La Casa Matusita

no. 12 ISSUE

O

n the corner of avenues Garcilaso de la Vega and España in Peru’s capital city of Lima stands a vibrant yellow house with a plain façade. With it’s blue stone accents and red doors, from the outside La Casa Matusita looks nothing out of the ordinary.

Named after the store that once resided on the first floor of the building, it is what lies within this structure that makes it the focal point of many Peruvian stories. There are various tales that are told about the goingson within La Casa Matusita, most of which lead to a grim ending. Many locals believe this house to be haunted by several tortured ghosts, and claim that if any persons enter the second floor they will go mad.

T

he legends origin dates back to 18th century Peru.

took Dervaspa into custody. They proceeded to torture her

Throughout the 1700’s, Lima was thought to be a distinguished

until she confessed to practicing witchcraft, and with that she

and aristocratic colonial capital, home to the National

was sentenced to the gruesome death of being burnt at the

University of San Marcos and the Spanish stronghold of the

stake. With her final breaths it is told that Dervaspa cursed

Americas. In 1753 a young woman named Dervaspa Parvaneh

the ground upon which she was being burnt, the premise to

immigrated to Lima from Europe. Parvaneh was believed to be

the horrors that occurred in the following years.

of Persian decent and it was not long before she was the centre of local conversation. The townspeople had been watching Dervaspa very closely, and on a few occasions they reportedly saw her healing people of illnesses such as measles, influenza, and smallpox, all of which were introduced to the Americas by the arrival of the Spaniards. Immediately, the townspeople swore that Dervaspa was a witch with magical healing powers and it was not long before the Spanish Inquisition heard of the rumours. The Spanish Inquisition, known for their terrifyingly brutal methods of interrogation and punishment,

THE ORIGINS

THE PERVERSE GENTLEMAN

S

ome years later a brutal, vicious and wealthy landowner

Terrified, the servants hid in the kitchen until the commotion

built a house upon the ground that was tainted with the

died down. Once the noise had subsided, the servants were

supposed curse of Dervaspa Parvaneh. This gentlemen was

eager, yet uneasy, to see the state of embarrassment that their

known for his terrible treatment of his servants, tormenting

master was in, but nothing could have prepared them for the

them for his own enjoyment and if they were not living up to

scene they walked in on. Blood scattered the walls and floor of

his standards of work. In a majority of old Peruvian houses,

the dining room. Furniture was smashed and thrown in every

the living quarters were situated upstairs, with the first floor

direction. Mutilated bodies lay frozen on the ground and in

being made up kitchens, living and dining areas, servants

the dining chairs, with scatterings of human flesh and bone

quarters, hallways etc. One day the gentleman decided to

throughout the room. The ayahuasca had caused the guests

host a lunch at the house for a few close friends and relatives.

and their master to go mad and rip each other apart.

The servants decided to use this as an opportunity to seek revenge on their master. Legend has it that they were able to

In regards to what happened to the servants, there are varying

obtain ayahuasca, an extremely hallucinogenic plant-based tea

tales about what happened in this part of the legend. Some

derived from the Caapi plant. The servants spiked the food

say that they hung themselves from the ceiling, as they could

and drink, served the meals to their master and his guests,

not live with what they had done. Others say they servants

then resided in the kitchen as if they were still tending to

attempted to set fire to the house down, but suspiciously the

their regular duties. After a few moments of general chatter,

house did not burn down and they were sent to an insane

a silence fell upon the dining room. This was shortly followed

asylum where they would spend the rest of their lives.

by loud screams and savage noises echoing through the house.

A

fter nearly a century La Casa Matusita remained unoccupied,

until a Japanese family by the name of Matsushida moved in to the second floor of the home, turning the first floor into a shop that would support the family. The Matsushida family were known for their happy lives. The business was going well and the family of four; a husband, wife, and two children, were in good health. One day Mr. Matsushida came home early form running errands around town. As he entered his home, he heard moaning coming from his bedroom. Curious, went upstairs and entered his room and found his wife in bed with another man.

Heartbroken and outraged, Mr. Matsushida grabbed a knife and ended his wife’s life along with her lovers. Overcome with grief and sorrow, he waited for his children to come home, murdered them and then ended his own life as a result of the betrayal.

MR. MATSUSHIDA

THE CATHOLIC PRIEST

Y

ears later, the shop on the first level of La Casa

and after a few days the shopkeeper faced his fears and went

Matusita was occupied by a new owner. As time progressed

upstairs to find the priest. As he reached the top of the stairs,

the shop owner kept hearing loud noises coming form the

he saw the priest on the ground clutching at his bible. He had

second floor even though it was unoccupied. He called upon

died of a heart attack supposedly induced by fear.

the local priest to perform an exorcism, having heard of the grim tales that associated with the previous owners. The Priest arrived and began walking up the stairs to reach the second floor. The shopkeeper was waiting downstairs, and after a few moments he heard shouting and loud screams coming form the priest on the second floor. The shopkeeper was terrified and convinced himself that it was all part of the exorcism and that the priest would return soon. The screams subsided,

L

a Casa Matusita still stands today, although it was renovated

in 2006 to become home to a new family. Previous attempts had been made to demolish the house, but each time something had gone wrong with the project, such as the equipment suspiciously malfunctioning, leading to the demolition being cancelled by the city’s mayor. The legend and the stories behind the building are still told by the Central Lima locals today, with the likelihood of said tales to last in Peruvian history for years to come.