The Haunted Apartment of Leila Mourad

By Kamal Ghazal

Tucked away in the quiet streets of Garden City , once Cairo’s most elite neighborhood, now faded and melancholic, lies an apartment whose walls still guard secrets that puzzle anyone who dares to step too close: the final home of Egyptian music legend Leila Mourad.

It’s a modest two-bedroom flat, a far cry from the glamour of Egypt’s golden cinematic palaces. Here, Leila Mourad spent her final days before passing away in 1995, after years of obscurity, marginalization, and political silence. But the story, locals say, didn’t end with her death… it began with what stayed behind.

Whispers in the Night and Shadows of the Past

Ever since Leila’s passing, whispers have circulated that her apartment is no longer just an ordinary home. Neighbors speak in hushed tones about faint singing in the middle of the night, melodies uncannily similar to Leila’s iconic voice that once enchanted millions across Egypt in the 1940s.

One of the building’s guards says:

" Some nights, I hear musical whispers coming from under the door-like an old rehearsal being repeated over and over again."

Others describe strange visions: the silhouette of a woman standing by the window overlooking El-Faskya Street, her hand raised as if waving to an invisible audience. Some swear her old portrait hanging on the wall shifts slightly… or that her eyes shimmer for a brief moment before the room’s lights flicker off without explanation.

Perhaps the most spine-chilling testimony comes from the apartment’s current owner, who has preserved everything exactly as Leila left it, her furniture, her photos, the layout:

" When I first bought the place, I thought I’d redecorate. But every time I tried to move something… something else would fall. Books would drop, frames would tilt. And at night, I feel a presence, not evil, just… there. Like I’m not really alone."

Some local media have attributed these incidents to “benign jinn” or what Egyptians call ‘Ommar el-Makan’, spiritual guardians of a place. Others suggest it’s simply residual energy left behind by a woman whose life was marked by passion, betrayal, stardom, and sorrow.

Just Rumors, or Something More ?

Skeptics may dismiss all of this as fanciful ghost stories, people love to build myths around celebrities after they’re gone. But in Garden City, under the soft glow of vintage street lamps and amid buildings that bleed history, it’s easy to believe something else lingers here… something still waiting to hear her songs echo once more.

And if one day you find yourself walking down El-Faskya Street, try glancing up at that old apartment window. Maybe just , maybe you’ll glimpse a feminine figure bowing with a wistful smile… because some souls, it seems, never truly leave.

Also Read...

- Arab Stars' Encounters with Black Magic

- The "Inhabitants of the Place": The Neighbors We Cannot See