SCENE OF A HORROR STORY

 Arco do Teles is the last colonial arch in Rio de Janeiro. It is located in the historic center of the city and connects Praça XV, the famous square in Rio, to a narrow street in the region.

It is located in what remains of a group of mansions that were destroyed in a fire in the 18th century. After the fire, the area was abandoned and became a prostitution spot.

It was at this time that a horror story took place that still gives goosebumps to this day.
Barbara was a woman who prostituted herself to support herself after murdering her husband and later her lover. He lived on the run from the police and worked at Arco do Teles.
She was obsessed with eternal youth and in that search she found a spell that would supposedly give her the long-awaited eternal beauty. For that she had to bathe herself in fresh child blood. In the vicinity of the arch, she kidnapped children and took them to her house that was far away. There she would hang them upside down and cut them apart, lying beneath them bathing in their blood.
Records of the time describe her as Barbara jaguar due to the ferocity of the crimes. She was never found and to this day there is a legend that says she achieved eternal youth.