The Ghouls of Calle Goya – Inspired by True Events
Calle Goya is not a fictional name. It’s a real street in Fuengirola, a bustling seaside town on Spain’s Costa del Sol. Just walk up the Camino de Coin near the train station and you will be very close to it. It’s on the right-hand side off Calle Velazquez.
With a permanent population of around 80,000 — and more than 250,000 holidaymakers visiting each year — Fuengirola is vibrant, crowded, and always on the edge of something strange.
Calle Goya, Fuengirola
I once had an apartment on Calle Goya. The neighbours in the flat next door, Norwegians, treated the place like a dumping ground. Their behaviour was appalling — noisy, filthy, and cruel. What shook me most was how their presence slowly pushed my wife into a nervous breakdown, although I think that they tried to upset her on purpose.
It was real. It was personal. And, it was very frightening. I watched my wife change from being a strong woman in Thailand, to becoming a little nervous about being in Spain for the first time, because she didn’t want to break any Spanish traditions. Within a few weeks, our neighbours had turned her into a shrew that was afraid of shadows.
Malicious Haunting
For example, if my wife went out, there would some slimy fluid of the door handle when she returned. Or if they saw her on the staircase they would run up it howling before she could see them. It wasn’t long before every noise they made became a source of terror for my wife.
That experience became the seed that grew into The Ghouls of Calle Goya. The book is fiction, yes, but like many novels, its horror is rooted in something deeply real.
Not everything that haunts us comes from the past. Sometimes, it lives just beyond the wall.
So when readers ask me if the story was inspired by true events… the answer is: more than you might think.
📖 Read the novel that started in one summer apartment:
https://meganpublishingservices.com/book/the-ghouls-of-calle-goya/
ISBN: 9781068353895