The town of Xochimilco is located in southern Mexico City, and is known for its canals. The canals, built by the Aztecs, are much like what you would find in Venice, Italy. They provide water transport where visitors can take gondola-like boats to see the sights. Not only will you find sightseers, but there are also food vendors, artisans, and mariachi boats that travel the canals. Xochimilco is a fun and festive town, but is also home to an island – a haunted island. No visit to Xochimilco is complete without a trip to La Isla de las Muñecas, The Island of the Dolls.
The story of the Island of the Dolls begins in the 1950’s. Born in 1921, Don Julian Santana Barerra, a native of Xochimilco, left his wife and children to sequester himself on an sland on Teshuilo Lake. The island, a manmade floating garden, was originally built by the Aztecs. Don Julian became the caretaker of the island, living a simple life.
No one knows exactly why he left his family for the island. Most claim he was mentally ill, while others say it was for spiritual reasons. Don Julian was a religious man and was even known to visit nearby towns and communities to preach the gospel.
According to medium.com, at that time, only anointed priests were allowed to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, especially in Mexico where the people are predominantly Roman Catholic. Because of this, Don Julian was not generally welcomed by the people in the communities he visited, and was often beaten, leading him to become more and more reclusive.
Moving to the island allowed him to live in seclusion, where he could grow his own food and have a simple life. However, not long after he settled, Don Julian discovered the body of a young girl on the shore. She was tangled in the lilies and had drowned in the lake. He was overcome with grief that he could not save the girl. Then he saw a doll floating where her body had once been.
After burying her body, Don Julian felt that her spirit was not at rest. To appease her, he hung her doll from a tree – so she could play with it. However, it became clear to him, that one doll was not enough. Over the next 50 years, he would scrounge up new dolls. Finding them in the canals or even the trash. Each doll had it’s place, hung among the trees.
While some of the dolls were whole, entact – others were not. Regardless, they were hung. Headless or head only, they all had their place. Some believe Don Julian was being compelled by the spirit of the girl to continue collecting the dolls. Some claim he did it to protect her spirit and the island. Over time, there were claims that the dolls were posessed.
As one might expect, word travels, and soon people from near and far began to travel to the island. For a price – a doll – Don Julian would show them around.
In 2001, at the age of 80, Don Julian Santana Barrera was found, drowned in the canal – in the exact spot where he found the little girl. Some believe the dolls, or the spirits that inhabit them, killed him. Today, people from all over the world travel to the Island of the Dolls, some for thrills, others to pay their respects. People still bring dolls to the island, hanging them as tribute.
As creepy as all of that is, what makes things even creepier is that there is no record, or proof that a little girl drowned in the lake. The location where Don Julian claimed to have buried her body, is empty. Even his family believes that it was all made up, it was in his head.
People who live in the area claim the canals leading to the island have bad energy. Those who travel the canals claim the dolls will often try to lure them there. Anastasio Velasco, Don Julian’s nephew, moved to the ilsand to care for it. He claims the dolls “…move their heads and whisper to each other.”
Anastasio believes the girl haunts the island because at night you can hear a girl’s voice. He also believes his uncle never left. His uncle, Don Julian walked with a cane – and at night, you can hear the cane.
Perhaps the most haunted area of the island is the shed Don Julian built as a shrine. This shrine contains the original doll as well as some of his favorite dolls collected over the years.
You can still visit the island today. From the town, make your way to the Embarcadero port. From there you will have to negotiate for a boat to take you to the island. As of April 2018, the cost, per hour, for a boat was 500 pesos (about $25 USD today). The entire trip is approximately 4 hours – 2 hours each way.
The island is surrounded by bamboo fencing, and once you arrive, you will have to tip the caretaker of the island to enter.
Now, as far as dolls go, we have the Island of the Dolls, and Annabelle, but have you heard of Robert the Doll?
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