Spooky places in Attica – Newsbeast

Haunted places, legends, mysteries lost in the past and places that cause a slight numbness to those who visit them. Homes that are no longer inhabited when they were once full of life, places that were stigmatized by the voices of the wounded and tortured. There is also this side of Attica, the spooky places that make us want to see them up close, photograph them and know their true history.

We visit them and present them to you so you can try …

Davelis cave

It is located in the southwestern part of Penteli at an altitude of 720 meters. They say it took its name from the thief Davelis and that it was his hiding place if this story has been disputed.

In ancient times it was a sanctuary of the god Pan, while in Byzantine times there was a hermitage of ascetics, who called it “Cave of the Innocents”. The cave was explored by the Greek spelunker couple Ioannis and Anna Petrochilou.

Its entrance is particularly impressive and majestic. To the right of the entrance is the church of Agios Nikolaos and the hermitage of Agios Spyridon.

These two monuments were cracked by the works of the Ministry of National Defense that were carried out in the area in the 1970s and 1980s. The interior of the cave was also damaged. However, today’s churches are supported and maintained.

The most famous legend that exists about the Cave refers to the Listarchos Davelis who supposedly found a hiding place there.

Christos Davelis (real name Natsios) was born around 1832 in Steiri, Boeotia. At the age of 15 he worked as a rancher and a servant at the Penteli Monastery. From a young age he entered the illegality and joined a gang. His much disputed “action” culminated in 1855, with the kidnapping of French captain Berto. The incident sparked a diplomatic dispute and unrest within the government.

He was assassinated in a confrontation with a detachment of the Gendarmerie in 1856, near the town of Zemeno in Viotia. The detachment was led by his brother friend and former leader, Ioannis Megas, who left the band after a confrontation with Davelis over … the eyes of the Italian Countess Louisa Bancoli.

In one of the stories that “follow” the thief’s reputation, Davelis appears to kidnap the famous Duchess of Placentia, Duchess of Placentia, to demand a ransom for her release. At the same time, the myth of “burning love” began to develop between the duchess and the archilist.

Parnitha Sanitarium

The Parnitha Sanatorium is one of the most discussed and haunted places in Greece. It opened its doors in 1912 to treat people with tuberculosis.

Thousands of people from all over the country, but mainly from Athens, ended up in the sanitarium.

Most of them came for treatment and to take advantage of Parnitha’s fresh air, but since they could not afford the treatment (300 to 480 drachmas a month) they camped outside. Many people were hospitalized there, including the poets Giannis Ritsos and George Kotzioulas.

The sanatorium operated for about three decades. After the discovery of penicillin in 1950, the building’s services were undermined and closed in 1960. EOT followed, five years later, as the new owner who operated it for a time as a “Xenia” hotel.

However, the way it was built and the fact that it was close to “Mont Parnes” led to its closure in 1960. In 1967 the Organization for Tourism Education and Training was moved and installed in the building. The tourism schools operated until 1984 and were later transferred to Anavyssos. Later, the building was permanently abandoned.

Even today, if one stands in this place, it is impossible not to feel awe. This is probably due to the fact that he “inherited” both the sanatorium and the “park of souls”, a feeling that exudes fear.

Over the years, many stories have been heard of people who had tuberculosis and died in the sanitarium and were supposed to have frequented the area.

In the sanatorium there is an open-air scary museum that “connects” perfectly with the surrounding atmosphere.

Villa Kazouli in Kifissia

The impressive building, an adornment of architecture “Villa Kazouli” is located in Kifissia, on Kifissias Avenue just before the Zirineio municipal stadium.

It was built by businessman Kazoulis around 1910.

The building is a mixture of Neoclassicism and Renaissance architecture. It is characterized by the impressive dome that tries to “tie” with the rest of the house. The entrance has a marked Renaissance character and has neoclassical columns.

According to a sales contract discovered years ago, it was confirmed that before the construction of the villa the huge plot that Kazoullis bought (up to the south side of the place where the KAT now exists) had been used as a cemetery called “Mnimouri” or “Monuments Turks “.

The fact that the town is built on a cemetery was the reason for the creation of the stories of the “haunted town” starring dozens of ghosts and wandering souls.

The fact that during the occupation the village was occupied by the Germans and the SS garrison was housed and many resistance fighters were tortured in their basements also contributed to the horror stories.

According to testimonies, in fact, at some point in its enormous garden at least 12 Greek soldiers were buried, who testified in the hands of the conquerors and remain there to this day. It is also said that even when the Germans were leaving, six Greek citizens were executed outside the main gate.

It is rumored that the Germans, while inside the villa, made an inventory of the treasures within the building. Illegal digs have even been reported in his yard to find treasures.

Everything of great value was placed in boxes that the Nazis took away when Athens was liberated.

“The Tower of Dreams” in Faliro

It is a dilapidated building located on Smolensky Street and has been named the “Tower of Dreams”.

Although it has been uninhabited for a decade, it is said that it is only visited by the ghost of the cloth merchant Kourtalis who lived there.

Ambitious and curious, he was obsessed with earning an office, but little by little he went crazy and isolated himself in the mansion where he lived alone. In his youth he wanted to be a tenor and often went out to the balcony singing arias.

Losing his property in the last years of his life, the house went public due to debts, he continued to live there until he died in hospital after being injured, the story goes. The metaphysical version, however, wants Kourtalis to die inside the Tower under unclear circumstances.

The legendary Plaza de la Torre de América

It is located at 54 Thiras Street in America Square. Appear behind the fence with the barbed wire and tall cacti. It has gaps and shields from the family that lived there.

This is the Typaldou Tower. It is the only authentic building of Neo-Gothic architecture in all of Athens that still stands, but it causes chills to all who see it.

It was declared a monument in 2008 and was built in 1914, by order of the drug merchant and importer, George Alfonsatou Typaldou – a descendant of the noble Typald family with roots in Naples, Italy, which according to written documents dates back to 1400.

The tower remained a family home, where it was inhabited non-stop until 1995. The last host of the tower was the older sister of Mrs. Kallimani’s grandmother, who left the tower with her son, after a robbery, which forced them to leave in a very ugly way. . They have not returned since and the tower remained closed and in ruins.