One of the 16 districts of the capital of Mexico is called the beautiful word Xochimilco. In the language of the Aztecs, this means "flower place". The area is cut by chinampas canals, because of which Tenochtitlan - the capital of the empire of Montezuma, on the ruins of which the city of Mexico City grew up - was called the Venice of the Aztecs by the first Europeans who arrived here.
In 1987, the Xochimilco Canals were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the many islets in this tropical paradise bears the beautiful Spanish name La Isla de la Munecas - Island of the Dolls. But despite the good name, you shouldn't come here for the faint of heart. The views that open up will appeal only to fans of horror movies: every tree and every building on the island is hung with creepy dolls with empty eye sockets, broken limbs and shattered heads.
A nightmarish exhibition was organized by a certain Julian Barrera. In 1950, before his eyes, a girl drowned in the canal, and only her doll remained at the scene of the tragedy. Believing that the toy was associated with the spirit of the unfortunate child, Barrera left it on the island.
This incident probably damaged his sanity. Since then, for 50 years, Julian has been collecting discarded dolls or exchanging them with local residents for his own vegetables and fruits. A mad Mexican hung the mutilated dolls on the trees.
Probably, in this way he tried to appease the girl's spirit that haunted him. Barrera built a hut on the island, where he lived in seclusion, pretty much laying it behind the collar. The collection of creepy toys continued to grow, scaring away unwanted guests.
In 2001, the hermit drowned in the same place where he found the first doll. Apparently, the ghost of the child did not leave the poor man alone until the end of his days. There are only dolls left, to see which tourists who are not indifferent to horror stories travel today.
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