Haunted houses and the legends surrounding them have been part of the collective imagination for centuries. On many occasions, the superstitions and alienation that on many occasions produce different films or series, have given rise to narratives where the supernatural seems mixed with everyday reality. In Andalusia we have several examples, such as the haunted house of Alcalá del Río (Seville) or that of the Campanillas district of Malaga. However, worrying phenomena are not limited to old houses. They are also found in emblematic buildings, such as the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Córdoba. A place which keeps behind it a fascinating, but also disturbing, history, and for which it is the subject of numerous legends which speak of wandering shadows and whispers in the corridors. This is why it is considered the darkest university in Spain. These are the stories of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Córdoba, since 1971, as a university college directly dependent on the University of Seville, and since 1973, as a university college. Faculty of the University of Cordoba, the building of this Faculty of Philosophy and Letters had a purely student character. However, the legends attributed to it have more to do with a troubled past which, even today, has given rise to many frightening testimonies from people who studied or worked in this place. Facade of the current Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of. Córdoba orientauco.esAnd the origins of the building date back to 1701, when Cardinal Fray Pedro de Salazar y Toledo, belonging to the Order of Mercy, acquired a house from Don Antonio Carlos del Corral. This property, located opposite the convent of San Pedro de Alcántara, had the initial purpose of housing a school for the children of the cathedral choir and acolytes. However, the construction of the educational center was halted due to the devastating plague epidemic that struck the city, revealing serious sanitary deficiencies and the lack of adequate institutions to care for the sick. Faced with this critical situation, the Cardinal was asked to reconsider the use of the building, proposing its transformation into a hospital to help people affected by the epidemic. Thus, in 1724, the Acute Hospital was inaugurated which, over the years, adapted to the needs of the population, functioning as a tuberculosis hospital, maternity ward and hospice. Image of several patients on stretchers in the former Acute Hospital of Cordoba. ABC Eventually, this iconic place evolved into the university faculty we know today, preserving within its walls a history full of superstitions that gave rise to shocking stories. “Nuns with candelabras, lights that go on and off, sick people coughing or even the lady in white,” these are some of the things that would have been seen at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Córdoba, according to It is commented on in a TikTok video uploaded by the account @descubriendoespanha. Among the well-known stories is that of a cleaning lady who claimed to have spent days talking to the teachers and later discovered that they were long dead. Other cleaners also said they tried to open a room door and noticed, as they turned the handle, that someone was pushing on the other side; However, upon entering, there was no one and nowhere to hide or escape. There are even dogs who do not dare to enter the building when voices are heard from inside and the origin is not known. Stories like these reinforce the idea that the darkest university in Spain is in Córdoba. An aspect which not only gave rise to testimonies like those mentioned, but also to the remains still visible inside the building, such as the rails on which the stretchers were transported to the morgue when it functioned as a hospital.
