A city built on an omen. Tenochtitlan was founded on a prophecy — an eagle on a nopal devouring a serpent — so the mysticism was there from the first day. Seven centuries later, built over a drained lake and layered with conquest, revolution and catastrophe, Mexico City has more ghost stories per square kilometre than almost anywhere. These are the ones that keep being retold.
The woman with the candle, Basilica of Guadalupe. A woman is said to walk the Basilica carrying a candle that neither rain nor wind puts out, passing through walls as she prays. The bells of the old Basilica are reported ringing with nobody in the tower.
Pachita, in the Casa de las Brujas. A healer consulted after the Revolution by politicians and celebrities alike, who lived in the "witches' house" in the Roma — a 1908 building on Plaza Río de Janeiro whose pointed turret does most of the work of the legend. Her silhouette is still reported inside.
Tlatelolco: children, students and Mexica. The bloodiest square in the city. Cuauhtémoc lost the final battle against Cortés here in 1521; the student massacre of 2 October 1968 happened on the same ground; and in the 1985 earthquake one of the main blocks collapsed with its residents inside. People report children playing, a bouncing ball, and the echoes of 1968 at night.
The Empress Carlota, Chapultepec Castle. Carlota and Maximilian lived here during their brief empire. Staff say her spirit still moves through the rooms, that her piano plays itself at night, and that doors open and close on their own.
The woman of the Zócalo. A woman who falls into step with people crossing the empty square at night, friendly and conversational, and then is not there. Mexica spirits are also said to linger around the Templo Mayor, where the sacrifices were made.
La Planchada. The most documented of them all: a nurse at the old Hospital Juárez, abandoned by a doctor who left for a seminar and married someone else. In an immaculate, starched uniform — hence the name — she appears to patients and gives them their medicine. The testimonies are numerous enough that the story has outlived the hospital.
at night
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