If you want to see what many people consider the scariest place on Earth, you must go to Mexico. There, just a few miles south of Mexico City, between the canals of Xochimilco borough, you will find a small artificial island called “Isla de las Munecas“ – The Island of the Dolls. Yes, its the dolls that have made the island one of the scariest and most haunted place in the world. You don’t believe that something as peaceful and innocent as a baby’s toy can create such a dark and terrifying tourist attraction, right? Well, then check out these 25 pictures…
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The island was once property of a farmer named Julian Santana Barrera, a native of the La Asunción neighborhood.
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The Island of the Dolls is one of local “chinampas” – artificial islands invented by the pre-Hispanic peoples of the region around 1,000 year ago as a way to increase agricultural production.
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According to the story, Julian found a little girl drowned in the canal. To appease her spirit that started to haunt him, he began collecting dolls for the dead girl.
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He bought them as well as gathered them from trash heaps and hung them around the island.
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He did not clean up the dolls or attempt to fix them, he just hung them on the trees as they were, often with missing eyes or limbs.
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Those that arrived in good conditions to the island have been naturally decomposed by the weather over the years.
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Some of the most terrifying dolls look like dead children.
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Some people say the dolls move their heads, looking at them and whispering.
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The spooky island was discovered in the early 1990s, when local council ordered the area to be cleaned. The chinampa was thought to be abandoned so finding Julian in his hut surrounded by the frightening dolls was a huge surprise for the workers.
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Over more than half a century of collecting, Julian „decorated“ the island with over 1,500 of the little creepy toys.
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Julian´s very first doll is still on the island. With her straw hat, she is hanging in a shed by the entrance.
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Most of the dolls hung from trees but some of them have been nailed to walls.
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At the beginning, Julian received just his family members as visitors to the island but over the years, he began to accept more visitors eager to see the dolls.
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In 2011, Julian passed away. The exact cause of his death is not clear though. It was probably a heart attack what he died of but, in a mysterious twist, he was allegedly found on the very same spot where he discovered the body of the little girl more than 50 years ago.
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After his death, tourists visiting the island have kept bringing new dolls with them so nowadays there are probably thousands of them hanging all around the island.
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But it is the oldest mutilated dolls, what scares the visitors the most.
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Although the original Julian´s intention was innocent and even admirable, it ended up being portrayed as a one of the worst nightmare destination.
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It is hard to believe but this eerie and isolated place lies just about 17 miles south of Mexico City – one of the largest and busiest world´s metropolis.
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Some locals say that at night, the dolls get off the ropes and walk around the island, killing animals.
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After Julian´s death, his cousin Anastasio has lived on the island, running it as a tourist attraction.
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Tourists now flock to the islands, using gondolas to traverse the waters, listening to traditional Mexican mariachi music along the way.
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Winds and weather conditions have made some of the dolls looking like if they had been executed by hanging.
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While other have got scarily unnatural colors.
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The mutilated dolls look frightening enough during the day. Night visit of the island is not recommended even to the bravest tourists.
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