A Comprehensive Guide To Haunted Places In San Juan, Puerto Rico

If you’re going to Puerto Rico, you absolutely have to do more than just ghost hunting. You also need to check out El Yunque, the only tropical rainforest in the United States.

Our El Yunque National Forest: A Guide For Tourists post can help you plan that portion of your trip.

Capilla del Santo Cristo de la Salud

(1 Calle del Cristo)

The Capilla del Santo Cristo de la Salud doesn’t seem to be haunted, according to anything I can find, but it does find itself on every ghost walking tour in the city because of the legend of how it was build.

It’s on top of a high wall that once protected San Juan. Next to it is Parque de las Palomas (Pigeon Park), a site that had a high wall with sockets for cannon placement because it overlooked the water (and man, it’s a beautiful view). When the cannons were removed, pigeons came in an occupied the sockets. That was in the 1800’s and they’re still there today.

At the end of that high wall was … nothing. And behind it was a sharp drop. So, if you were walking up Cristo Street and not paying attention you could fall off. So, it wasn’t the best place to hold a horse race and yet, for some reason, there was exactly that during the San Juan Bautista celebrations in 1753.

One of the participants was very determined to win the race so he was pushing his horse. But, when he was approaching the end, he couldn’t stop the horse and fell down the cliff. Don Tomás Mateo Prats, who was then Secretary of Government, prayed to Santo Cristo de la Salud to intercede.

The legend says that Santo Cristo de la Salud saved the young man and the chapel was built because of this. History notes vary on this. Some say the young man, Baltazar Montañez, and his horse both died. Others say just the horse died and Baltazar survived and actually built the chapel. Either way, Don Tomás Mateo Prats said build the chapel anyway to prevent future tragedies. 

Casa Blanca

(1 C. de San Sebastián)

The Casa Blanca mansion is one of the oldest structures in San Juan. It was built in 1521 for Juan Ponce de León, who originally explored the island to look for gold and eventually became the first governor of Puerto Rico. Juan Ponce de León died before the construction of the house was completed, but his family occupied the home for 250 years.

The house is now Museo Casa Blanca, a museum that’s open to the public.

It’s also haunted.

The museum’s manager experienced getting locked in a room by herself, a night guard saw a shadowy figure where a statue should have been standing, and a spinning wheel in the study of Ponce de León II was seen spinning itself. This activity was enough for the museum to call the ghost hunting show Haunted Collector to help. You can see the full episode here.

Castillo San Cristóbal

(501 Calle Norzagaray)

Castillo San Cristóbal is the largest fort built in the Americas, used to protect San Juan from land attacks. So, you would think the ghost story there would be one of battle.

But, you’d be wrong. Instead, it’s a love story, one that Shakespeare could have written.

We start with protagonist Maria Dolores, daughter of San Juan’s executioner. She falls in love with a drifter named Betancourt. Betancourt is found guilty of theft and hung by … you guessed it, Maria’s father.

Maria finds Betancourt hanging in the gallows at the top of a hill outside city walls (where the fortress stands now), and, in true Romeo and Juliet fashion, hangs herself next to him. Her body is discovered by her father who died immediately.

Maria’s father seems to be at rest in his own space in the afterlife, but Maria and Betancourt are enjoying their forsaken romance right where it should have been enjoyed in life: in San Juan. The couple can be found wandering around Castillo San Cristóbal together.

There is another story here, though, related to soldiers. When some were on watch in one of the turrets (now called “La Garita del Diablo”, meaning Devil’s Watchtower, they would call out to the other solider on watch and receive no reply. The first soldier would go to check on the second and find just his clothing and weapons. The legend says the devil himself would come and devour the soldier. 

Castillo San Felipe del Morro

(501 Calle Norzagaray)

Castillo San Felipe del Morro, also known as El Morro, is the most recognized landmark in San Juan. Along with San Cristóbal, it makes up the San Juan National Historical Site.

The fort overlooks San Juan Bay and was used to protect the entrance to the bay San Juan during battle. The fort is made of six levels, which you can still explore today. 

