Haunted Places: Joelma Building

THE ENIGMA OF JOELMA

The Joelma Building, one of the most imposing buildings in Sao Paulo Brazil,  burned down by more than four hours on February 1st, 1974. The result of this tragedy were 345 injured and 189 killed. Even today experts ensure that the place is surrounded by a strange spiritual energy. Witnesses said the building Joelma carries a curse.

In 1948, there was a house where is now Joelma Building. There lived a chemistry professor, Paul Campbell, 26 years, along with his mother and two sisters. Paul shot and killed his mother and sisters and buried the bodies in a pit that had built in the backyard. After Paul committed suicide. The police worked with two hypotheses for the crime. The first is that the family would have rejected a girlfriend. The second is that Paul would have killed his mother and sisters because they had serious health problems and he did not want to take care of them.

The mystery of the death of the entire family has never been solved. After the recovery of bodies, a firefighter also became a victim of the curse and died of corpse infection. The triple murder-suicide shocked the population of Sao Paulo and became known as "The Crime of the Pit". The place became famous for being haunted.

In 1972, the house gave way to a modern building of 20 floors. It was the Joelma Building. Because of the Crime, the number of the street was changed, but the curse was not forgotten.

On February 1st, 1974, at 8:45 am, a short circuit in the air conditioning of the building started the fire. With nowhere to run, people panicked. The heat reached 700 º C and many jumped from the top of the building. The fire virtually destroyed the Joelma. There was no water in the cars of the Fire Department ladder Magirus and only managed to reach a part of the building.

Thirteen people managed to escape by elevator, but could not save themselves. The bodies were not identified and were eventually buried side by side in St. Peter's Cemetery in the capital. The thirteen bodies gave rise to the mystery of the thirteen souls and to them are attributed miracles.

After the fire, the building was four years closed for construction. When reopened, it was renamed the Plaza of the Flag. Witnesses said the dead spirits roam the building today. The Building Joelma has dozens of empty rooms, but the attempt to rid the place of spirits continues. The stories about the old Joelma are still a great mystery. Some believe, some doubt and some are sure that everything is true.