From Castles to Cemeteries: Portugal's Spookiest Places to Visit
- liveLUSO
- 39 minutes ago
- 9 min read
Explore the mysterious in Portugal
Bones, bats, spirits, and the occasional death trap—Portugal’s haunted corners don’t disappoint. Whether you’re a supernatural skeptic or true believer, the stories buried in these places are chillingly good reasons to pay them a visit.
Lisbon: Cemitério dos Prazeres
Portugal's cemetery of "pleasures"
The cynically named Cemetery of Pleasures is the final resting place for some of Portugal’s most prominent figures including ex-President Mario Soares, ceramist Rafael Bordallo Pinheiro, and Carvalho Monteiro (aka Monteiro dos Milhões who commissioned the construction of Sintra’s Quinta da Regaleira palace).
It was also the burial site of the queen of fado Amália Rodrigues, literary icon Fernando Pessoa, and soccer great Eusébio, until they were moved to other national sites.
Sometimes referred to as a “city for the dead,” the Cemitério dos Prazeres is a site to see for the grandiosity of its tombs and mausoleums (some are the size of small homes!). Truly, they are architectural works of art. It’s also a lesser known spot for spectacular views of Lisbon accompanied by the whispers of the cemetery's spirits.
If you’re looking for an even spookier experience, peep into the windows of the tombs and mausoleums for a glimpse at decaying caskets and remains. Or visit the chapel to step into an old autopsy room used before Lisbon had morgues!
>> Challenge your Portuguese and uncover stories that lie beneath the cemetery's mausoleums, including that of António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro of Quinta da Regaleira fame.
Sintra: Poço Iniciático
A Masonic initiation well beneath Quinta da Regaleira's gardens
Located in Sintra’s well-visited Quinta da Regaleira, the Poço Iniciático (Initiation Well) is a deep well rumored to have been a site for initiation rituals into the Freemasons, a fraternal order that revived secret practices of the Knights Templar.
The well’s defining feature is a stone staircase that spirals down nine levels — said to reflect the nine founders of the Knights Templar or the nine circles of hell in Dante’s inferno. At the bottom is a tiled floor with a freemason symbol at its center: a cross with a compass.
The well is just one piece of a grander opus that includes the property’s gardens and mansion — the entirety of which is sprinkled with symbolism of pagan mysticism, secret orders, and the like. Envisioned by the property’s owner, António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro, and designed by Italian architect, Luigi Manini, Quinta da Regaleira is a fantastical homage to the connection between earth and spirit.
Monteiro is believed to have been intrigued with the obscure traditions of the Knights Templar and is alleged to have been a Freemason himself. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil but established himself in Sintra, Portugal. And his Quinta da Regaleira estate is as eclectic as his interests.
Monteiro was a successful businessman who held a deep regard for nature and knowledge — he was an accomplished entomologist who discovered species of butterflies and other insects, as well as a bibliophile with a private library of over 30,000 books in seven languages about culture, history, and the natural world. Today, his body lies in the aforementioned Cemitério dos Prazeres.
And the initiation rituals he may or may not have hosted? Candidates entered the Initiation Well blindfolded carrying a sword near their heart as they descended the nine levels. At the bottom, they entered an underground labyrinth where they had to make their way through darkness and find enlightenment by seeking daylight emanating from a second initiation well. The rest is shrouded in secrecy.
>> Dare to embark on a spiritual path through darkness and light? Purchase tickets to enter Quinta da Regaleira in Sintra. OR book a top-rated guided tour here.
Évora: Capela dos Ossos
The bone chapel with a message for Evora's people
“We bones are here, for yours we await.” (PT: Nós ossos que aqui estamos, pelos vossos esperamos.) And that’s just the welcome sign at Évora’s famed bone chapel. Inside, visitors are invited to look death in the eye…literally. The chapel’s walls and pillars are adorned with the skulls of approximately 5,000 people, countless bones, and 2 intact skeletons (one of a child!).
