A family in Belmez, Spain claimed that in 1971 human faces began spontaneously appearing in the concrete floor of their kitchen. When they attempted to destroy the images by replacing the concrete, new faces would form. Over time more faces of different shapes, sizes and expressions appeared. The phenomenon became a major tourist attraction for decades, though scientists found evidence the faces were man-made through chemical compounds or being painted on.

1. The Faces of Belmez
Spain 1971

2. Who?
 María
Gómez Cámara claimed that a human
face formed spontaneously on her concrete
kitchen floor. María's husband, Juan Pereira and
their son, Miguel, destroyed the image with a
pickaxe and new concrete was laid down.
However, the Pereira story goes, a new face
formed on the floor.
 The
Pereira family claim that faces continued to
appear, both male and female and of different
shapes, sizes and expressions.

3. What?
 The
Bélmez Faces or the Faces of
Bélmez is an alleged paranormal
phenomenon. Residents claimed images
of faces appeared in the concrete floor of
the house. These images have
continuously formed and disappeared on
the floor of the home.

4. Where?
 In
a private house in Spain.

5. When?
 August,
1971.

6. Effects?
 The
house became a major tourist
attraction, and for 30 years people have
been coming to see the strange
phenomenon.
 The faces also made the town of Belmez
famous.

7. Visual Support

8. Logical Explanation?
 Scientists
and parapsychologists have
formulated possible explanations:
 The
faces were painted
 A chemical compound had been used to stain the
concrete
 Light sensitive compounds

9. Reactions to phenomenon?
 As
with any phenomenon : Belief and
scepticism
 Scientists have proven that there are
elements within the concrete that were
man made.
 Tourists and paranormal fanatics flocked
to the area to see the phenomenon,
ignoring scientific fact.

10. Challenging aspects
 If
this happened in your house, what
challenges would you face when telling
people?

11. How did this change society/
group?
 How
do you think this changed Spain at
the time?
 How do you think this effected the family
involved? Explain.

12. So…what is your opinion?
 In
three to four sentences write your
opinion of The Faces of Belmez. Do you
believe they were fake? Or did they
appear from paranormal activity? Write
your response with a justification.