Casa Matusita

LocationAv. Garcilaso de la Vega 1390, Lima, Peru

Completed1909

OwnerMatusita S.A. (until 2005)

Casa Matusita

Interactive map of the Casa Matusita area
General information
Architectural style	Spanish Revival
Location	Av. Garcilaso de la Vega 1390, Lima, Peru
Completed	1909
Owner	Matusita S.A. (until 2005)

The Casa Matusita is a building located at the intersection of Garcilaso de la Vega and España avenues in the center of Lima, Peru. It is known for the popular belief of being a place where paranormal activity exists.^[1]

Urban legends

In 1862, the Lima Penitentiary was inaugurated in front of what would become the house. The prison and its surroundings are claimed to have served in those times as interrogation centers for common and military criminals, especially in the days of the War of the Pacific.^[2] The house was built in 1909, and its first owner was Dr. Carlos Ramírez, later belonging to the Andrade family.^[3]

Its name comes from Matusita S.A., a hardware company that rented the first floor of the building as a warehouse from the 1950s until 2005.^[4]^[5]

In 2016, the second floor was demolished due to the declaration of a dilapidated state issued by the Municipality of Lima. The building's owner, Ladislao Thierry Tiry, reached an agreement with the bank that rented the first level to remodel this floor, and rebuild the second with lightweight material.^[5]

The legends associated with the building are varied, from its origin to paranormal events that supposedly occurred.

One such legend is one of Parvaneh Dervaspa, a Persian woman who is claimed to have arrived to the port of Callao on August 25, 1573, and settled in the house in the mid 18th century, being accused of witchcraft by the Holy Inquisition and burned at the stake on October 23 of the next year after her confession under duress.^[6]^[7]

Another legend mentions a mass poisoning incident, where a family that lived in the building accidentally consumed a hallucinogenic substance that resulted in the deaths of all participants, being characterized by their screaming.^[6] Similar stories feature claims of familicides in the building.^[8]

At the end of the 1970s, the Argentine Humberto Vílchez Vera, host of the television program Los fantasmas se divierten, made a bet that he was capable of staying seven days on the second floor of the building. Vílchez allegedly left the place after two hours and had to be admitted to a mental hospital for a year, after which he disappeared.^[9] Years later, in his book El cazador de fantasmas, the TV host denied the urban legend, saying that such events never happened, and the only thing he wanted was to increase his ratings.^[10]

Conspiracy theories

There is a conspiracy theory that indicates that the origin of the urban legends of ghosts in the building were created and disseminated by the CIA to prevent the building's use for espionage, due to the fact that the U.S. embassy in Lima was located across the street from its construction in the late 1940s to the early 1990s,^[11]^[12]^[13] after which it was replaced by a hospìtal.^[14]

