The Belmez Faces

In August of 1971, in a small Spanish village called Belmez, an unexplainable paranormal phenomenon began to occur in the home of Maria Gomez Pereira. According to Maria, the image of a human face suddenly appeared in the cement floor of her kitchen. The image upset her so much that she had that section of floor removed and replaced. Only a short time had passed when another face appeared in roughly the same location. Local authorities then came in, removed the section of floor, and took it to be preserved for further investigation.

After an investigation of the site revealed a graveyard was once where the home was standing, an excavation by authorities began. A number of human remains were found and removed. A new floor was poured, and everyone was confident that the cause of the phenomenon was successfully removed. However, two weeks later a number of faces all of different sizes began to appear. Hundreds and later thousands of people began lining up to see the images. Some of the faces were of men others were perceived to be women and children. The faces would appear right before spectators eyes; lasting only for hours before fading away. Sounds of wailing and sobbing were even recorded coming from the floor.

This continued to occur spontaneously over the next 30 years. Paranormal researchers from all over came and documented this happening. No evidence of fraud has ever been proven and Maria Pereira has never profited from these startling images.

In 2004 the home was put up for sale after Maria Pereira died. The debate over the cause of this phenomenon continues among the many researchers who have studied The Belmez Faces.