Part of the larger Igreja de São Francisco in Évora, the Capela dos Ossos was commissioned by three Franciscan monks in the 16th century. At the time, Évora had over 40 religious cemeteries that were taking up too much space in the city. To free it up, bones were exhumed and moved to the chapel constructed by the monks.
Instead of re-burying the bones, the monks saw an opportunity. They displayed them instead as a message to the wealthy eborense (name for people from Évora) society to reflect on the impermanence of material things and the fragility of life.
If you’re fascinated by the macabre display of bones, believe it or not, there are 5 other bone chapels in Portugal to add to your bucket list. The chapel in Évora is the largest, the second largest is in Campo Maior, and the smallest is in Monforte.
>> Spend a day in Évora, including a visit to the Bone Chapel.
Mafra: Palácio Nacional de Mafra
The palace that houses mutant rats and colonies of bats
A former state residence that has housed several Portuguese monarchs (including Portugal’s last king, Dom Manuel II), the National Palace of Mafra is as grand as it is storied.
Many legends try to explain the strange noises long plaguing its convent. Some say the sounds come from strange creatures that live in the dungeons – rumored to be giant, mutant rats (and no, that’s not a typo). Others say the sounds come from ghosts who haunt the halls, ghosts of workers who died while constructing the palace.
If spooky sounds aren’t enough to creep you out at Mafra’s convent, then maybe the bats flying through its library are. The Mafra Palace Library houses an impressive collection of approximately 36,000 leather-bound books that date from the 14th to 19th centuries. And with a reputation as one of the finest libraries in Europe, they rely on an organic source of pest control to protect its books from insects like bookworms and moths – bats.
Unbeknown to visitors, a colony of bats sleeps behind the library’s bookcases or in the palace garden during the day. Once the library closes at night, the bats emerge from their dens to dine on a feast of insects, a tradition that likely started centuries ago during the library’s first days.
>> Hear it straight from the locals! Check out this old SIC broadcast where Mafrenses share the legends that have long plagued the palace.
São Miguel: Hotel Monte Palace
An abandoned hotel with a stirring view of Sete Cidades
Built on dreams of luxury and grandeur, the Hotel Monte Palace faced a dim destiny. Equipped with all the amenities to become a vacation hotel (restaurants, nightclub, hairdresser, bank), the hotel opened in 1989 but operated for just 18 months. Unfortunately, the owners were too ahead of their time for this investment to pay off.
Despite being named Portugal’s Hotel of the Year in 1990, the Hotel Monte Palace was a tough sell. In the late 1990s, as hard as it is to believe now, São Miguel (and the Azores islands in general), was largely unknown to tourists. Adding to its challenges, the hotel is remotely located with nothing nearby to attract visitors. And its magnificent view of Sete Cidades’ twin lagoons is often clouded by dense fog.
After it closed, the hotel was protected by a guard and his dogs before being abandoned in the mid-2000s. It’s now in complete disarray and stands as a haunting reminder of what wasn’t. In the last decade or so, the site has become a popular tourist stop for its one-of-a-kind viewpoint of the Sete Cidades lagoons (thanks Instagram). And for some, it’s a perfect place to get the creeps. Some even say you may encounter a ghost in the nearby gardens.
If you visit the hotel when few people are there, the eerie feeling is palpable. And if you do traverse its ruins, be careful! Look before every step. Seriously. The place is a death trap. There are gaping holes throughout the building and in the middle of walkways, holes that could drop you down a floor or two. If you don’t pay attention, you could even walk straight into an elevator shaft and plummet to a serious injury (or even death). DO NOT visit at night.
Estoril: Castelinho de São João do Estoril
The little castle haunted by a little spirit
Located on the coast between Cascais and Lisbon, the Castelinho de São João do Estoril was just your average, luxury palacete overlooking the ocean. Until — as legend tells it, a young girl tragically died there.
