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Playa Zipolite and the Beach of the Dead in Mexico

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Called one of Mexico’s most dangerous beaches, the Playa Zipolite in Oaxaca has been a hippie paradise for decades. But lately, it has started appearing on many most haunted lists as well. Are there truly ghosts roaming the beach?

On the sun-soaked Pacific coast of Oaxaca, Mexico, lies a beach of extraordinary, unspoiled beauty. Playa Zipolite, with its golden sands, rugged cliffs, and endless horizon, should be a paradise. Zipolite is a nearly pristine beach about forty meters wide and two km long, with medium grain gold colored sand. The water is clear with tones of blue and green and the people are free spirited.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Mexico

The Zipolite beach in Mexico is perhaps most known for being the country’s only official nudist beach and it draws artists and party goers to the beautiful coastline since the 70s. It was also one of the beaches shown in the Mexican movie classic, Y tu mamá también. 

Dubbed “La Playa de los Muertos” — the Beach of the Dead, this stretch of shore has long been associated with tragedy, mystery, and restless spirits, taking around 50 swimmers every year because of the strong current. The locals know it well, and those who listen closely swear the waves still call out the names of those they’ve claimed.

A Beautiful, Deadly Shoreline

The legend of Zipolite’s haunted reputation begins with its infamous waters that gave its name. It stretches from a small isolated cove called Playa del Amor on the east side to the new age Shambala retreat on the west end which is partially sheltered by rocks. Beneath the glimmering surf lie deceptive rip currents and fierce undertows, some of the deadliest along Mexico’s Pacific coast. 

For this reason, the beach was long avoided by indigenous Zapotec peoples, who believed the shoreline to be a place where the veil between the living and the dead is perilously thin. Some stories suggest that long before it was a bohemian enclave, Zipolite was a site where the sick and dying were brought to meet the sea, offering their souls to the great beyond.

Ghostly Presences and Ominous Whispers

To this day, strange occurrences linger along Playa Zipolite’s sands. Swimmers speak of sudden, icy currents gripping their ankles in otherwise warm water. Campers claim to hear soft voices in the dark, calling out from the ocean, though no one else is near.

More than a few visitors have reported glimpsing pale, indistinct figures at dusk, standing at the water’s edge, watching the horizon. These apparitions vanish the moment one approaches, leaving behind only a strange sense of sorrow and an unexplained chill.

Local fishermen, who know the beach’s moods better than anyone, refuse to venture onto certain stretches after nightfall. Some claim to have seen ghostly forms wading out into the surf under the full moon, while others speak of phantom footprints that appear in the sand, leading toward the waves and ending abruptly.

How true are the legends of it being some of the most haunted beaches though? Yes, it has started to show up on lists of “most haunted beaches”, but was it rumored to have been haunted before this? It is worth noting that there are close to no Spanish articles about it being haunted, and more than one article mentions that their list was worked out with the help of AI. Could it be that AI is now making up ghost stories and haunted places?

The Haunting Beauty of Zipolite

Few places embody the contrast between serene beauty and spectral unease as perfectly as Playa Zipolite. In 2025 a series of mass abductions and murders from the area added to its creepy lore.  Its waves are as deadly as they are mesmerizing, its sands as welcoming as they are haunted.

For all its modern reputation as a laid-back, bohemian beach town, the old stories of the indigenous using it as a burial ground persist. 

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References:

Horror on the coast of Oaxaca, a tourist paradise plagued by mass disappearances | International | EL PAÍS English 

Playa Zipolite – Wikipedia 

Most Haunted Beaches Around The World

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Halloween Stories: Día de los Muertos and Celebrating Death

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In splendid colors and festive celebration the Día de los Muertos in Mexico welcomes the dead with a party and a smile. But how did it originate and how does it differ from the Halloween celebration from its neighboring country?

Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is a vibrant and deeply spiritual celebration with roots in ancient Mesoamerican traditions. Most will preface this with saying that this is not the Mexican version of Halloween from the United States, although the celebrations do share similarities and also how it originated.

Read Also: Halloween Traditions Across the World

It is a time when the veil between the world of the living and the dead is said to thin, allowing families to reunite with their departed loved ones. Far from a mournful event, Día de los Muertos honors death as a natural part of life, celebrating the memories and spirits of the dead with offerings, altars, and joyful gatherings. The part of it being a humorous and fun aspect often sets it apart from other celebration focusing on death and the dead. 

The Origins of Día de los Muertos : From Mesoamerica to Modern Mexico

Today, the Día de los Muertos celebration is an old one, but just how old is still debated. Some argue that it have its origins in ancient pre-Hispanic traditions, particularly among the Aztecs and other indigenous civilizations as well as the Roman Catholics and the European Danse Macabre imagery. 

Read More: The Catholic celebration Allhallowtide has influenced a lot how we celebrate the dead. Halloween Stories: The Haunting Season of Allhallowtide 

Mictēcacihuātl: A drawing of Mictlancihuatl, one of the deities described in the Codex Borgia. She was the goddess of the dead and the underworld and today an imagery for those honoring the Aztec heritage during Día de los Muertos.

Some claim that close to all traditions could be traced back to medieval Europe and to the time when the Spanish Conquistadors colonized the land. They argued that what would be mistaken as indigenous traditions on the countryside was simply an archaic Spanish tradition from the early days of the conquest. Some would argue it is rather a Spanish tradition born out of Mexican nationalism to express themselves through this Aztec identity to remove themselves from Spain after independence.

But did the Aztec indigenous have a similar celebration? After all, a harvest celebration during the fall is a very global thing and could have existed parallel with others. These ancient peoples believed in the cyclical nature of life and death, viewing death not as an end but as a part of the journey of the soul. 

The closest celebration is perhaps the Quecholli is the name of the fourteenth month of the Aztec calendar and was between October 20 and November 8 where the hunting deity Mixcoatl was central as it was hunting season. It had a similar tradition of placing food on altars close to the burial grounds of fallen warriors to help them reach the afterlife. It was a huge feasting time and they would also dress up as the deity as well as sacrificing a man and a woman to him at his temple. 

The goddess Mictēcacihuātl, Queen of the Underworld, played a central role in ceremonies honoring the dead. She was often represented with a crown of skull and flowers, and people would often give offers to her in order to help the dead reach Mictlán.

Altars and Ofrendas: Welcoming the Spirits

At the heart of Día de los Muertos is the creation of altars, or ofrendas (offerings), that serve as a beacon for the spirits of deceased family members. These altars are elaborately decorated with candles, flowers, photos, and personal mementos of the deceased. Every ofrenda also includes the four elements: water, wind, earth and fire. A drink (water) for their thirst, food (earth) for their hunger and candles (fire). It is believed that the light from the candles guides the souls back to the world of the living, allowing them to briefly visit their families.

The big and adorned alters is a central part of the Día de los Muertos celebrations.

The altars often feature marigolds—known as cempasúchil—whose bright orange color and distinctive fragrance are thought to attract the souls of the dead and are often called Flor de Muerto or the Flower of Dead. It is often planted in cemeteries and in Honduras the flower is also used to wash corpses. 

Sugar skulls, pan de muerto (a special bread made for the occasion), and favorite foods of the deceased are also placed on the ofrendas, as offerings meant to nourish and comfort the visiting spirits.

Each element of the altar has symbolic meaning and is different in different regions. The papel picado in Michoacan, intricately cut paper banners, represents the fragility of life, while the salt helps purify the souls during their journey. Water is placed on the altar to quench the thirst of the spirits after their long voyage. In Oaxacada they are decorated with colorful paper mache called alebrijes.