When you’re in El Morro, you just feel the grandeur of the building. You can stand at cannons and imagine them in use. It’s incredible to stand at the domed garitas and stare out into the bay, knowing that it was the last view that some soldiers had.

​If you’re lucky, you can also see ghosts.

There’s the woman in a white dress who glides along the ramparts. It’s been said that no one has seen her face. Visitors have felt strange feelings when walking through the tunnels and employees 

A tourist heard someone yell “Ayuda me” (help me) in a Chinese accent. In the 1800’s a Chinese prisoner starved to death, so it’s probably him. That voice came from the old dungeons, which is now a theater. Visitors who sit in that theater get the feeling that someone is watching them.

Tourists have reported hearing footsteps and feeling spirits breathing on their necks and watching them. And there was a tourist who saw a soldier in old, military clothing walk through the wall of the fort’s lighthouse. Fun fact: That’s actually the third lighthouse built in the fort. The second one, which would have been there during the time period the soldier was alive, had an opening in the space where the wall he walked through is now.

Cathedral of San Juan Bautista

(151 Calle del Cristo)

Cathedral of San Juan Bautista, is the second-oldest cathedral in the Western Hemisphere, the oldest church on US soil, and the final resting place of Juan Ponce de León.

Or unresting place, if you believe the tales that his spirit is still hanging around the church.

It makes sense, since the building itself has been at unrest as well. The church, which was originally built in 1521, was destroyed by a hurricane in 1540, then a second hurricane took its roof off in 1615. It has also been victim to robberies, most notably by English troops under the command of Earl of Cumberland, which were also the only troops to launch a successful attack of El Morro.

Cementerio Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis

(FV9J+R4R, Cemetery St)

It makes sense that a cemetery would be haunted. The Cementerio Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis, which has been open since 1863, is home to famous Puerto Rican residents, including José Ferrer, who was the first Puerto Rican-born actor to win an Academy Award, and his son, Miguel José Ferrer, known for Twin Peaks.

There has been a report of someone hearing a ghost horse at the site. There have been references to ghostly activity at the cemetery, but the horse is the only documented apparition I can find.

Cuartel de Ballaja (aka Las Américas Museum)

(C. Beneficencia)

The Cuartel de Ballaja was originally a barracks for the Spanish and Puerto Rican soldiers. It was overtaken and occupied by the US infantry and eventually became a hospital.

The building fell into disarray, but was brought back to glory in 1992 in time for the 500th anniversary of Columbus. The second floor now houses the Museum of the Americas and has other shops downstairs, like Cafe Don Ruiz, where I got a great iced latte and Pete got good iced coffee.

Neither of us got haunted. But with spirits of soldiers wandering around, marching as if still in battle, it’s definitely possible.

Hotel El Convento

(100 Calle del Cristo)

Hotel El Convento was originally a covenant for nuns. Doña Ana de Lansos y Menéndez de Valdez, a wealthy widow, petitioned King Phillip IV of Spain to open the covenant, as there weren’t any in Puerto Rico at the time. He agreed and the convent was opened in 1651.

Religious laws changed in the early 1900s, forcing the nuns to leave.

But not all of them left.

Doña Ana, founder and first mother superior of the covenant, has been known to roam the halls of the building, which now operates as a hotel. Guests at El Convento Hotel have also noticed lights flickering in the halls, windows opening on their own, and some have even felt an icy cold hand touch them.

It’s also said that visitors who lost their lives at nearby El Convento beach also haunt the building. 

La Casa Del Libro Museum

(255 Calle del Cristo)

La Casa Del Libro Museum, a library and museum with historic books and documents dating back to the 15th century, is haunted by a former caretaker.

The caretaker loved her job so much and didn’t want to leave. Visitors have heard her footsteps and seen her figure in the museum.

La Fortaleza

(63 Calle de la Fortaleza)

La Fortaleza is the oldest continuously used governor’s mansion in the Americas. It also may be the only haunted one.

It’s not haunted by former governors. Rather by former residents and soldiers who were in charge of patrolling the walls. Visitors who have explored the grounds have heard strange noises and have see apparitions. 

Normandie Hotel

(499 Av. Luis Muñoz Rivera)

The now closed Normandie Hotel is haunted by a former hotel guest.