As is usually the case with legends and stories, there are a couple versions. One says that the little girl lived in a nearby house and accidentally fell off the seaside cliffs near the home. Her parents were then said to have given the home to an institution to support the blind, in honor of their daughter’s memory.
Another version says that the nearby building was actually a school for the blind and that the little girl was a student there. And yet another says she was the daughter of the palacete’s original owners. The common thread? A little girl fell to her death in the ocean.
While there’s no proof that this little girl existed or even died, there are plenty of stories that say she haunts the Castelinho, roaming the property with a doll in hand or dancing outside. In 1983, Portuguese socialite José Castelo Branco was ready to buy the property. But when he visited it, he reported seeing a girl playing with other kids near the cliff and felt an urge to throw himself into the ocean. He resisted the feeling and never bought the house.
While you can’t go inside the little castle itself, you can walk past it on the beachside promenade that connects Cascais to Estoril — do you feel the cliff’s gentle push toward the sea?
Lisbon: Aqueduto das Águas Livres
An architectural wonder and murder site
Myth or murder? Lisbon’s architectural wonder, the Águas Livres Aqueduct, plays a major role in a Portuguese urban legend centered on the infamous Diogo Alves. He’s said to be Portugal’s first serial killer. Or one of its first serial killers. Or if you ask historian Miguel Carvalho Abrantes, he may not have been a serial killer at all…just a killer.
Details surrounding Alves are murky at best. But legend says Lisbon’s “Aqueduct Assassin” gained his moniker for murdering 70 people from 1836 to 1839. His MO? Alves would wait for farmers and travelers to cross the aqueduct, rob them, and then push them over the 213-foot ledge to their untimely deaths.
However, Alves was never charged. In fact, he wasn’t even accused of these deaths during his lifetime as they were ruled out as suicides. The logical conclusion is that his serial killer reputation is nothing more than lore — though some could argue whether there had been a proper investigation because the authorities might not have bothered with working class victims.
This doesn’t mean Alves was an innocent man. In fact, he was charged and sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of four individuals following a home invasion. It’s said that his severed head remains preserved in a jar at the University of Lisbon, where it had been safeguarded for medical research. The preserved head indeed exists, but it’s uncertain whether it belongs to Alves.
Today, the Aqueduct das Águas Livres stands as a testament to Portuguese engineering. It’s one of very few buildings to have survived Lisbon’s Great Earthquake in 1755. You can walk in the footsteps of Diogo Alves and his victims (if you believe the lore) and cross the aqueduct starting at Lisbon’s Museu da Água.
>> What does a preserved human head look like? If you're a mischievous one, click here to see the alleged Diogo Alves.
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Sources
Atlas Obscura: See an Alarmingly Well-Preserved Human Head in a Jar at This Portuguese University
Culture Trip: This Abandoned Hotel is About to Open After 27 Years
Fábrica do Terror: “Cemitério dos Prazeres: uma cidade dos mortos para os vivos”
Library of Congress Blogs: Finding Hidden Treasures: The Carvalho Monteiro Collection
Lisboa Secreta: Diogo Alves - a história do famoso ‘serial killer’ do Aqueduto das Águas Livres
Mitologia.pt: A casa assombrada mais famosa de Portugal, e o Castelo do Estoril
Neverendingfootsteps.com: Exploring the Abandoned Monte Palace Hotel in Sao Miguel
Observador: “6 factos que deve conhecer sobre o Cemitério dos Prazeres”
Observador: Era uma vez no Castelinho. Quem tem medo dos fantasmas do Estoril?
Portugal.com: The History of the Knights Templar in Portugal
Quinta da Regaleira Tickets: The truth behind the Initiation Well: More than just a stunning spiral
The Lisbon Connection: Remarkable Cemetery of ‘Pleasures’ Lisbon & resting place Portuguese celebrities
Visit Alentejo: The Chapel of the Bones is on many people’s must see list, but there are two more not far away
Visit Évora: Capela dos Ossos Évora, Igreja de São Francisco
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