Further to the sea like Veracruz, seashells, seaweed and fish. In big cities like Mexico City they also use more urban and modern things. At the altars they adorn them with pictures of the deceased as well as statuettes and images of saints and the virgin Mary. They sometimes offer shots of tequila or mezcal to adults or toys for the children. Most iconic though is perhaps the sugar skull. 

Calacas and Calaveras: The Dance of Death

La Catrina: Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central by Diego Rivera. Both him and Frida Kahlo is depicted together with La Catrina.

One of the most iconic images of Día de los Muertos is the calavera, or skull, often depicted in the form of brightly colored sugar skulls. These Alfeñiques sugared skulls, adorned with intricate designs, represent the dead but in a playful, lively way. The calacas (skeletons), whether in art or costume, are often shown dancing, playing music, or engaging in joyful activities. This imagery reflects the belief that death is not to be feared but rather embraced as a continuation of life.

Perhaps the most famous depiction of the calavera is the La Catrina figure, created by Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada in the early 20th century. La Catrina is a skeletal figure dressed in elaborate European clothing, a satirical commentary on Mexican society but also a reminder that death comes for all, regardless of status or wealth. 

Whereas Posada’s print intended to satirize upper class women of the Porfiriato, the famous Mexican artist, Diego Rivera made a huge mural where she was the centerpiece. There he molded her into a Mexican national symbol by giving her attributes that referenced indigenous cultures.

La Catrina has since become a symbol of Día de los Muertos and a popular costume during the celebrations. People are now dressing as her as a tribute and her imagery is known far outside the Mexican borders. The face painting of a human skull was not really a part of the tradition, but has become popular in recent years, especially in urban areas. 

The Journey of Souls

Día de los Muertos is often celebrated over two days. November 1st, Día de los Angelitos (Day of the Little Angels), is dedicated to the souls of deceased children where they are reunited with their family for a day. This is perhaps a more somber day for obvious reasons than the following day. Because November 2nd, Día de los Difuntos (Day of the Dead), is for honoring adults who have passed away and the night is more festive.

Families visit cemeteries, clean the graves of their loved ones, and often spend the night by the tombs, sharing stories, playing music, and sometimes even hosting feasts at the gravesite. These traditions ensure that the dead are never forgotten and remain an integral part of the family.

Other traditions children will go out in the street, knocking on the doors for a calaverita, which is a small gift like candy or money. The difference between this and the Trick or Treat is that there is no threat if they don’t give anything. 

They also write a particular literary form called Calaveras literarias that are lighthearted and often mocking epitaph to their friends and family. In recent years, parades in the streets with people dressing up have become more and more popular. Inspired by the 2015 James Bond movie Spectre, which featured a large Day of the Dead parade, Mexico City held its first-ever parade for the holiday in 2016.

From Ancient Rituals to a Global Tradition

Over time, Día de los Muertos has gained recognition beyond Mexico’s borders. Thanks in part to the efforts of Mexican-American communities, the holiday is now celebrated in various parts of the United States, particularly in regions with large Latino populations. Schools, community centers, and cultural organizations build ofrendas, host parades, and teach the significance of the holiday. Movies such as “Coco” (2017) have introduced the spirit and meaning of Día de los Muertos to global audiences, further embedding it in the popular imagination.

Read Also: Check out all ghost stories from Mexico

This didn’t go without its controversies though, as when the American Halloween became popular through popular culture through the North American Free Trade Agreement some saw as a form of U.S Cultural Imperialism. In the 1990 the phrase “Día de los Muertos is not Mexican Halloween” became more of a political statement

Read More: A lot of the modern Halloween celebration in the U.S are said to come from the Celtic Samhain celebration that Mexican’s feel doesn’t align with their own holiday. Halloween Stories: The Celtic Samhain and how it became the modern Halloween

But as much as the cultural conservatives saw Halloween as a ‘cultural pollution’, there is no denying that the two holidays have influenced each other in the later years. A write posed the question, when children are wearing a costume from the Disney movie, Coco, is the Mexican child wearing a Halloween costume or Día de los Muertos costume? Could it not be both?

