Frightening Friday -- Isla de las Muñecas (Island of the Dolls)

Photo courtesy of Esparta via Flickr

Dolls. I've never been a big fan of dolls because I think they're creepy. Their blank stares, frozen expressions, predatory smiles...yeah, it's creepy.

Just south of Mexico City and between the canals of Xochimilco, there is a small island known as Isla de las Munecas (Island of the Dolls). As if one doll wasn't creepy enough, here you have a whole island of decapitated doll heads, arms and bodies; weathered by the elements and home to spiders and everything else. Oh, and did I mention? The dolls that populate the island have been put there to appease the spirit of a dead little girl and are reputedly haunted.

Don Julian Santana Barrera was a hermit who lived on the island. The story goes that he witnessed a little girl who drowned and was unable to save her. Seeing a doll floating in the canal, he hung it in a tree as a way of showing respect for her spirit. Shortly thereafter, Don Julian claimed he was haunted by the little girl and began hanging more dolls in an attempt to appease her. After 50 years of collecting dolls and hanging them around the island, Julian was found dead, drowned in the same spot where he found the little girl. 

After Don Julian’s death in 2001, the island became a tourist attraction run by members of his family. Local legend says that the dolls move their arms, heads and open their eyes. Some witnesses claim to hear the dolls whispering to one another. There are even those who claim the dolls have lured them to visit the island. 

Here's a short video to get an idea what the island looks like now. A trip to the Isla de las Muñecas is not on a regular tourist route. If you want to visit, you'll have to hire a private boat and the trip takes about two hours. Any takers?

#Paranormal Wednesday-What Lies in the Trees

I'm going to toe the line between paranormal in nature and my writer's brain on overdrive. I know you'll forgive me. Last week, I went on a writing vacation to pin down the location and feel for the book I'm working on, tentatively titled THE ISLAND. My agenda was to take an airplane up to Canada, a ferry to one particular island, then kayak to another, smaller island.

It was quite the trek but totally worth it. I was able to get a feel of being on a remote island--which was crucial for this novel I'm working on. Plus, I spent the day exploring and doing what I love to do--hike.

About two hours into my hike I came across a huge tree in the middle of a grove. Its center was burnt-out and the tree stuck out like a sore thumb (there was no fire damage to any of the surrounding trees). Upon examining the tree closer, I was surprised to find a child's tricycle inside. A child's tricycle out in the middle of nowhere...on a tiny little island. A definite WTH?? moment and one that sent my writer's brain in a thousand different directions.
I combed the area to look for a child but found nothing. No adults, no children--there was literally nobody around. Hm. I walked back to the tree, took a picture of the outside and continued with my hike.
That evening when I got back to the mainland, I downloaded my photos onto my computer.

Now, this is probably a trick of the light but I didn't see it when I took the photo. This is the outside of the burnt-out tree. There's a spot on the tree trunk (where the arrow is pointing) that looks like a tribal mask. It kind of brought chills to my spine in conjunction with the tricycle and my location. But again, this could be my writer's brain in overdrive.

What do you think?

**When I was writing this post, my daughter pointed out yet another face inside the tree (where the arrow is pointing. Scroll up to get a bigger picture). At the risk of being one of those people who see the Virgin Mary in their oatmeal--I'm also going to figure this may be a trick of the light and perhaps "just" the way the wood was burnt. One could even go so far as to consider that both masks were carved by a local.
Regardless, I found the whole thing intriguing.