Beware of La Isla De La Muñecas or "Island of the Dolls"

Just south of Mexico City is an isolated place found in the middle of the Xochimilco canals, a place of bizarre origin. A place that will give you goosebumps, and make the tiny hairs on the back of your neck stand up straight once you know the history

Locals call this place La Isla de la Muñecas (or "Island of the Dolls"), but this place is not a mystery. This island has quite a disturbing history, and it wasn't opened up for tourism until 2001.

The History of La Isla de la Muñecas

In the mid-1950's a man named Julian Santana moved to this island to live in seclusion, after abandoning his family consisting of his wife and child. On the island, Julian found the body of a drowned girl, accompanied by a doll. It must have been her doll.

He believed that this was a sign that he was cursed for leaving his wife and child.

As the story goes, Julian retrieved the doll, and began caring for it, as if it was a real girl. He then searched for more dolls, even going back to the mainland to find more dolls, and brought them back to hang around the island as offerings to the dead girl he found, hoping to please her spirit.

He even believed that when a doll was swaying in the wind, that the dead girl was playing with it, and it pleased her. He believed that the dolls were even alive, and offered protection to him, secluded on the island.

Eventually, Julian drowned on this island in his passion to appease the drowned girl. He managed to hang 1,500 dolls on the island in his obsession. They can be viewed here to this day.

Tourists, Don't Be Fooled

Tourists that wish to visit the real doll island should be aware that locals have created a fake doll island that even has a store, in an attempt to cash in on the tourist attraction. This is described in the YouTube video (below), however, note that the real doll island can be a challenge to travel to, and you may even first be brought to the fake doll island if you do not know the difference.

La Isla de la Muñecas, is translated into English: The Island of the Dolls