Colombia: The Paranormal Stories of Armero

 Source: INFOBAE

Date: November 23, 2025

An article by Johan Manuel Largo

Paranormal stories of Armero: tales that cross the boundary between tragedy and the inexplicable

Years after the avalanche, stories of goblins, witches, and benevolent presences circulate among those who dare to explore the old town, adding new layers of mystery.

In the early hours of November 13, 1985, Armero, Tolima, was buried under tons of mud from the Nevado del Ruiz volcano. The avalanche wiped this prosperous town off the map, claiming between 23,000 and 25,000 lives and forever transforming Colombia's collective memory.

Four decades later, the silence of its ruins is not absolute; supernatural tales continue to circulate among visitors and former residents, fueling the mystery that envelops Armero. These are some of the accounts reported and documented by Howard Gutiérrez of *Conexión Enigma*.

The Scarecrow

One afternoon, a family decided to tour the ruins of Armero, including the famous grave of Omaira, the cemetery, and the destroyed hospital. Despite warnings to remain respectful, the children began to play: one of them picked up bones in the cemetery and threw them at his cousin; later, he put on a necklace taken from one of the graves and, laughing, ran off down the hillside.

Shortly after, the boy began screaming for help, saying something was chasing him. Panic mounted when the cousin vanished before everyone's eyes. Only the witness's son insisted that a man dressed as a scarecrow had snatched him. Guided by the screams only the boy claimed to hear, they found their cousin in a state of shock—his eyes rolled back and his body rigid—beneath a tree.

As they tried to free him, they discovered a strange necklace that was difficult to remove; while they struggled to break it, the guttural cry of a bird echoed overhead. They finally managed to break the necklace amidst prayers, and the boy eventually recovered, insisting that something—to him, a witch—had tried to take him away. Since then, his family has dreaded memories of Armero, convinced that something inhuman haunts its paths.

The Goblin

A story dating back to the 1970s in the old town of Armero recounts the experience of three children playing near the cemetery. While squabbling over a swing, they spotted a tiny doll moving at high speed and darting into a hollow beneath a log. Driven by curiosity and playfulness, they tried to flush it out by throwing stones and poking it with a stick, but the doll responded by grabbing the stick with supernatural strength.

At that moment, the figure began to grow, transforming into the silhouette of a wrinkled old man with a white beard and strange clothing. Fear paralyzed them until a terrifying scream sent them running. The terror left them with a ringing in their ears that lasted for three days. Years later, the mother of one of the boys identified the figure as an evil goblin—similar to those seen in movies—insisting that the vision had been real and that they never forgot it.

The Doctor

Not all supernatural experiences in Armero are tinged with horror. A woman struggling with suspected witchcraft and a complicated pregnancy visited the site where Pope John Paul II had prayed for the victims of the tragedy. During her visit, she claims, she was surrounded by luminous energies and saw a man dressed in white who looked like a doctor but had wings made of light.

The being spoke to her, assuring her that she was healed and that, in the afterlife, anyone can become an angel if they live in harmony with God. Her mother and brother also witnessed the lights, and a sense of relief washed over them. Later, they learned that the woman who had been harming them had fallen into misfortune that very same day. For this family, the episode was a revelation that benevolent forces also inhabit Armero: “There are not only evil spirits but also the souls of people who help and watch over others.”

On the farm

In the rural areas of Tolima, another story unfolds. A man recounts how, on a dark night—after an argument regarding the care of a pregnant relative—he was pedaling back to the farm on a broken-down bicycle. Suddenly, a man dressed in black and wearing a hat appeared beside a tree and asked for a light. As he lit the man’s tobacco, sparks briefly illuminated the stranger's face, yet he could not recognize him.

After the brief encounter, a gust of icy wind made him shudder; he felt that the man was not of this world. Driven by terror, he raced back to the farm in one go, despite his damaged bicycle. Upon arrival, he could barely speak, as if an invisible force had taken away his voice. His alarmed cousin managed to calm him down. That night, fear kept them from sleeping. The question lingered in the air: who—or what—had crossed his path in the heart of rural Tolima?

The girl

The strange nature of Armero also affects unsuspecting travelers. A family from Antioquia was making their way up the Nevado del Ruiz when, without veering off course, the landscape turned inhospitable: the signal was lost, the camera malfunctioned, and an overwhelming sense of dread gripped them as they advanced through terrain increasingly ravaged by sulfur. Upon returning, they realized they had lost several hours and ended up at a nearby hostel, where the owners informed them that the path they had taken was the one leading to the old town of Armero.

That night, neither wanted to go back near the area; they only returned to the mountain the following day, dismissing the incident as a mere anecdote. Yet, the unease never truly left them: the sensation of lost time, disorientation, and fear remains vivid in their memories. Some attribute it to fate and the volcano’s environment, while others point to something beyond explanation.

Amidst the ruins and the mist, Armero lives on in the memories and voices of those who traverse its territory—a place where pain, faith, and mystery intertwine. Whether there is truth to these stories is for each visitor to decide for themselves upon stepping onto the soil where the past still whispers and the supernatural seems but a step away from reality.

[With thanks to INFOBAE and Johan Manuel Largo]