“I take a swig of wine from my Don Simón box and whisper at the woman: ‘God’s trying to punish me.’”
A man lives on the Madrid metro. He is convinced that God wants him to confess to something he didn’t do.
He discovers a macabre secret hidden behind the subway walls. This secret takes him back to 1619 and introduces him to Tirso de Molina, author of Trickster of Seville, and reveals the history of the square that bears the writer’s name.
A history shaped by political chaos, the desamortización de Mendizábal with his government seizure of Church property, technological progress and the first underground train line…and Franco’s thin skin.
It all leads back to the macabre secret behind the walls.
And our character’s forced confession to a sin he didn’t commit.
Or maybe he did?
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1. See the location of the Tirso de Molina square here.
2. Read Trickster of Seville in English or in Spanish.
Special thanks to Revé Fisher for fact checking.
See the website and social media for original images of the recording locations:
spanishsundown.com
FB, IG, Reddit: @spanishsundown
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30:25
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30:25
Cárcel de la Corona: A Bloody Hammer
-"HAMMER THE SYSTEM, KILL THE SYSTEM."
-Men, women, and children in white hoods and robes. Swaying to the beat of drums. Is she a terrorist?
-A priest betrayed. A bloody hammer. What has the king done?
A woman attends a secret meeting in a 500-year-old dungeon beneath the streets of Madrid. There, her leader gives her both a symbol and a tool to destroy the people they hate.
This object teaches her the story of Matías Vinuesa, a mercenary priest in cahoots with King Ferdinand 7th whose tragic fate played a pivotal role in ending the trienio liberal progressive government and ushered in the década ominosa of political absolutism in 19th-century Spain. It all has to do with a bloody hammer.
And somehow, the Americans.
Both our characters pay the highest price for betrayal.
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1. See the location of the retirement home where the Cárcel de la Corona is hidden here.
2. Check out Benito Pérez Galdós' book El grande oriente here.
See the website and social media for original images of the recording locations:
spanishsundown.com
FB, IG, Reddit: @spanishsundown
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31:21
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31:21
Cueva Valiente: Bandoleers and Beastly Magic
-"Don't cry. It makes me cry."
-19th-century bandits fighting the Spanish government.
-A cave with dark power.
After yet another fight with her self-absorbed boyfriend, photographer Clara escapes to her family's mountain cabin in San Rafael to clear her head and take some wildlife shots. There, she discovers a mysterious hidden cave, la Cueva Valiente.
Inside is a glowing red necklace, hundreds of years old. She learns its connection to bandoleer Juan Plaza's demise after his attack on a government convoy in the pass between Madrid and Segovia.
It turns out, this necklace has magical power.
And it changes her life with its power.
Its dark, beastly power.
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Link to the hiking trail to the cave here.
See the website and social media for original images of the recording locations:
spanishsundown.com
FB, IG, Reddit: @spanishsundown
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49:32
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49:32
Coracera Castle: Love Me...Or Else
-Love your mommy or it’ll hurt. Stuffed animals come to life.
-Cognac. Ouija boards. Killer pet felines. A monster’s tendrils in the throat.
-SUICIDE…OR MURDER?
A six-year-old boy with a secret and his plush lion take a tour of the Coracera Castle. He discovers its last owner: Juan Fernández Ganza, an alcoholic grifter obsessed with the occult who believed himself to be the reincarnation of a king. And his grisly, bloody (and brainy) death.
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1. See a portrait of King Charles II here.
2. See an original press article about the story here.
3. See the location of the castle here and the official webpage here.
4. Watch La Marca del Hombre Lobo horror film here.
5. And a photo of Juan with his pet tiger here (he looks absolutely insane).
spanishsundown.com
FB, IG, Reddit: @spanishsundown
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40:04
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40:04
House of the 7 Chimneys: Dark Thoughts and Wasps
-Gay drama. Tight white pants. Thirst for revenge.
-A philandering King Philip II. A member-shrinking witch. Magic powdered herbs.
-13 coins. Skeletons in walls. Ghosts on rooftops.
-ARMIES OF WASPS.
You can find the House of the Seven Chimneys here.
spanishsundown.com
FB, IG, Reddit: @spanishsundown
Can you hear the voices?
They are trapped in objects from Spain’s past. An antique door knocker that witnessed a beheading. A murderous revolver hidden under the floor tile of a theater. A centuries-old castle stone pissed on by a madman.
Everyday people stumble across these objects: a mountain farmer forced by the housing crisis to sell his land, a hospital nurse hell-bent on meting out vigilante justice, a traumatized Afghan war veteran, an American immigrant to Madrid…
When the sun goes down, when they touch these objects, the voices tell their story.
Stories of Celtic warriors high on shrooms, mad bulls, gold-toothed bandoleers in hidden caves, Nazi collaborators, penis-shrinking witches, adulterous kings…
Join these characters and discover the horrific blood stories of Spain’s past.
Discover the horror…that lies inside your own mind.
Spanish Sundown is the result of years of ongoing historical research. An original audio drama production, it features the authentic sounds of Spain recorded on-site. Close your eyes and travel here with your mind.
Listen to the voices.
Episodes drop every other Tuesday.
Subscribe now.
WARNING: Be advised that Spanish Sundown is a horror podcast that rips the cover off the darkest sides of the human condition. It contains violence, abuse and other similar adult themes. Consider before listening.
spanishsundown.com
IG, FB, Reddit: @spanishsundown