In 1971, Maria Gomez Camara noticed the image of a human face, formed on her kitchen floor. Terrified, she ordered her son and husband to destroy the concrete, and to replace it. Soon enough, a new face formed, which the Mayor of Bélmez then forbade anyone from destroying.
Over time, new faces would develop and slowly evolve, with mouths and eyes widening and changing expression. For thirty years, the Faces of Bélmez have astonished investigators. Why were they appearing in this house?
A Mysterious Face Appears
On August 23, 1971, Maria Gomez Pereira noticed that a human face had formed in the concrete of her home in Belmez, Spain. Maria could tell it was the face of a man, even though the image was not very well defined. Understandably concerned she got her husband and son to smash the floor with pickaxes and relay some new concrete.
Within a week, the same face had reappeared, in exactly the same spot. Once again Maria wanted the concrete removed, but word had already spread, and the Mayor together with several other authorities, forbade its destruction. Instead, this new face was cut out of the concrete and mounted on the wall.
Once again new concrete was poured, and for a while it looked like all was back to normal. However two weeks later, faces again started to appear. First the male face appeared, and then a female face appeared. Before long, around a dozen faces were visible in the Camara's floor.
These faces were of different size, shape and clarity. While some of the faces were questionable, others were very clear indeed, right down to the wrinkles around the eyes.
Many onlookers made their way to the house in order to check out the faces. Some were shocked to see that new faces would appear within days, while expressions would change on the older faces. All interpreted the expressions differently, with the most popular interpretations being fear and despair.
Theories and Investigations
Many theories came about as to why the faces were appearing in the floor. One popular theory was that the house was built on an old cemetery. It is said that an excavation beneath the house took place, and several bodies were disinterred and removed to be reburied elsewhere, however this did not stop more faces from forming.
All attempts at washing away the faces failed. Cleaning agents, bleaches and even plain water failed to remove the faces. At times, they seemed to fade a little only to come back within hours.
It was not long before professional investigators were called out to look into this apparent paranormal phenomenon. May experiments were carried out, including chemical analysis of the concrete, and any compounds found within it. These early tests determined that no paint was found in either of the two faces they tested in fine detail.
Another experiment conducted was that they covered the faces in a clear, transparent sheet of plastic. This was made in an attempt to stop any form of human contact with the floor and the faces during the investigation.
It was found that although the faces were covered, and human intervention was difficult, the faces still evolved and maintained their spooky routine.
Tape recorders were left in the house which was locked and sealed tight. The family were located elsewhere, and no one had access to the house. When the audio was played back the sounds of human moaning and wailing could just be made out. Was the source of these disturbing sounds the cause for the human features in the kitchen?
Another theory was that Maria was somehow (and unaware of it herself) projecting the faces into the floor. Possibly, the first face was a freak occurrence of a mould formation in a pattern that her brain had interpreted as a face (pareidolia) and following this, her strong belief, and some latent power within her formed the new faces?
Fake, Fraud, Hoax?
Then there is the belief it was all a hoax. Maybe Maria, her son, her husband or all three were responsible for painting on the faces?
Although the original tests stated there was no paint to be found in the concrete, there were traces of elements used in paint found. These elements are also found in concrete throughout the house, so it was inconclusive at the time.
However a concoction of Vinegar and soot (or some other dark substance) was put forward as a potential candidate for how humans could have been able to make the faces
What Do You Think?
As always there are those that believe that the faces were not made by human hands. There are others that believe that it was all a hoax and finally there are those that believe it is all just a freak occurrence.
In 2004 Maria Pereira died at the age of 85.
What do you think?
An elaborate fraud?
A series of coincidences, and wrongful interpretations of the patterns in the kitchen?
Or (as some investigators have stated) one of the most important paranormal phenomena of the 20th century?
