Joelma Building: building became a tourist attraction after gaining a reputation as haunted

THE Joelma Building located in the center of São Paulo, was the scene of one of the biggest fires in Brazil: on February 1, 1974, a short circuit in the air conditioning resulted in the death of 181 people and around 300 injuries.

Today, the building changed its name and became known as Edifício Praça da Bandeira. Node Halloween the tourist spot is part of tours to delve deeper into the supernatural stories of the capital of São Paulo.

With certain similarities to the context in which the Martinelli Building was built, the place where the building is located had dark stories before it was erected. This was because it was the home of the professor of organic chemistry at the University of São Paulo (USP), Paulo Ferreira de Camargo who shot dead his mother Benedita and his two sisters Cordélia and Maria Antonieta, and buried them in a well set up in the backyard of the residence, in 1948.

Later, the son became the main suspect after the disappearance of the three women. When the police investigated the house and began to dig the well, Paulo went to the bathroom, where he locked himself and took his own life.

Investigators never found the true motive for the murders. However, they raised two theories: that the family was against Paulo’s relationship with his girlfriend; and the other hypothesis said that Paulo killed his mother and sisters because they had serious illnesses, which he was unable to care for.

To top it off, one of the firefighters who participated in rescuing the bodies from the well contracted a cadaveric infection and died. With all these events, the region gained a reputation for being haunted.

The inauguration of the Joelma Building took place 23 years later, in 1971. The fire occurred on February 1, 1974, around 8:45 am, on a day in which the city of São Paulo was hit by strong winds, which contributed to the spread of flames.

The fire started on the 12th floor, which was occupied by Banco Crefisul, after a short circuit in the refrigeration system. The journalist and writer Adriano Dolph author of the book “Fevereiro em Chamas”, checked the official documents of the IML (Legal Medical Institute) and stated that the tragedy resulted in 181 deaths.

“The 13 Souls”

One of the best-known stories of the fire is called “The 13 Souls” . Second Thiago de Souza researcher and project creator What Haunts You? which addresses the mysterious phenomena surrounding the center of São Paulo, these souls would be those of 13 people who died inside an elevator, in the fire, and were not identified.

“[No elevador] would reproduce in a very faithful way what death would be like in hell, with everything dark, a lot of heat and screams”, commented the researcher to CNN Travel & Gastronomy .

The supernatural story about these 13 souls says that the employees at Cemitério São Pedro, in Vila Alpina, began to hear screams coming from the 13 graves and, intuitively, they threw water and the screams stopped. “After that, people started to pray a lot at the place and, later, someone made a request and they became miracle workers at the cemetery”, he added.

Thiago, however, stated that the death of 13 people in an elevator at the Joelma Building never had official confirmation . “The only person who died in an elevator in the Joelma Building was a lady, who was an elevator operator, and she was not buried in the São Pedro Cemetery, in Vila Alpina. She was buried in her family’s tomb,” he added.

The researcher also said that “it does not mean that these 13 people did not die in Joelma”. According to him, of the 13 unidentified individuals taken to the Vila Alpina cemetery to be buried, 11 died from burns and two from polytrauma.

Another well-known story is that of Volquimar, who died on the 23rd floor during the fire in the Joelma Building. “She tried to communicate with her mother after she died and contacted Chico Xavier, who psychographed a letter from Volquimar to her mother, saying that everything was fine. […] This story ended up inspiring a film, called ‘Joelma 23rd Floor’”.

With the actress Beth Goulart there were other reports of supernatural cases during the filming of the 1979 film. “In a scene with Beth Goulart and her friends, there is an unexplained presence in a photo they take, a type of ghost.”

Although this is one of the best-known stories of the haunting of the old Joelma Building, Thiago de Souza says there are other reports in the building: “Inside, there are some stories and sensations, like people seeing a figure. There’s a story about a delivery man who saw a woman hovering in the garage and entering the wall, after floating in front of him.”

Former Joelma Building, current Praça da Bandeira Building

The old Joelma Building, opened in 1971, changed its name and is currently known as the Praça da Bandeira Building.

THE work is by architect Salvador Candia which built the site in reinforced concrete, with two towers of 25 floors each, one of them facing Avenida Nove de Julho and the other facing Rua Santo Antônio, in the center of the capital of São Paulo. Between them, a single central staircase.

Even today, the Praça da Bandeira Building is a commercial building and has been used in recent years as a directory for political parties.

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Sources: Elaine Patrícia Cruz and Thiago Padovan — Reporters from Agência Brasil and TV Brasil, in an article for CNN Brasil; TV program Linha Direta; book “February In Flames”; Folha de S. Paulo database; interview with Thiago de Souza, from the project O Que Te Assombra?.

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Source: CNN Brasil