Ochate, the reality of the damn town

By admin • August 24, 2008

Ochate is a small of Burgos town, in the county of Treviño that is left, without knowing since when is it and that it acquired years ago fame to register phenomena paranormal. The name of Ochate means, according to the investigators “the door of the spirits or “the door of Gog” (Biblical Personage of the Apocalypse of San Juan).

The town is left and in ruins. Only some house, besides the tower of the old church of San Miguel, still stays still on. The rest is demolished. Necrópolis medieval in the neighborhoods of the town exists one, with tombs excavated on the rock. Also the rest of an old temple are conserved, in a near stop, known like Hermitage Burgondo, from where a superb view of the town is appraised. The origins of this hermitage continue being a mystery, and is one of the places that more legend monopolize. This town is known by the mystery that gives off; as much it is so one has become a place of pilgrimage for the lovers of the paranormal thing.

These legend came to the light due to the news article published at the beginning of the Eighties by the magazine paranormal phenomena “Unknown World” titleholder “Lights in the secret door”. The news article was based on a photography that the own Muguruza took in 1981 in which it appeared a UFO in the neighborhoods of the district of Ochate, and that although many experts put the snapshot (revealed 2 months later) in doubt, the University of Bilbao could not demonstrate the falsification of the image.

The history of the town of Ochate, that has been based more on the mouth mouth as a result of the popular article of Muguruza that in contrastables real data, speaks of which this town was vacated as a result of a series of mysterious epidemics in century XIX, of smallpox, typhus and rage, for that reason has fame of “damn town”. It has to be indicated that the dates of the epidemics in the town do not agree with the epidemics of these diseases that whipped the rest of the province of Burgos and the Alava neighbor, and that does not exist data in the episcopal file of losses of life so lifted.

In addition, by documents of the diocesan file of Vitoria where speech of pastoral visits to the zone and by photographies of the town still still on gathered of the photographic bottom of the Provincial Delegation of Burgos, esteem that the town was left between years 1920 and 1930, in natural circumstances, due to the migration to the cities, as it happened with many populations of Spain at that time. Therefore many experts consider that data that forged this legend are not trustworthy, although certain facts are appraised that can have a real bottom, but seems clear that the town did not disappear by great losses of life and according to last investigations has even been to the last inhabitant of Ochate still with life, its name is Jose Aránguiz and demystifies the history of the town.

Histories stranger than mark the history of the town are:

• The strange disappearance of the parish priest of Ochate, Antonio Villegas, in 1868.
• The alert received by the authorities in 1947 due to the existence of strange lights in the town, and the fall of a ray in the tower of the church of the locality, where it appeared a medallion, in whereabouts at the moment not known.
• Disappearances of people in strange circumstances in the neighborhoods of the town.

The investigations of Prudencio Muguruza and the later ones of Iker Jiménez, speak of a series of relaccionados modern events with the paranormal thing:

• In 1980: psicofonía of Pandora or kanpora is recorded (that means outside! in euskera).
• In 1981: the commented photography of the UFO of Prudencio Muguruza
• In 1986 and 1987: appearances paranormal in the town.
• In 1987: the first and third tank companies armored of the military base of Araca (Vitoria) were lost for more than four hours rambling by one thick fog in Ochate.
• In 1987: disappearance of an investigator in the town, and appearance of its figure months later, with psicofonía what still does the door closed” (that the question to that could be understood as why is the closed town, or what is the same, vacated).

Until 2007 a formal investigation had not been realised (widely accepted) on the reality or not of phenomena paranormal in the zone: the existence of paranormal phenomena in the town has its those in favor, who consider the tests irrefutable and therefore a damn place; while the detractors think that everything is a legend promoted by the popular spreading and the sensationalism.

In this date (January of 2007) the book “Ochate was published. Reality and legend of the damn town “, of Antonio Arroyo and Julio Corral, unique work until the moment that seriously deepens in the history and the mysteries of the town. In this book one appears a rigorous relation of historical data on the zone, that include from 3000 years before Christ to the present time, covering as diverse times as the neolithic one, the Romanisation, the average age, etc. Is remarkable that, on the basis of the contributed data, the authors discard that the aim of the town had to the famous epidemics and show for the first time the real sequence of the depopulation, as well as its causes.

As far as the facet “paranormal”, the authors bring to light some really moving unpublished cases, like the one of a violent murder (real and documented) happened in one of the houses of the town, the surprising testimonies of members of I exercise that strange situations lived during a series of military maneuverses, or the stories of people whom they affirm to have lived inexplicable experiences in the place.

Reality or legend, Ochate abre a deep debate to each other really is a town with a damn past or if on the contrary everything is fruit of the creation of Prudencio Muguruza, which this clearly is that some strange perhaps events have happened but is much legend the one that surrounds to the town and it has been used to make a temple of pilgrimage for all the lovers of the paranormal thing.

Next I leave with 4 fragments of the program Fourth Millenium you in which they investigate the history of Ochate and its phenomena paranormal: