There is a village in Spain that even tourist guides omit.
Its name is Ochate and it’s an abandoned village where things happen that can’t be explained: people disappear, lightning strikes churches and lights and sounds seem to have a own life.
The PARANORMAL country where whoever enters disappears
# The rural village of Ochate
Ochate is an abandoned village located in the north of Spain, in the district of Condado de Treviño, in the province of Burgos.
33 km from Miranda de Ebro and 14 from Vitoria, Ochate is not easily accessible.
In fact, entering the village by car is impossible: those who want to venture into this village reduced to some ruins will have to do it on foot.
The history of the village is not well known, we only know that between the 19th and 20th centuries it was abandoned by the population.
There are those who say that it happened following devastating epidemics of smallpox, cholera, typhus, yet no confirmation of this version has ever been found in historical documents.
# The missing village
The hypothesis of epidemics has never been confirmed and for many people the village was abandoned because inhabitants didn’t want to live in that cursed area anymore.
Today almost nothing remains of the village, just the tower of the Church of San Miguel and some walls that are ruins now.
The territory of Ochate has become famous for the strange incidents that have occurred and which go beyond human reason.
In fact, there have been several alleged paranormal phenomena that have struck this village.
Hence the name that seems to mean “Door of the spirits”.
# The door of the spirits
If you go to the door of the spirits you have to be prepared: people disappear, strange creatures and objects never seen before are sighted, not to mention lights and sounds that seem to have a life of their own.
In April 1982, the newspaper Mundo Desconocido published an article with a photo that portrayed a large sphere of light in the sky of Ochate.
Despite debates over the veracity of the photo, the news spread quickly and from then on a number of paranormal events were reported.
Before this important report there had been numerous sightings of luminous spheres in Ochate, the first date back to 1868, the year in which the first article on this topic was published.
In that same year the pastor of the time, Antonio Villegas Burgondo, disappeared into thin air without leaving any traces and was never found again.
A legend tells that in 1947 the bell tower of the church of San Miguel was hit by lightning and that in that same spot materialized a medallion depicting a female figure of which, however, all traces have been lost.
In the following years, there were so many missing persons that the local authorities began to seriously worry.
Sometimes the body of some missing person was found burned on the side of the road and yet no one was ever able to understand what was happening.
The list of Ochate’s mysteries could go on for hours: between stories of military groups shrouded in fog and lost forever and three-meter-high figures spotted by peasants, at the Spirits’ Door the scary stories seem to never end.
# The rural village where whoever enters disappears
Nobody knows what happened and still happens in Ochate.
Whether they are invented stories or really happened events, one thing is certain: those who go to the village do not go there light-heartedly.
Tourist guides today prefer not to include the cursed village in their itineraries: you know who enters but not who leaves.
Would you go there?
ARIANNA BOTTINI