v t e Lima landmarks
Pre-Columbian buildings	Huaca Huallamarca Huaca Pucllana Huaca Santa Catalina Pachacamac Puruchuco
Colonial buildings	Balconies of Lima Basilica and Convent of Nuestra Señora de la Merced Monument Plazoleta Basilica and Convent of San Francisco Catacombs Basilica and Convent of San Pedro Basilica of Santo Domingo Plazuela Casa de Aliaga Casa de Divorciadas Casa de Osambela Casa de Pilatos Casa del Oidor Casa Goyeneche Casa Hacienda Punchauca Casa Matusita Casa O'Higgins Casa Riva-Agüero Casona of the National University of San Marcos Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Museum of Art Theatre Basilica Cathedral of Lima Sanctuary Cementerio Presbítero Matías Maestro Cripta de los Héroes Church of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph Church of Saint Catherine of Siena Church of Saint Lazarus Church of the Good Death Church of the Holy Christ of Wonders Church of the Orphans Church of Our Lady of Copacabana Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church of Our Lady of Patronage Church of Saint Anne Church of Saint Augustine Church of Saint Liberata Church of Saint Mary Magdalene Convent of Our Lady of the Angels Cuartel Barbones Fort of Santa Catalina Iglesia de la Recoleta Mogrovejo Hospital Monastery of Saint Rose of Lima National Mint of Peru Palacio de la Magdalena Palacio de Torre Tagle Panteón de los Próceres Plaza de toros de Acho Real Felipe Fortress Royal College of the University of San Marcos Royal Hospital of Saint Andrew Sanctuary and Monastery of Las Nazarenas Sanctuary of Saint Rose of Lima Seminario de Lima St. Clare's Monastery Mill St. Sebastian's Church Trinitarian Church Walls of Lima
Other touristic buildings	Archbishop's Palace Association of Amateur Artists Atlas Building Bar Cordano Basílica María Auxiliadora BBVA Building Begonias Tower Casa Arenas Loayza Casa de Correos y Telégrafos Casa de las Trece Monedas Casa del Pueblo Casa Fernandini, Lima Casa Fernandini, Santa María del Mar Casa Roosevelt Casa Rusa Casa Sal y Rosas Casa Suárez Chinatown Arch Chocavento Tower Church of Our Lady of the Forsaken Club de la Unión Club Nacional Country Club Lima Hotel Cristo del Pacífico Delfines Hotel & Convention Center Desamparados station Diez de Octubre School Eduardo Dibos Colosseum El Ángel Cemetery Gamarra Government Palace Obelisk Gran Hotel Bolívar Gran Hotel Maury Guadalupe College Hermitage of Barranco Hospital Civil de la Misericordia Hotel Crillón Immaculate Heart of Mary Church Monument Institute of Hygiene Interbank Building Javier Alzamora Valdez Building JW Marriott Hotel Lima La Atarjea La Colmena Building La Rosa Náutica Larcomar Teatro La Plaza Library of Congress Lima Civic Center Legislative Palace Lima Convention Center Lima Stock Exchange Building Luis Gálvez Chipoco Stadium Mesa Redonda Monumental Stadium Morro Solar War Monument Mosque of Lima National Geographic Institute National Library of Peru National Maternal Perinatal Institute National Stadium of Peru Palacio de la Exposición Palacio de Miraflores Palacio Municipal Palace of Justice Petroperú Building Public Ministry of Peru Quinta Heeren Quinta Leuro Quinta Presa Rospigliosi Castle Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus Church Sheraton Lima Historic Center Sinagoga 1870 Sinagoga Sharón The Westin Lima Hotel & Convention Center Torre Banco de la Nación
Museums and theatres	Aeronautical Museum Bodega y Quadra Museum Canout Theatre Casa Grau Naval Museum Combatants of the Morro de Arica Museum DIRCOTE Museum Gold Museum of Peru and Arms of the World Gran Teatro Nacional José Carlos Mariátegui Museum Larco Museum Lima Art Museum Metropolitan Museum Morro Solar Planetarium Municipal Theatre Museum Museum of Congress and the Inquisition Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of the Brain Museum of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru Museum of Elections and Democracy Museum of Italian Art Museum of Natural History National Afro-Peruvian Museum National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History National Museum National Museum of Peruvian Culture Naval Museum Pinacotheca of Lima Teatro Colón Teatro Municipal Teatro Peruano Japonés Teatro Segura
Squares and promenades	Cinco esquinas Jirón de la Unión Pasaje Olaya Monument Pasaje Santa Rosa Pizarro statue Stone of Taulichusco Paseo de los Héroes Navales Las llamas La yunta Paseo Colón Columbus Statue Pizza Blvd. Plaza de la Bandera Plaza Bolívar Plaza Bolognesi Plaza de la Democracia Plaza Dos de Mayo Plaza Francia Statue of Liberty Plaza Grau Monument Plaza Italia Plaza José Faustino Sánchez Carrión Plaza Manco Cápac Monument Plaza Mayor Fountain Plaza Perú Plaza Ramón Castilla Monument Plaza San Martín Lamp of the Three Graces Plazuela de las Artes Plazuela del Teatro Monument
Parks and zoos	Alameda Chabuca Granda Alameda de los Descalzos Museum Bridge of Sighs Campo de Marte Monument Costa Verde Pan-American Complex El Olivar Friendship Park Cultural Centre Museum Heroes of Independence Park Huachipa Zoo Lima Golf Club Malecón de Miraflores Love Park Villena Bridge Medicinal Botanical Garden Kennedy Park Lachay National Reserve Pantanos de Villa Wildlife Refuge Parque de la Exposición Fountain Parque de La Muralla Parque de la Reserva Parque de las Leyendas Paseo de Aguas Plazuela Chabuca Granda Monument Reducto № 2 Museum Reducto № 5 University Park Clock
Education	Antonio Ruiz de Montoya University Cayetano Heredia University Federico Villarreal National University National Superior Autonomous School of Fine Arts Cultural Centre National University of Engineering National University of San Marcos Officers' School of the National Police of Peru Peruvian University of Applied Sciences Pontifical Catholic University of Peru Raúl Porras Barrenechea Institute Ricardo Palma University Technological University of Peru University of Engineering and Technology Campus University of Lima
Health	Archbishop Loayza National Hospital Dos de Mayo National Hospital Edgardo Rebagliati Martins National Hospital San Bartolomé National Hospital Víctor Larco Herrera Hospital
Nearby areas with beaches	Ancón Callao Base Port Chancay Port Chorrillos La Herradura Miraflores La Pampilla Pucusana
Former	Banco Comercial Barranco Lake Barranco Zoo Cabildo of Lima Casa Alcántara Casa Marcionelli Casa Oechsle Casa Tenaud Church of Our Lady of the Forsaken Church of Saint Mary of Charity Cine Tauro El Sexto Prison Gate of Lima Giacoletti Building Great Clock of Lima Hipódromo de San Felipe Hipódromo de Santa Beatriz Lima Penitentiary Limatambo Airport Limatambo Building Marsano Palace Moorish Arch Museo de la Nación National Stadium San Jorge Prison San Martín barracks Venetian Palace Saint Paul's College Viceregal Palace

Urban legends

Conspiracy theories

See also

References

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