Casa de Dona Yayá

Record summary

Casa de Dona Yayá is a São Paulo residence preserved because Sebastiana de Mello Freire, known as Dona Yayá, lived there under psychiatric guardianship for decades. Stories about the house’s oppressive atmosphere, sounds, and ghostly presence circulated alongside accounts of her confinement and the building’s deterioration. The site matters for studying how institutional history, gender, mental-health stigma, and memory can generate a haunting reputation. The strongest evidence concerns the resident and property history, whereas specific apparitions and the timing of their reports need documentary confirmation.