Questions answered

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Beneath the grandeur of the Guadalajara Cathedral, below the altar, lies a secret few dare to explore. Hidden under the sacred space, a narrow set of stairs leads to a chamber directly beneath the altar. In that chamber rests a tomb—silent, solemn, and shrouded in legend. In the tomb lays the remains of Juan Cruz Ruiz de Cabañas y Crespo (1752–1824), the influential bishop of Guadalajara and founder of the Hospicio Cabañas.

The story among locals is unsettling in its simplicity. They say that if you stand before the tomb and ask a question aloud—something that can be answered with a “yes” or “no”—your fate may be revealed. The ritual is precise: after asking your question, strike the tomb three times with your fist, then press your ear against the cold stone.

If the answer is no, you will hear nothing. Silence will press against you, heavy and absolute, as if the tomb itself refuses to acknowledge your plea. But if the answer is yes, something stirs. A sound emerges from within, directly beneath your ear. Some describe it as scratching, faint yet deliberate, as though unseen hands are clawing at the inside of the tomb.

The effect is chilling. The noise is not loud, but it is close—too close. And those who have heard it insist that the answer is binding. If the tomb says yes, it will happen. Ask if you will pass your exam, and if the scratching comes, success awaits. Ask if love will return, and if the tomb responds, destiny bends to its will.

Whether this is superstition, imagination, or something far darker, the legend endures. The tomb beneath the altar has become more than a resting place; it is a threshold, a place where the living and the dead seem to share a language of fate.

So next time you step into the Cathedral of Guadalajara, pause before the altar. Know that beneath your feet lies a chamber where questions are answered not by priests or prayers, but by the scratching of stone and silence. And ask yourself: would you dare to knock three times?