After an hour long canal ride south from the shore of the Mexico City barrio known as Xochimilco, is one of the creepiest and most bizarre places on Earth: Isla de las Munecas, or Island of the Dolls. It is an eerie island decorated with hundreds of filthy, aged, mutilated dolls dangling from trees, nailed to walls, and impaled on pikes.
This menacing island was once the home of a recluse named Don Julian Santana Barrera, who was the man that created the chilling spectacle. One day, Barrera came upon a small body floating in the river. When he pulled it out to see what it was, he discovered that a young girl had drowned. Not long after, he found a doll floating nearby, so he hung it from a tree as a sign of respect for the deceased. Soon after, tortured screams began to pierce the darkness at night, and whispers and footsteps could be heard in the silence around his hut, even though it was hidden in the woods many miles from the city. These harrowing events caused him to begin hanging more dolls to satisfy the girl's restless soul. For five decades, Barrera collected as many dolls as he could, either whole or missing limbs, and scattered them about the island, lumping them together in random spots. Barrera died in 2001 and his body was found almost exactly where he had found the girl's body half a century ago.
Being such a singular landscape, tourists began to flock to it once word got out. Apparently, the area is still haunted despite Barrera's devoted dedication to the young girl's spirit. People have reported hearing whispers and footsteps. Dolls have been known to blink, turn their heads, and move in other ways. Some talking dolls have even gone off even though they should have been too old to still operate. Shadows walking in the twilight and moonlight, as well as in flashlights and spotlights, have bee reported. The wailing of the young girl can still be heard, and the loud calls of what sounds like a man's voice have travelled the airwaves of the night.
Has the island altar created by Barrera for this young lady done more than just appease her? Has it made her feel like this is home, giving her no desire to leave? Is Barrera now trapped there with her, or has he decided to stay because it is his home? We'll never know. But, many people, tourist and native alike, will agree that there is indeed something out there on the ominous Island of the Dolls.
An area where a small gathering of the old dolls hang.
A collection nailed to a wall.
Almost looks corpse-like.
Severed doll heads impaled on pikes.
Don Julian Santana Barrera: the Man Who Hung the Dolls.
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