La Isla de las Muñecas: How A Creepy Island of Rotting Dolls in Mexico City Came to Be
In the mood for creepy and spooky things? Then you won’t regret making a trip to Mexico City to visit La Isla de las Muñecas. The place is filled with decapitated, decomposing, and hanging dolls of various varieties.
The island, in Teshuilo Lake in the Xochimilco canals, is home to a fascinating story about a man who wanted to honor the memory of a young drowning victim—or so they say.
Over the years, La Isla de las Muñecas has intrigued and disturbed people around the world. Here is what we know about the legend of this creepy island and how it came to be.
La Isla de las Muñecas is a tribute to a young drowning victim who may or may not have existed
According to folklore and legend, the man behind La Isla de las Muñecas is Don Julio Santana Barrera. The man left his wife and kids and moved into isolation on the island. While living there, he witnessed a young girl drown in the lake surrounding the island and felt moved to honor her memory in a unique way. Santana Barrera did this by hanging up hundreds of dolls around the island.
But why dolls?
According to other accounts, Santana Barrera allegedly found a doll floating in the water that he believed belonged to the young girl. It was with the drowning victim’s doll that he embarked on a journey that would last years.
Yet, some members of his family didn’t believe him. Instead, they think he imagined the young girl drowning, and it has set him off on a path that they can’t wrap their heads around.
The dolls might have started to haunt the island that they were forced to call home
The macabre display of dolls hanging from trees has led some people to believe La Isla de las Muñecas is a haunted location. Some people claim to have seen ghosts wandering the island, but others claim that the dolls are coming to life. Perhaps what is happening is that the ghosts of lost souls are possessing the dolls. Regardless, some visitors to the island have claimed to have seen the dolls moving when walking through the island.
An interesting fact about La Isla de las Muñecas is that the Xochimilco canal is one of the last vestiges of the Mayan civilization. When you combine the ancient people who once built and maintained the water surrounding the island with the shocking sight of the dolls, it is easy to feel the hair on the back of your neck stand on end.
Dolls have always been seen as potentially creepy and terrifying in horror movies. Seeing them hanging from trees in different stages of decomposition would send chills down anyone’s spine who accidentally finds themselves landing on the island at night.
If you are looking to take a really creepy trip, this is definitely the island for you. Plus, you would get to see Mexico City, so it is all a plus.
