Comparatives online

comparatives online

Spanish spooky stories IV.

The bloody tower.

In Jerez de los Caballeros, a town placed in the south west of Extremadura, there is a legend about some ghosts of templar knights which are living in the "bloody tower": the keep of the Templar castle in the village.

In accordance with this legend, some templar knights were living in this fortress. But the Pope and the king decided that they must be executed (beacuse issues of faith and gold) During several days Templars were besiege in Jerez de los Caballeros, and finally cornered in the keep. The massacre was terrible: more than 30 templar knights were killed or beheaded. Old chronicles point that the blood flowed downstairs to the courtyard. A tragedy which is still remembered at the village, and which gave to the keep its actual name: "Bloody Tower".

But the knights didn't go. At least completely. Many witnesses affirm that in the new moon nights, if you go to the castle, you'll probably listen human whistles. Also far metallic noises, as if someone were walking by the ramparts. People explain that noises and whistles are produced by the souls of Templars, which are calling their horses. Before die, they swore to return to holy land on their steeds for fighting in the Crusades. They whistle and whistle with the new moon; but no horse comes to the call. For this reason, they can't abandon the caslte, and they are condemned to dwell the tower... Forever.

Dracula.

One of the most famous Halloween characters is Dracula, the vampire. In this report I'm going to answer some questions about him.

Who was Dracula?

Dracula was a real character in the 15th century. His true name was "Vlad Tepes", the impaler. He was a noble prince who fought against the Turkish empire. Old chronicles point that he was very sadist and cruel. He used to "impale" his enemies: that is, he skewered them alive in stakes through the anus until they died.

Where did he live?

He lived in Valaquia (actual Romania), ruling this land during 6 years (from 1456 to 1462)



What did he do during his life?

He expent his lifetime fighting against everybody. This is because he had many enemies: Turkish, nearby Christian kingdoms, nobles from his own country...

How did he die?

Of course, in a battle. He was killed by his own soldiers, who confused him with an enemy.

And why the legend?

The actual myth of vampires was created by Bram Stoker, an Irish writer. Inspired by the historic character of Vlad Tepes, hr wrote "Dracula". In this masterwork he invented all the features that we associate today with vampires: stakes on the heart, garlic for scaring them away, bloodsucking, inmortality...

Spanish spooky stories I I I

The ball of light in Magacela.

Magacela is a town next here; about 50 km away. There, there is a legend about a strange light which appears on a quiet lagoon. People says that in October, when the night comes, sometimes, a ball of light flies over "La laguna de los Santos" (The lagoon of the saints) There are many witnesses of this rare light. Miguel Ángel Tena, a man from Castuera, watched the light in 2010, when he was sitting down next to the water. And Mary Gutiérrez, in 2014, swears that she also saw the light flying over the lake.

But this is not only today. There are ancient chronicles (Fray Diego Becerra de Valcárcel, in 1684, points that he saw the same light)  and old pictures in a dolmen which represent a ball of light flying on this area.

Spanish spooky stories I I.

The ghost in Villanueva de los Infantes.

Villanueva de los Infantes is a town in the Spanish province of Ciudad Real. There, there is a hotel where two ghosts are living. The name of the hotel: "La morada del Comendador". Some clients say that in one of the rooms, at three o'clock in the night, there are strange noises; concretly, a marble bouncing on the floor of the room. When you switch on the light, you don't see anything. But when you switch off again, the marble starts to bounce again, as if it were very next to you.

People also say that they feel sudden changes of temperature.

And finally, one of the clients swears that he saw, in front of his bed, a terrifying phantom with moustache and beard, and fierce eyes, looking at him quietly. He also saw a woman with a long plait. She was crying.

Vocabulary:

noise: ruido
marble: canica.
bounce: rebotar.
switch on: encender.
as if it were: como si estuviera.
sudden: repentino
swear: jurar.

Halloween monster descriptions.

Look at these pictures. Read the descriptions and associate them with each monster:

1. She is a woman. She has got grey / blue eyes. She has got black hair, red lips and the mouth is opened. She has got a fierce gesture.
2. He has got yellow eyes, sharp teeth and sharp ears. He is bald. He has got blood on his lips.
3. He is wrapped into white bandages.
4. He hasn't got flesh; only bones. He has got bony long fingers and sharp teeth. His gesture is fierce. The background is black.

Homework.

Choose one of these photos and describe it.