Cortijo Jurado

The Cortijo Jurado or Casa Encantada is an abandoned mansion in Spain, built in the 19th century. It is a special place that celebrates its eclectic construction, and it has been a mecca for supernatural investigators and ghost hunters for years.

The mansion is a calendar house, built with 365 windows to mark each day of the year, which is just one intriguing feature of the sprawling and abandoned mansion. There are also deep basements and rumors of twisting tunnels that reportedly connected to another nearby mansion as well. It was originally conceived as a monument of the changing times—taking what was a modest farm and turning it into a grand epicenter of agricultural paradise.

It was built in the early 1900s by the influential Heredia family, and rumors immediately began to circulate about the libertine and sadistic happenings within its walls. Tales of conspiracies, disappearances, rape and murder spread quickly and gave the strange home an eerie and evil reputation. It has been said that the bodies of their young victims were buried within the property—and their spirits still move around at night through the ramshackle chambers; their sobs and moans echoing throughout the remains of the mansion. In 1925 the mansion changed ownership but it has never been able to shake its haunted reputation and strange occurrences are still reported to this day.

Today the estate is estimated to be worth 1.4 million Euros, but it is stuck in limbo and is the subject of various lawsuits. It was going to be turned into a 4-star hotel and an elaborate breaking ground ceremony was planned when the renovations were to begin. However, due to clerical errors, incomplete permits and rumors of bribery and theft, the house remains neglected and no progress has been made. Its only visitors are ghost hunters and thrill seekers, searching for signs of paranormal activity as the mansion continues to fall into ruin.