Piria Castle: a night in the dark and the mirror photo

Lots of people visit Piria Castle during the day. I wanted to see it at midnight, with no lights and alone. Thanks to the caretaker and the guard, I was able to investigate inside with the main power switched off and the castle in total darkness. I wanted to know whether the paranormal phenomenon, at least that night, was as real as people say.

Note: the videos are in Spanish. This page is the full story in English.

The castle and Francisco Piria

Francisco Piria was born in Montevideo in 1847, the son of Italian immigrants, and lost his father very young. He started out as a street seller near the port and ended up as one of the biggest businessmen in Uruguay. In 1890 he bought the land where he founded the town of Piriápolis, and in 1897 he finished this castle, which became his home. From the outside it looks medieval, but it imitates the Italian villas of the late 19th century.

Piria was fond of alchemy, and you can see it in the symbols on the column capitals. After his death in 1933 the castle went through many hands and was looted more than once: much of the original furniture never came back. In the 1970s it even worked as a nightclub, "La Boîte de los Espectros", with the artist Carlos Páez Vilaró. Since 1980 it has belonged to the Maldonado local government, since 1984 it has been a National Historic Monument, and today it is a free museum.

What the person who looks after it says

To understand a place, Wikipedia is not enough: you have to talk to the people who look after it. The castle's caretaker told me she is not afraid there, that it is her home, and that she feels protected by "el Tata" ("Grandpa"), as she calls Piria.

But feeling protected doesn't mean she hasn't seen things. On Good Friday in 2000, at midnight, she accepted her coworkers' dare to go in alone. She climbed the stairs with her legs shaking, sat by the blind door and, according to her account, Piria appeared to her: brown trousers, white shirt, beige jacket and a pipe in his hand. He told her not to be scared, that she was the chosen one, but that she had to leave.

That blind door, a door that leads nowhere, is part of the legend: it is said that Piria used it as a portal in his alchemy experiments. People also talk about tunnels connecting the castle with the Argentino Hotel, although those passages no longer exist.

The first night: alone and in the dark

Ground floor. In the old staff kitchen I heard something like a man's voice. It could have been the echo of my own voice, and I said so at the time. When I reviewed the audio, there was a background sound in the silence that I couldn't make out; played backwards, to me it sounds like "cúlpame" ("blame me"). I also heard footsteps behind me, probably the echo of my own: the castle is very tall and everything bounces.

First floor. Going up the stairs changed everything: a dense, ugly feeling, goosebumps, which I hadn't had downstairs. I left equipment in the room of the mirror photo and asked for a sign: to play the piano or touch one of the devices. Nothing happened. In that same room my flashlight started to fade, as if it were dying, and then suddenly went back to normal.

The temperature sensors showed drops, but it was very cold that night, so I don't count that as evidence. The Spirit Box session didn't give anything clear either. What was strange: next to the bed in that room, with the whole castle without electricity, I measured 6.5 milligauss. I went back to the same spot and it was gone.

"Does that mean there is a spirit? No. It means there is an electromagnetic fluctuation that shouldn't be there. At least tonight, at this moment, I couldn't document paranormal activity."

The mirror photo

To me, this is one of the strongest pieces of evidence I have ever had in my hands.

On 29 June 2025, during a daytime visit, two tourists went into the main bedroom. I was a few meters away, on the other side, talking to the caretaker about permission to investigate, wearing my Paranormal SIN Miedo vest. One of them took a photo from the doorway towards the oval mirror next to the wardrobe. Afterwards they came looking for me, shaken, and asked me to look at the mirror.

In the mirror you can see the tourist with glasses and, next to her, a dark figure: you can make out facial features and a height. The strongest part is its density, because it covers a painting behind it. There is nothing at the back of the room with that shape.

I ran the photo through every artificial intelligence I could, and they all see a person, probably a woman. But as an investigator I can't say it is a ghost, or Piria's wife: it is an incredible photograph, but it isn't enough.

"I can't claim that's a spirit. Much more evidence would be needed. But there is no doubt that it shouldn't be there."

That's why I set the bar high: if someone publishes evidence like this, they should share the original file, untouched. Here is mine.

👉 Download the original photo in full quality and analyze it yourself

The second night: with Esteban, from La Cripta

A month and a half later I went back at night, this time with Esteban from the YouTube channel La Cripta, and with a separate sound recorder to capture the ambience, because of that voice from the first night.

The first thing I did was take him to see the mirror. It was gone. There was a painting in its place. None of my videos had been published yet, and the only person who knew about the photo was the caretaker. It may be a coincidence, but it is striking.

Esteban felt the same as I did: calm downstairs; going up the stairs, weak legs and the feeling of being watched. Near the wardrobe in the room of the photo, as he told me, "his courage faded a little". We repeated the tourists' photo, set up a laser grid aimed at the blind door and asked for knocks, for the piano to be played or for someone to pass in front of the laser. The K2 barely moved once and the Mel Meter stayed at zero.

"This time, beyond what we felt going up the stairs, we had no variations, no readings and no sounds that could be classified as a paranormal phenomenon."

And that is investigating too: going back to the same place, with more equipment, and telling what happened, even when nothing happens.

The full investigations (in Spanish)

If you visit

Piria Castle is on the outskirts of Piriápolis, in Maldonado, Uruguay, on Route 37. Today it is a free municipal museum, open during the day. Opening hours change with the season, so check before you go. And if you go, be respectful: it is someone's home, as the caretaker says.

🔦 Did you see the flashlight on the home page? One of the hidden recordings is this photo: look for the phrase "Look at the mirror".