Photos From Mexico's Island of Dolls

island of dolls mexico — Welcome, you have arrived. Wikimedia

2016-03-13T16:38:00Z

A few miles from the heart of Mexico City lies La Isla de las Muñecas, the Island of Dolls, where thousands of dolls hang from the trees.

The island, located in the Xochimilco canals outside of Mexico's capital, is truly the stuff of pure terror.

According to local legend, the island's caretaker Don Julian Santana moved to the island in the 1950s after abandoning his family. It was in the canals outside of the island that he found the dead body of a drowned girl and her doll.

Convinced that her spirit haunted the island, Santana hung abandoned dolls he found throughout the canals as a way to appease the dead girl's soul. The dolls, strung up in the deteriorated condition that Santana found them in, continue to hold a silent vigil on trees and buildings throughout the island.

Come along to La Isla de las Muñecas:

In the 1950s, Don Julian Santana abandoned his family in Mexico City.

He moved to La Isla De Las Muñecas in the Xochimilco canals — at that point a normal, though uninhabited, island a little over 11 miles from Mexico City's center.

After having moved to the island, Santana found the drowned body of a girl and her doll floating in the canals.

Convinced of the girl's vengeful spirit haunting the island, Santana hung the girl's doll as a way of making amends to her spirit.

Soon, Santana became convinced that the single doll was not enough to appease the girl's spirit.

So Santana began hanging the dolls he found in the garbage and canals around the island.

He hung the dolls as he found them, regardless of damage or mutilations that afflicted the dolls.

And over time, his tributes became more and more intricate.

Over time, Santana ended up amassing a collection of hundreds of dolls that he strung up on trees and the buildings throughout the island.

As the dolls are hung without any protection from the elements, the dolls have continued to age and decompose as the elements slowly take their turn ...

... Slowly causing the dolls to take on an organic but even further distorted look.

In a further disturbing turn Santana, after spending nearly fifty years on the island, was allegedly found dead in the same spot where he was convinced he first found the girl.

There's a small island in Mexico that's inhabited by creepy decaying dolls

In the 1950s, Don Julian Santana abandoned his family in Mexico City.

He moved to La Isla De Las Muñecas in the Xochimilco canals — at that point a normal, though uninhabited, island a little over 11 miles from Mexico City's center.

After having moved to the island, Santana found the drowned body of a girl and her doll floating in the canals.

Convinced of the girl's vengeful spirit haunting the island, Santana hung the girl's doll as a way of making amends to her spirit.

Soon, Santana became convinced that the single doll was not enough to appease the girl's spirit.

So Santana began hanging the dolls he found in the garbage and canals around the island.

He hung the dolls as he found them, regardless of damage or mutilations that afflicted the dolls.

And over time, his tributes became more and more intricate.

Over time, Santana ended up amassing a collection of hundreds of dolls that he strung up on trees and the buildings throughout the island.

As the dolls are hung without any protection from the elements, the dolls have continued to age and decompose as the elements slowly take their turn ...

... Slowly causing the dolls to take on an organic but even further distorted look.

In a further disturbing turn Santana, after spending nearly fifty years on the island, was allegedly found dead in the same spot where he was convinced he first found the girl.

And on top of that eery coincidence, locals insist that the dolls come alive and move at night.

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There's a small island in Mexico that's inhabited by creepy decaying dolls

In the 1950s, Don Julian Santana abandoned his family in Mexico City.

He moved to La Isla De Las Muñecas in the Xochimilco canals — at that point a normal, though uninhabited, island a little over 11 miles from Mexico City's center.

After having moved to the island, Santana found the drowned body of a girl and her doll floating in the canals.

Convinced of the girl's vengeful spirit haunting the island, Santana hung the girl's doll as a way of making amends to her spirit.

Soon, Santana became convinced that the single doll was not enough to appease the girl's spirit.

So Santana began hanging the dolls he found in the garbage and canals around the island.

He hung the dolls as he found them, regardless of damage or mutilations that afflicted the dolls.

And over time, his tributes became more and more intricate.

Over time, Santana ended up amassing a collection of hundreds of dolls that he strung up on trees and the buildings throughout the island.

As the dolls are hung without any protection from the elements, the dolls have continued to age and decompose as the elements slowly take their turn ...

... Slowly causing the dolls to take on an organic but even further distorted look.

In a further disturbing turn Santana, after spending nearly fifty years on the island, was allegedly found dead in the same spot where he was convinced he first found the girl.

And on top of that eery coincidence, locals insist that the dolls come alive and move at night.

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