Mexico's Haunted Island of Dolls: Thousands of dolls hang from trees began as memorial to Drowned Girl there
Hundreds of photographers and thrill-seekers travel to the haunted Island of the Dolls every year, but it was never meant to be a tourist attraction.
After a two-hour canal ride from Mexico City, they arrive at a nightmarish clearing deep in the woods where thousands of mutilated dolls hang from the trees and hide among the dense branches.
They were put there by a reclusive Mexican man who believed they would appease the troubled ghost of a small girl who died there over 50 years ago - and still haunts the woods today.
Julian Santana Barrera retreated to the woods soon after she drowned in the nearby canal. He claimed he could hear her tormented screams and footsteps in the darkness.
Even today - 14 years after his own mysterious death in those woods - visitors say they hear whispers in the night and feel the dolls' eyes following them through the trees.
Barrera found the girl's corpse floating in the canal and blamed himself for not being able to save her life, according to the so-called Isla de las Munecas' official website.
He later discovered a doll floating in the same waters and, assuming it belonged to the deceased girl, hung it from a tree as a sign of respect. His descent into madness began with this seemingly innocent act.
Barrera began to hear whispers, footsteps and the anguished wails of a woman in the darkness even though his hut - hidden deep inside the woods of Xochimilco - was miles away from civilisation.
Driven by fear, he hung the dismembered toys from the trees to protect himself from her ghost and spent the next 50 years 'decorating' the woods in a desperate attempt to appease her.
He hung hundreds of toys - some missing body parts - from the trees and the wire fencing which surrounded his wooden shack.
Barrera lived a hermit's life in those woods until 2001 when his nephew found him dead - drowned in the same canal where he found the floating doll.
He had retreated to the area, known locally as the 'chinampas', when his girlfriend left him for another man. There, he grew vegetables and flowers to sell in the nearest town but never spoke to anyone while he was there, according to Mexican website Zocalo.
Reports suggest the dead girl may never have even existed, that she was a tale made up by Barrera after years of isolation in the woods. Those close to him suggested he was 'driven by some unseen force that completely changed him'.
The truth, as told by his family members who now run the island as a tourist attraction, is that Barrera simply believed the island was haunted by the spirit of the dead girl he found in the canal.
After his death, the area became a popular tourist attraction where visitors bring more dolls. The locals describe it as 'charmed' - not haunted - even though travelers claim the dolls whisper to them.
Professional photographer Cindy Vasko visited the nightmarish island earlier this year and described it as the 'creepiest place she has ever visited'.
She told MailOnline how she made the two-hour journey to the site on a trajinera - a colorful, wooden gondola - which she boarded in Mexico City's southern borough of Xochimilco.
The journey began through maze-like canals, surrounded by lush greenery and beautiful singing birds, but soon their boat was slowed down by a swarm of lily pads and the canal fell ominously silent.
She told MailOnline: 'At the end of the journey, the trajinera turned along a bend in the waterway and I was struck by a surreal vision of hundreds, maybe thousands, of dolls hanging from trees on the tiny island... A disturbing sight.
'Upon stepping foot on the island, I saw dolls not only hanging from the trees, but clustered at the bases of trees, attached to small structures and fencing - and hanging from wires that look like the dolls were left out to dry on a clothes-line.
'For decades, many dolls were exposed to the elements and are certainly weathered and decayed... Many dolls are sheathed in thick spider webs, some are missing limbs, and some do not even possess bodies, with only doll-heads hanging from rusty wires in the tree.
'Some dolls were home to large insects crawling out of the mouths or eye sockets and some had lice embedded in their hair... Visitors leave coins and trinkets at several of the doll shrines found inside some of the Island’s loosely-constructed buildings.'
Known locally as the 'chinampas', the area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, which expanded tourism to the area. But there excitement turns to horror when they stumble upon the Island of the Dolls.
After a two-hour canal ride from Mexico City, they arrive at a nightmarish clearing deep in the woods where thousands of mutilated dolls hang from the trees and hide among the dense branches.
They were put there by a reclusive Mexican man who believed they would appease the troubled ghost of a small girl who died there over 50 years ago - and still haunts the woods today.
Julian Santana Barrera retreated to the woods soon after she drowned in the nearby canal. He claimed he could hear her tormented screams and footsteps in the darkness.
Even today - 14 years after his own mysterious death in those woods - visitors say they hear whispers in the night and feel the dolls' eyes following them through the trees.
Barrera found the girl's corpse floating in the canal and blamed himself for not being able to save her life, according to the so-called Isla de las Munecas' official website.
He later discovered a doll floating in the same waters and, assuming it belonged to the deceased girl, hung it from a tree as a sign of respect. His descent into madness began with this seemingly innocent act.
Barrera began to hear whispers, footsteps and the anguished wails of a woman in the darkness even though his hut - hidden deep inside the woods of Xochimilco - was miles away from civilisation.
Driven by fear, he hung the dismembered toys from the trees to protect himself from her ghost and spent the next 50 years 'decorating' the woods in a desperate attempt to appease her.
He hung hundreds of toys - some missing body parts - from the trees and the wire fencing which surrounded his wooden shack.
Barrera lived a hermit's life in those woods until 2001 when his nephew found him dead - drowned in the same canal where he found the floating doll.
He had retreated to the area, known locally as the 'chinampas', when his girlfriend left him for another man. There, he grew vegetables and flowers to sell in the nearest town but never spoke to anyone while he was there, according to Mexican website Zocalo.
Reports suggest the dead girl may never have even existed, that she was a tale made up by Barrera after years of isolation in the woods. Those close to him suggested he was 'driven by some unseen force that completely changed him'.
The truth, as told by his family members who now run the island as a tourist attraction, is that Barrera simply believed the island was haunted by the spirit of the dead girl he found in the canal.
After his death, the area became a popular tourist attraction where visitors bring more dolls. The locals describe it as 'charmed' - not haunted - even though travelers claim the dolls whisper to them.
Professional photographer Cindy Vasko visited the nightmarish island earlier this year and described it as the 'creepiest place she has ever visited'.
She told MailOnline how she made the two-hour journey to the site on a trajinera - a colorful, wooden gondola - which she boarded in Mexico City's southern borough of Xochimilco.
The journey began through maze-like canals, surrounded by lush greenery and beautiful singing birds, but soon their boat was slowed down by a swarm of lily pads and the canal fell ominously silent.
She told MailOnline: 'At the end of the journey, the trajinera turned along a bend in the waterway and I was struck by a surreal vision of hundreds, maybe thousands, of dolls hanging from trees on the tiny island... A disturbing sight.
'Upon stepping foot on the island, I saw dolls not only hanging from the trees, but clustered at the bases of trees, attached to small structures and fencing - and hanging from wires that look like the dolls were left out to dry on a clothes-line.
'For decades, many dolls were exposed to the elements and are certainly weathered and decayed... Many dolls are sheathed in thick spider webs, some are missing limbs, and some do not even possess bodies, with only doll-heads hanging from rusty wires in the tree.
'Some dolls were home to large insects crawling out of the mouths or eye sockets and some had lice embedded in their hair... Visitors leave coins and trinkets at several of the doll shrines found inside some of the Island’s loosely-constructed buildings.'
Known locally as the 'chinampas', the area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, which expanded tourism to the area. But there excitement turns to horror when they stumble upon the Island of the Dolls.
Music : Come Play With Me & The Escalation by Kevin MacLeod
Source : DailyMail , Isladelasmunecas
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