Día de los Muertos and the Beautiful Dance with Death

The candles get lit as the Monarch butterflies that holds the spirits of the departed arrive in Mexico in the fall for the celebration. Día de los Muertos is not just a day of remembrance; it is a celebration of the beautiful, mysterious connection between life and death. It teaches that death is not the end but a continuation of the journey, one that is marked with love, color, and family. As the marigolds bloom and the candles flicker in the cool autumn air, families gather to welcome their ancestors and celebrate the timeless dance between the living and the dead.

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References:

Day of the Dead – Wikipedia 

Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) ‑ Origins, Celebrations, Parade | HISTORY 

Dia de los Muertos: Symbols and Traditions | The Grace Museum 

Day of the Dead 

Calavera – Wikipedia 

Calavera Sugar Skull 

Day of the Dead Traditions 

The Ofrenda 

Tagetes erecta – Wikipedia 

Ofrenda – Wikipedia

Day of the Dead – Wikipedia

What is Día de los Muertos? An expert explains the holiday celebrating loved ones who have died | PBS News 

Aztec Culture

Mixcoatl – Wikipedia 

Quecholli – Wikipedia 

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The Island of the Dolls of the Xochimilco Canals in Mexico

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Right outside of Mexico City you will find The Island of the Dolls in the Xochimilco Canals. Thousands of dolls hang in the small forest of the island, and according to the old caretaker of the island, the dolls are all possessed by spirits. 

In 2001 Don Julian Santana Barrera was fishing in the Xochimilco canals, not far from Mexico City with his nephew. The old man farming alone on his small island on the canals was around 80 years old and was well known for being a peculiar man among the locals. Sometimes in the 1950s, Santana Barrera had left his wife and rest of his family to live as a hermit on this island known as The Island of the Dolls without any electricity in a one-roomed hut. 

Santana Barrerawas a religious one, and rarely ventured outside of the island. He sometimes went over to the closest village to have a drink, but had been barred after he started to preach loudly about the bible and spirits many years ago, and had since then, stayed on his tiny island by himself and the spirits he claimed haunted his island.

Px-lga/Wikimedia

While Santana Barrera and his nephew were fishing together he started singing and claimed that mermaids were in the water, waiting for him. 

The nephew was used to the peculiar habits of his uncle and left for a moment, not thinking too much about it. When he returned he found Santana Barrera lifeless with his face down in the water. According to the nephew it was in the very same spot where a little girl had drowned that started the hauntings on The Island of the Dolls and his uncle’s lifelong project.

The Island of the Dolls in Mexico

But what story is behind this haunting on The Island of the Dolls has continued to intrigue people, and turned it into one of the most well known ghost stories in modern time?

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Mexico

As you navigate the labyrinthine waterways of Xochimilco on colorful trajinera boats, the atmosphere begins to change. The air grows heavier, and the sunlight struggles to penetrate the thick canopy of branches on the Laguna de Tequila. 

This place used to be a place of hiding for the Aztecs when the Spanish conquistadors came and rid their way of life. Now, the man made canals and small islands called chinampa, popularly known as floating gardens are one of the few remnants of that time. 

It is here you will find The Island of the Dolls or Isla de las Muñecas in Spanish, and the tiny farming island has by far become the most well known chinampa, and perhaps the most famed ghost story we have from Mexico. 

The Ghost of the Drowned Girl in the Canals

Sometime in the mid 20th century, Don Julian Santana Barrera, the caretaker of the island, started collecting dolls and hanging them up in the trees in the forest on the chinampa island in the lagoon around the same time he had been beaten up for talking about religion in town. The habit of collecting dolls had started in the small, but soon hundreds and then thousands of dolls were hanging in the trees over the next decades. 

