BELMEZ FACES

INTRODUCTION

The Bélmez Faces or the Faces of Bélmez is an alleged paranormal phenomenon in a private house in Spain which started in 1971 when residents claimed images of faces appeared in the concrete floor of the house. These images have continuously formed and disappeared on the floor of the home.

Located at the Pereira family home at Calle Real 5, Bélmez de la Moraleda, Jaén, Andalusia, Spain, the Bélmez faces have been responsible for bringing large numbers of sightseers to Bélmez. The phenomenon is considered by some parapsychologists the best-documented and "without doubt the most important paranormal phenomenon in the [20th] century".^[1]

Various faces have appeared and disappeared at irregular intervals since 1971 and have been frequently photographed by the local newspapers and curious visitors. Many Bélmez residents believe that the faces were not made by human hand. Some paranormal investigators believe that it is a thoughtographic phenomenon, subconsciously produced by the deceased former owner of the house, María Gómez Cámara.

Skeptical researchers have performed extensive tests on the faces and believe that fakery has been involved and the images have been applied with lead paint. The faces are dismissed as a hoax and it has been suspected that the Pereira family may have perpetrated the hoax for financial gain.

The Excavation

Disturbed by the ghostly face, the Pereira family wanted the image destroyed, but word had made it to the mayor, who forbade its destruction so that it may be cut out and removed for study. The Pereira family requested the help of the City Council, which decided that the floor beneath the Pereira’s kitchen should be excavated, to see if they could find the source of the phenomenon. Shockingly, numerous skeletons, some of them headless, were found buried about eight to nine feet below the Pereira’s kitchen. Tests showed that some of the bones dated back as far as the 13th century.

The skeletons were removed from the excavation and given a proper burial at a Catholic cemetery. The hole was filled, and once again, the floor re-cemented. However, within a couple of weeks, a new face appeared on the cement floor. The excavation seemed to have intensified the activity of the phenomenon. Now, different faces would appear, only to fade out and be replaced by a distinctly different face, sometimes in the period of just a few hours. At times, even women and children appeared among the images of the faces.

Witnesses and Investigations

The Pereira house, becoming increasingly famous, was attracting visitors by the hundreds. Witnesses to the phenomenon included students, researchers, priests, police officers, journalists, and even the renowned German paranormal investigator Dr. Hans Bender, who called it the most important case of paranormal phenomenon of the century (20th).

As part of an investigation, samples of the cement slab were taken to the Instituto de Ceramica y Vidrio or ICV (Institute of Ceramics and Glass) for analysis, which found no traces of paint or dyes in the sample. In another experiment, the kitchen floor was photographed in sections, and then covered with a jacket, which was sealed at the edges. The room and windows were sealed with wax, to prevent tampering. All of this took place in front of a German television crew, and in the presence of the town’s notary. The kitchen went untouched for 3 months. Upon removal of the jacket and wax, it was apparent that the faces had evolved and moved about the floor.

The Thoughtographic Hypothesis

Some researchers hypothesized that the images were thoughtographic in nature, meaning that the faces were a psychokinetic phenomenon where a human agent was either consciously, or subconsciously, projecting the images onto the floor. In this case the human agent was Maria Pereira. In support of this hypothesis, it was observed that the facial expressions of the images would often mimic Maria’s emotions, and that the activity would subside when Maria was away from the house.

The Phenomenon Continues

 María's home was advertised to the tourists as La Casa de las Caras (The House of the Faces). By Easter of 1972 hundreds of people were flocking to the house to see the faces. For the next 30 years the Pereira family claimed that faces continued to appear, both male and female and of different shapes, sizes and expressions. Maria Gomez Pereira passed away on the morning of February 3rd, 2004. Hundreds came from all over Spain to pay their final respects. Some thought that the phenomenon would cease with her passing, however, investigations after her death showed that the faces were still evolving and moving about the floor. At last word, the phenomenon still continues to this day