owners have always been marked by misfortune or death in strange circumstances.
And curious is also the history of the Tirso de Molina Station , inaugurated in 1921. It was during the excavations that the workers came across a large number of bones that came from the cemetery of the old Convent of Mercy , demolished in 1840. What will surely surprise you is to know that the bones are still there... They were placed on the station platforms and covered with tile-like slabs.