Read More: Check of all stories from Haunted Forests

He said he had discovered the drowned body of a young girl in the waters years before surrounding his home. Some say he saw her drifting down the canal dead or he didn’t manage to save a drowning girl he saw tangled up in the water lilies. According to many retellings she had been playing with her sister when they got separated and she was taken by the current. 

The details of how it started is hazy, and any signs of a drowned girl connected to this story has not been found and there are no official reports about this. His family mostly think that Santana Barrera merely imagined the drowned girl. But he still set up a crucifix on the place that he claimed she died and. 

The next day he came across a doll drifting down and he believed it belonged to the girl. The doll was wearing a straw hat with sunflowers. Some also claim he heard the voice of the girl screaming she wanted her doll. He hung it from the tree as a talisman to ward off evil spirits. But seemingly, it seems it started to attract spirits if we are to believe the legends.  

Tormented by the spirit of the deceased, Santana Barrera began hanging dolls from the trees as a means of appeasing the girl’s restless soul. He was a catholic christian that also believed in the local mysticism. 

A Forest of Staring Eyes

The dolls that dangle from the branches on The Island of the Dolls have become grotesque effigies, each one seemingly frozen in a moment of silent terror. Their dismembered limbs, weathered features, and empty stares create an unnerving tableau that chills the bravest of hearts. As the wind whispers through the trees, the dolls sway with an otherworldly energy, as if animated by forces beyond mortal comprehension.

According to those close to him, it was like something possessed Santana Barrera, and it was like something on The Island of the Dolls changed him and drove him to always trying to appease the drowned girl’s spirit as well as the rest of the dolls. 

The artificially made islands called chinampa is a remnant from the Aztec and people grew their crops on the island. When the crops failed on Barreras island, it was supposedly the spirits of the dolls fault and he needed to appease them somehow. Santana Barrera claimed that the dolls themselves were possessed and continued to collect dolls, trading them to him throughout his life. 

Karpinico/Wikimedia

Santana Barrera traded them for his vegetables, he scoured the canals and found old, discarded dolls and hung them up as they were, even if they were missing a limb or was just a single head. If they were covered in moss or dirt didn’t matter, they all ended up in his collection on The Island of the Dolls. In the end there are about 4000 dolls on the island. When people came to visit he welcomed them and showed them around, looked at the dolls as his protectors and charged a fee for taking their photos. 

The family of Santana Barrera opened the island to the public after his death in 2001 when his nephew, Anastasio Santana Velasco took over as the caretaker of the island. It ended in the Guinness World Records Book as the biggest collection of haunted dolls. In the one-room hut that Barrera lived alone in they displayed the first doll that Barrera found all those years ago. 

They also have put his favorite doll, Agustina there with her glasses and turquoise. She is the only doll with a name on The Island of the Dolls. She is said to have powers of healing, and people tend to leave little offerings for her. It is also said she used to walk around at night. 

Today it is his great nephew, Rogelio Sanchez Santana that is a caretaker of The Island of the Dolls and a guardian to the dolls. 

The Hauntings in the Forest on the Island

Local lore suggests that the Island of the Dolls is a nexus of paranormal activity, with the dolls serving as vessels for the spirits that inhabit the island. His nephews claim that the same screams that his uncle had heard can sometimes be heard on the island among the trees.

Visitors have reported disembodied whispers, eerie laughter, and the feeling of unseen eyes watching their every move. Some claim to have witnessed the dolls moving on their own or heard the anguished cries of the girl whose tragic fate led to the creation of this haunted forest on the haunted island.

Most trajinera boat rowers are willing to take tourists over to The Island of the Dolls, and there have even become a stop on the tours on the canals, but to this day there are still those that refuse because of the superstitions and legends hanging over the island. People leave offerings by the dolls for blessings and some even come to change clothes of the dolls as a sort of worship. 