Shortly after the hotel opened in 1942, a woman jumped from the seventh story and committed suicide. Since then, guests reported seeing her spirit walk around the hotel grounds and others have heard her crying.

Plaza Colón (Columbus Square)

(Calle Calz. de los Heroes 908)

In the center of Plaza Colón stands a Christopher Columbus statue that was, when it was erected in 2016, the tallest statue in the hemisphere. Originally it was meant to be a gift to the continental United States to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus “discovering” America, but it was turned down by Columbus, Ohio (plus New York, Boston, and some other cities) and was eventually set up in Puerto Rico.

Ghostly apparitions and supernatural occurrences in and around the square are referenced online, but there are no specifics as to who or what is doing the haunting.

It is a central meeting spot in Old San Juan, with a square that’s usually filled with vendors, so it might just be convenient to start a ghost tour somewhere with “occurrences.”

Plaza del Quinto Centenario

(FV9J+59G, Calle del Cristo)

There’s a Puerto Rican legend about a Taíno princess named Guanina and the Spanish officer Don Cristobal de Sotomayor whom she fell in love with.

Don Cristobal de Sotomayor was killed, a way to prove to the Taínos that the Spanish were, indeed, mortal. They went to find Guanina and murder her for being a traitor, but she was already dead, found with her head on her love’s chest. The couple were buried together beneath a ceiba tree.

The couple has been seen leaving their resting place to embrace under the San Juan stars at Plaza del Quinto Centenario.

Puerta de San Juan

(FV8J+354 Caleta de San Juan)

The Puerta de San Juan is a large door built into the city’s walls, which was once one of the entrances to the city.

A cross was placed within the walls to try and protect it from evil. But that might not be all that’s there. Legend has it that buried treasure is also there. And spirits who still guard that treasure have been seen. 

There are also spirits of people who stood at that gate, defending the city from invaders. 

Puerto Rico Tourism Company

(La Princesa Building, 2 Paseo de la Princesa)

The Puerto Rico Tourism Company was once the oldest prison on the island. It was built in 1837 and operated as a prison for over 100 years. Unfortunately, many prisoners were executed in the building, known as “La Princesa.”

It’s thought that the ghosts that haunt the building are those of former prisoners.

Teatro Tapia

(FV8Q+65P, Calle Fortaleza)

​It seems like every town has its own haunted theater: Pantages Theater in Tacoma, Wa, The Capitol Theatre in Yakima, Wa, and The Opera House in Abbeville, SC are just a few of the ones we’ve been to personally. So, of course, San Juan has a haunted theatre: Teatro Tapia.

Teatro Tapia is one of the oldest operating theaters in the Americas, showcasing performances since 1832.

During one of those performances, an actress fell from the stage and died. She may, or may not be, the Edwardian Era attire-dressed woman who appear and then disappears in Box 105.

Staff members have heard whispers and singing around the theater and have heard footsteps too. Actors have noticed a sprit walking around the mezzanine level.

The Gallery Inn

(204 Norzagaray Street)

The Gallery Inn is a collection of five 18th century buildings that originally was the home to an artillery captain who defended El Morro during the British invasion (the war, nothing to do with The Beatles).

The buildings, which are now over 450 years old, operate as a 28 bedroom hotel … which might be missing a couple upgrades. But, if you believe everything you read on Trip Advisor, you get something else in return. The review says you’re going to find “partial body parts and/or creepy faces attempting to suck out your soul”.

Another, unrelated, review talks about being unable to sleep because she was visited by ghosts all night, calling it Grand Central Station for ghosts.

Others just report a ghost wandering the courtyards at night.

Haunted Walking Tours:

You can plan your own self-guided haunted walk around the city. But, if you’d rather have someone show you around town, giving you both the rich history and ghosts stories of the area, you’re best to book a tour.

We didn’t do any of these, so we can’t recommend them personally, but you can check out the San Juan Ghost Walk, San Juan Spooky History Walking Tour, Puerto Rico Ghosts Tour, or The Ghosts of San Juan: Private Tour.

Have you seen any ghosts in San Juan, Puerto Rico? Let us now in the comments