La Isla de la Munecas: Isalnd of the Dolls
Every day for almost fifty years,Don Julian Santana tended this place- La Isla de la Munecas: Spanish for island of the dolls. Santana, a local hermit, scavenged for broken, old dolls in garbage dumps, floating in the canal water and got them in exchange for the fruits and vegetables he grew. From the macabre spectacle's discovery in the 1990s until until his own mysterious drowning in 2001, Santana is described has having been a gracious host; always welcoming to visitors and willing to explain his strange memorial.How he vowed to appease "her tortured soul" and protect their island home from further evil. . He may be gone, " but his eerie disturbed vision stays on" in a bizarre tourist destination.
Located on an island in Mexico's Xochimilco canal system,south of Mexico City, it is said that Santana did all this to appease the spirit of a little girl who drowned in one the nearby canals. After he discovered the child's body, he spotted the little girls doll. He plucked it from the water and placed it a nearby tree.
Don Julian Santana and one of his dolls
On this lush, beautiful island, the dolls hang from trees; limbless, missing eyes, sometimes just parts. Some are bleaches pale-white by the bright sun and many others are covered in mold and dust. Cobwebs hang everywhere; as are the insects and spiders. "The dolls appear menacing even in the bright light of midday, but in the dark they are particularly haunting." Locals, Santana's relatives and former neighbors, now tend and add to the collection. And so do visitors, placing their own toys in the trees.
Television shows from all over the world have filmed the island, some searching for proof that the island is haunted.
sources: Lina, David. "The Island Of The Dolls – A Dark Tourist Attraction In Mexico | PlanetOddity.com." The Island Of The Dolls – A Dark Tourist Attraction In Mexico | PlanetOddity.com. N.p., 16 Dec. 2009. Web. 16 June 2015.
<http://planetoddity.com/the-island-of-the-dolls-a-dark-tourist-attraction-in-mexico/>.
Thompason, Matthew. "The Lineup | Journey to the Island of the Dolls." The Lineup Journey to the Island of the Dolls Comments. N.p., 02 Apr. 2015. Web. 16 June 2015. <http://www.the-line-up.com/island-of-the-dolls/>.
N.p., n.d. Web. <http://weburbanist.com/2010/10/06/mexicos-creepiest-tourist-destination-island-of-the-dolls/>.
