Teguise after dark

If you want to feel Halloween-y at the end of this month, a visit to Teguise, preferably after dark, is sure to put you in the mood.

Lanzarote’s most historic town is bright and welcoming during the day and is the busiest place on the island every Sunday. But once the tourists have disappeared and the sun dips over the horizon, the old town’s atmosphere changes.

Those ancient streets, with names like Sangre, Miedo and Duende (Blood, Fear and Spirit) are suddenly filled with shadows, and footsteps echo on the cobbled streets. On Halloween this year, you’ll see an almost full moon sailing over the old town, close to the ancient castle of Santa Barbara.

Teguise is, of course, home of the Diabletes, an ancient carnival tradition that some believe is linked to witchcraft or the pagan dances of slaves, and these fearsome, shambling characters, with their clanking bells and bull masks, are just one of many strange, scary carnival groups in Spain.

Teguise is also one of the only remaining places to observe Los Finaos, when families gather around the oldest woman in the family, eat nuts and dried fruit, drink wine and share stories about the dead. The mood is sad but also celebratory, a time for the elders to fondly remember loved ones and a chance for children to learn about their ancestors.

On the 1st of November, All Saints’ Day, families all over Lanzarote will travel to the cemetery to leave flowers and offerings for the departed. In Teguise, a folk group called the Rancho de Ánimas still exists, who would play songs for the dead.

The music, a strangely oriental sound accompanied by drums, tambourines and the sound of swords stroked with metal rods, is a goosebump-raising evocation of ancient times.