As the water laps against the shores of Xochimilco, the island’s ominous presence beckons the curious, daring them to step into a world where the boundary between reality and nightmare is forever blurred—an experience that, once embraced, may leave an indelible mark on the soul.

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References:

Featured Image: Wikimedia

Real story behind ‘haunted’ Island of the Dolls in Mexico 

The haunting story of the man who built the Island of Dolls | Guinness World Records 

The Island of the Dolls – Wikipedia 

Isla de las Muñecas 

The spooky story behind the Mexican Island of Dolls bring chills to those who visit – ABC News 

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The Ghost of La Faraona Haunting the Agua Caliente Hotel

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Haunting the iconic Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel in Tijuana, the performer known as La Faraona remains like a ghost from the Golden Age of the Sin City.

During prohibition times in the US in the 1920s, people flocked to the borders to have a drink and a good time. The border towns also become a hot spot for smuggling activity and flourishing establishments that would quench peoples thirst. 

Tijuana was one of these border towns that saw a golden age and growth during this time. People came from the whole world to get a drink while gambling at their casino and watch horse racing and bullfighting. For the conservatives, Tijuana became known as a Sin City or was even called Satan’s Playground. 

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The demand for a good time was profitable however and attracted many people south of the border, and many resorts were established for this particular need. One of these places was Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel that opened in 1928. It was like the American Monte Carlo and Deauville that attracted American celebrities, Mexican politicians, diplomats, gangsters and gamblers alike during the 30s. This is the time that is remembered as Tijuana’s golden age. 

The hotel in Tijuana in Mexico in Baja California is said to be haunted now however, and the glamor it once held, is now under the layer of dust and only a footnote in history. It is now a high school and many of the reports of the haunting come from the students themselves. There are many stories, and especially about a woman walking past the student, whose feet don’t even touch the ground. The legend of this ghost has been called La Faraona.

The Dancing Ghost La Faraona

Agua Caliente is a place where performers had the chance of being discovered and making it big. Rita Hayworth was one of those while she was playing a show at the hotel. She went on to be a famous Hollywood star and a cultural icon. But there was not every performer that managed to get out of Tijuana. 

Satan’s Playground: The Agua Caliente was a famous tourist spot for a weekend away. It was also a place were many performers were employed and made famous. On the other end it was a place were many illegal activities took place. // Photo: Guy Sensor Landscape Photo, courtesy of San Diego History Center Photo Archive.

It is said that a female performer haunts the former hotel that was built atop of a natural hot spring. In many versions she worked as a singer, but in the most detailed stories, she was a dancer in one of the more popular shows. A flamenco dancer from Spain. The stories told at the school call her La Faraona, apparently her stage name as the star in one of the many shows at the casino at the Agua Caliente. 

She was supposedly also known as being somewhat of a good luck charm to keep at your side by the gambling tables at the casino. By her many admirers, she gained a lot of wealth in the form of diamonds and jewelry and there are rumors that she hid her treasures by the minaret which is the place her ghost has been spotted many times.

Crime of Passion

La Faraona: According to the legend, La Faraona laced her lovers drink with poison and they both ended up dead.

She was in a relationship with a man at the resort. Some call him Mr. Patrick, a British gentleman and a dealer that had made money on the alcohol smuggling business. In some accounts, he was even in Al Capone’s mafia. In all accounts however, it ended in tragedy when La Faraona killed him.

Why she did it differs from one version to the next, but it is usually by poison. In some accounts, she only poisons him, but in many versions, she does it to both of them. She supposedly poisoned her lover after stealing his money or after she realized he wasn’t intending to bring her back with him to England. In some versions it was because she saw him with another woman.

Apparently she laughed in his face when she poisoned him and even told him there was an antidote for it that she wouldn’t give him. He ran after her to get the antidote from her but didn’t get it. He then shot and killed her. 

This also meant that he would never find the antidote to the poison as well and he too died. Or they both died by the poison she laced their drinks with. Now they both haunt the former hotel where they ended their days. 

