The Bélmez Faces
Faces appeared spontaneously on a kitchen floor—and kept appearing for 30 years. The floor was replaced. The faces returned. The house sat above an old cemetery.
On August 23, 1971, in the small Spanish town of Bélmez de la Moraleda, a face appeared on a kitchen floor. It was the beginning of one of the 20th century’s most studied—and strangest—paranormal phenomena.
The First Face
According to documented accounts, María Gómez Cámara discovered a human face formed on her concrete kitchen floor. The expression was clear—it appeared to be a woman’s face with sad, staring eyes.
Her husband tried to destroy it with a pickaxe, then re-cemented the floor.
Within a week, the face returned.
The Investigation
Word spread, and the authorities became involved:
- The city council ordered the floor excavated
- Human remains were discovered beneath the house
- The site was above an old cemetery dating to medieval times
- The floor was re-poured with new concrete
The faces returned again—multiple faces this time.
The Phenomenon
Over the following 30 years, faces continued to appear:
- They would form over days or weeks
- Some were male, some female
- Expressions ranged from peaceful to anguished
- Faces appeared, changed expression, faded, and were replaced by new ones
- Over 30 individual faces were documented
María Gómez Cámara lived in the house until her death in 2004. The faces continued to appear throughout her life.
Scientific Investigation
The Bélmez Faces attracted serious scientific attention:
Supporting the phenomenon:
- Dr. Germán de Argumosa investigated for years
- Professor Hans Bender (a respected parapsychologist) examined the site
- Chemical analysis found no evidence of paint or artificial pigmentation
- The faces appeared even when the house was sealed and monitored
- New faces appeared in areas previously without marks
Skeptical analysis:
- Some suggested the faces were painted or etched
- Pareidolia (seeing faces in random patterns) was proposed
- One study found traces of materials consistent with applied images
- The family financially benefited from tourism
The investigation remained inconclusive.
Theories
Thoughtography: Some researchers proposed María Gómez unconsciously projected images onto the floor through psychic means.
Spirits of the Dead: Given the cemetery beneath, the faces might be manifestations of the dead buried below.
Elaborate Hoax: Skeptics suggest the family created the faces for tourism revenue.
Natural Chemical Process: Unusual chemical reactions in the concrete might create face-like patterns.
After María’s Death
María Gómez Cámara died in 2004. Remarkably, the faces continued to appear on her floor—suggesting she wasn’t responsible for creating them, or that whatever phenomenon existed continued without her.
The House Today
The house remains a pilgrimage site for paranormal enthusiasts:
- Visitors can view the floor
- The faces are preserved under glass
- New faces reportedly still appear
- The town has embraced its strange fame
Legacy
The Bélmez Faces remain one of the most puzzling phenomena ever documented:
- Decades of sustained activity
- Multiple investigations
- No conclusive explanation
- Continued appearances after the primary witness’s death
Whether a genuine supernatural event or an elaborate hoax, the faces of Bélmez continue to stare up from the floor, as mysterious today as they were in 1971.