Peru's Most Haunted Places: Visit a Vampire Grave in Pisco or Unravel the Mystery of Machu Picchu
Countries in Latin America, like Peru, has numerous stories of haunted places or consecrated grounds. Many of these stories came from the Mayan civilization known by its ancient temples and ruins and foreign conquerors who brought it to the locals.
Most Haunted Places in Peru
With so many historic places, Peru holds a number of haunted places that reportedly have ghosts. The South American country has a number of paranormal happenings that people have witnessed and recorded, with several establishments and facilities left abandoned, such as the catacombs of the San Francisco Church.
The San Francisco Church's catacombs have struck fear in the hearts of many due to its underground crypts made to be a massive burial place with the remains of some 25,000 people skeletal remains.
Also included in the list of haunted places in Peru is the Real Felipe Fortress, which showed the protected coastline of Lima since the 1700s and has witnessed tragedy and suffering.
One of the most common paranormal sightings within the fort is of a white lady, which was said to manifest around the King's Tower at midnight. However, the fortress' most haunted part is its dungeon, with a narrow space deep in the dark.
More than 75 men would be crammed into the dungeon at a time and then left alone to starve together and slowly decompose. However, Peru's most prominent haunted places are the ancient Incan ruins of Machu Picchu and the Pisco tomb, which was reported to have buried a vampire.
READ NEXT: Chile Constitution Vote: Why Did Chileans Reject Massive Change?
Mysteries of Machu Picchu in Peru
Machu Picchu has become a significant place for religion, with some claiming to have seen priests wearing traditional dress and performing rituals around the former areas of altars before disappearing.
One of the most iconic buildings in Machu Picchu is the Temple of the Sun. Archeologists believe that a distinctive curved structure was used for religious ceremonies related to the sun god Inti.
Archeologists also believe that the temple was used for rituals and astronomical study. The temple has a carved rock at the top that produces shadows, which correspond exactly to the two solstices.
One of the mysteries of Machu Picchu was how the Incas carried and carved granite. The rocks used in Machu Picchu's construction weighed more than 50 pounds. Scholars do not have a clue how people pushed the rocks up the steep Andean mountainside without any technology.
It was then suggested that Machu Picchu was probably built by a superior race or an older and more advanced tribe, referring to aliens. Most scholars have discredited the theory that an alien race built or lived in the Inca empire.
Vampire Grave in Pisco
The myth of a vampire grave in Pisco is very much alive in Peru, with the legend starting with an English woman named Sarah Ellen Roberts. Roberts was reportedly charged as a vampire, murderer, and witch. In one story, Roberts was described to be one of Dracula's brides.
The Church of England refused her to be buried in a consecrated ground after her death. Her husband, John Roberts, traveled the world, trying to find a place to bury his wife. Argentina and Chile reportedly turned the coffin away from their countries.
John then found the small Peruvian town of Pisco, which he found on a recommendation of one sailor. The town reportedly accepted her body to be buried there.
The sailor allegedly said that everyone knows "Peru is the land of witches." In 1913, Roberts swore before her death that she would rise from the dead and get her revenge in 80 years. However, nothing extraordinary happened in Pisco in 1993.
In 2007, an earthquake shook the town, and her grave was one of the few tombs that were left untouched. One "vampirologist" appeared on a talk show in Peru, claiming that Roberts was one of the three vampires in the world.
READ MORE: El Salvador Culture: What It Looks Like Living in the Central American Nation
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: Machu Picchu 101 - From National Geographic