Halloween has caught on in Spain over the past few years, but in Ourense the 31st of October has a different name and a different history. Here it's Samaín, a Celtic festival that marks the turn from autumn into winter and has always been bound up with spirits and with the old legends of the region.
Samaín nearly died out, and it came back over the last few decades through a wider push to recover Galician culture, which revived the rituals, the stories and the symbols that go with it. Now the two exist side by side on the same night, and you can see film-set horror and figures from local folklore side by side.
Samaín on the streets of Ourense
This night belongs to the people who live here, and many of them spend weeks building costumes and sets for it. I've never seen anything like it. The whole city becomes a stage, and there's something different on every corner. Some come in intricate costumes, others build full walk-through installations.
The one that got us most was the butcher's shop from hell, where demons came charging at the crowd swinging fake chainsaws, pure Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and everyone screamed and laughed at once. The other I still think about is the family who came dressed as the cast of The Exorcist. The father, in priest's robes, wheeled a hospital bed through the streets with his daughter on it as the possessed girl, screaming and thrashing about.
On top of what the residents put on, the city council runs haunted tunnels and themed parades, with small floats and performers in full costume.
DJs set up around the city and play a lot of reggaeton, which goes down well here. There was a live band in the main square, and at one point it got so full that you couldn't enter the square. The bars on the surrounding streets serve drinks in plastic glasses, so you can walk the whole city with one in hand, which is what we ended up doing.
There were costumes of every kind, horror film characters everyone knows and figures in horns and animal hides that looked straight out of Galician folklore. Every corner had its own horror story going.
The hot springs of Ourense
If you needed one more reason to go to Ourense for Samaín, the city sits on a bed of hot water. It comes up out of the ground at up to 60ºC in several places, which is why Ourense is known across Spain for its hot springs. The oldest one is in the middle of the old town, and the rest run along the banks of the river Miño, a few minutes away by car or on the tourist train.
Best of all, some of them are free. There are pools anyone can walk straight into without paying. As Burgas is in the old town itself, so you can go on foot, and the free stretch at Outariz sits by the river, which is a far nicer setting. Being free is also why they're the busiest, especially at weekends and when it's cold, so expect to wait a bit to get in.
If you don't mind paying, there are places with proper facilities from around €7. Worth it if you're planning to stay a few hours. The private side of Outariz and the A Chavasqueira baths have changing rooms, showers and somewhere to sit.
October is one of the best times to do this. With the cold coming in, sinking into hot water with freezing air all around is hard to describe, and it works beautifully the morning after a long night out.
