#isladelasmunecas

Just outside Mexico City, one can find the infamous isla de las munecas. Not really an island but a floating garden whose inhabitants are hundreds of mutilated dolls, hanging from its trees in various stages of decomposition. There is no escaping their blank eyes as literally every surface of the island is covered with dolls.

The locals firmly believe that the whole island is possessed by the spirit of an unfortunate girl, who found tragic death in the garden in the 1950s. There is some truth to this story, as the islands’ caretaker, did find the unfortunates girls corpse and a doll floating in the waters nearby! From that moment on the caretaker started hanging dolls in the garden to keep the girl company.  A habit that soon after his own death in 2001, was taken up by tourists.  Anastasio, the original caretakers’ cousin, now responsible for the island says: “The spirit of the little girl is still here […] It’s important not to remove the dolls.” At night Anastasio maintains that the dolls “…move their heads and whisper to each other. It’s very spooky, but I have gotten used to it.”

Spooky Saturday: Isla de las Muñecas (The Island of the Dolls)

By Holly Davies.

Happy Spooky Saturday everyone!! Today we’re going to learn about the tragically beautiful, yet very creepy, Isla de las Muñecas/Island of the Dolls.

Located south of Mexico City, in the Xochimilco canals is a chinampa (or artificial island/garden) that is home to hundreds of abandoned dolls. The existence of which is thanks to a local man by the name of Don Julian Santana Barrera who, until his death, was the caretaker of the island. The heartbreaking legends goes that decades ago a young girl drowned off the shore of the island, she was found floating in the water by Don Julio and despite his attempts he was not able to revive her. Not long after, he found another figure floating in the water but this time it was a child’s doll. Assuming that it had belonged to the deceased girl, he hung it on a tree as a sign of respect and it became an almost secondary protector of the island.

And then the story takes a creepier turn... Despite being the sole inhabitant of the remote island, at night Don Julio began to hear wailing, footsteps, and whisperings. Convinced that this activity was a result of the child’s restless spirit, he began decorating the island with more and more dolls - be it their headless bodies, or single limbs – in an attempt to appease her and finally put her to rest. However, after the torment continued he came upon the realization that the dolls were becoming possessed by the spirits of numerous young girls, and the paranormal activity was only intensifying. This did not discourage Don Julio however, and he continued building the memorial until his death 50 years later, when he was found floating in the canal in the very same spot that he found the girl decades beforehand - leading to the belief that he had finally united with the unknown, lost entities that he had shared his life with on the island. Neither the truth nor the origins of Don Julio’s story have ever been confirmed but whether or not it is all 100% real, what resulted is an eerily beautiful environment that meshes the natural and the artificial in a disconcerting and melancholy way.

The landscape now is a collage of sun-bleached, plastic bodies in various states of decay. You can visit the island if you are ever in the area as it is accessible by boat and looked after by Don Julio’s cousin, Anastasio who believes that the spirit of the little girl is still very much present on the island. Those who visit the island report all kinds of spooky behavior from the dolls; a classic example being that they will crane their necks in the direction of visitors, following them with their eyes (those of them who still have them) like one of those enchanted paintings in a Scooby-Doo cartoon. The stories also bear similarities to siren legend as those who sail nearby have reported whispers of children urging them to come closer, luring them to the shores of the island. Although there is definitely an eerie atmosphere, locals believe the island to be charmed rather than haunted and it has in a way become a home for abandoned dolls, as many of those who make the journey will bring their own to adorn the trees with. Some visit the island purely for its unique beauty and spectacle however, the dolls with their empty eyes and plush bodies may not be as hollow as they seem at first glance and Don Julio believed that there were very real forces inside them.

 The truth is out there,

Just south of Mexico City, between the canals of Xochimico you can find a small island with a sad background which never intended to be a tourist destination.

The island is known as Isla de las Munecas (Island of the Dolls).

It is dedicated to the lost soul of a poor girl who met her fate too soon in strange circumstances.

It is said that a girl was found drowned in mysterious circumstances many years ago on this island and that the dolls are possessed by her spirit.

Local legend says that the dolls move their heads and arms and even opened their eyes.

Some witnesses claim they had heard the dolls whispering to each other, while others who were on a boat near the island said the dolls lured them to come down to the island.