A Real Murder at the Hotel

When we look at the historical facts, there are only one murder registered at the Agua Caliente, although who knows how many that never made it to the public really happenend, we will never know. 

But a dancer working for the past four months at the Agua Caliente was found on 26. March in 1934. Named Esperanza López was found murdered in one of the bungalows at the premise that were kept for the artists at the casino. She had been shot by her husband who also worked at the hotel named Rodrigo Prieto. 

The hotel closed down in 1938 when the prohibitions were lifted in the states, and Mexico forbade gambling. Then the building was turned into a private school named Lázaro Cárdenas High School where the stories about the hauntings mostly came from.

And the students at the school keep insisting on seeing her ghost roaming about the place as she is never leaving the Agua Caliente.  

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References

Encyclopedia of Haunted Places, Revised Edition: Ghostly Locales From Around the world Av Jeff Belanger

Tijuana Was Once “Satan’s Playground” | KPBS Public Media

In Tijuana, searching for Al Capone – The Washington Post

La bailarina del Aguacaliente | Noticias de Tijuana | EL IMPARCIAL

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Halloween Traditions Across the World

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In this wide world we have countless customs, holidays and traditions. But the tradition of honoring, and at times, fearing the dead around the dark autumn time, seems to be something we do in all corners of the earth.

Through the modern media we have all grown accustomed to this specific type of Halloween traditions. Carving pumpkins, go trick or treating and dressing up is now a global phenomenon. But the concept of celebrating the dead, souls and spirits during the harvest season has always been something people have done, and probably will continue to do for a while. But although the American style Halloween have monopolised a lot of the celebration, there are still both old and local variation of celebrating this kind of festivity. Here are some of them:

Samhain — Britain

Samhain: Bonfires, offerings to fairies and feasts for the dead was a tradition in the old Samhain celebrations.

The Samhain celebration is probably were the modern Halloween traditions has borrowed most customs and ideas from. It is a Gaelic festival marking the end of harvest season and the beginning of winter. it was usually celebrated from 31. October to 1. November. It was celebrated all throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, with many similar festivals held around the same time around the rest of the Celtic Islands.

According to tradition, bonfires were lit as they were seen to have protective and cleansing power. Offerings to the Aois Sí, the spirits and fairies was made to give them a good harvest and making them last through the winter. There was also held feasts where they made place for the dead at the table, as it was believed that the souls of the dead would visit.

The festival was held because the time was seen as a liminal time, were the boundary between the living and dead were minimal and the crossing between this world and the otherworld were more easily done. A part of the festival also included people dressing up in costume to recite verses for food, called mummers play, or mumming.

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All Saints Day — Catholic Church

All Saints Day: This Christian holiday is celebrated many places were there is a Roman catholic or Anglican church.

Within the Catholic Church the celebration of All Saints’ Day or All Souls’ Day is marked November the first and second. It is also called Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed and Day of the Dead. The All Saints Day is a day for celebrating all Saints and Martyrs in the Christian Church. The All Souls Day is mostly for the people still in purgatory to atone for their sins before entering heaven.

This together with Samhain turned into what we now call the modern Halloween with its traditions. Most often, the All Saints’ Day is celebrated within the western christianity, while in the eastern christianity they have celebrated somewhat the same in Saturday of Souls celebrations. It is mostly celebrated by Roman Catholics and Anglicans.

The feast itself is celebrated on November 1. and is mostly a day of prayer and remembering the souls of the dead. On the day there are many ways the practitioners remember the dead, and the traditions vary from church to church, but it generally include lighting candles and praying.

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Allantide — Wales

Allan Apples: Apples are important for Allantide as they are a token of good luck.

A Cornish version of Halloween traditions is the Allantide, or Kalan Gwaw, meaning the first day of winter. In the sixth century, Cornwall had a bishop named St Allan, and therefore it is also known as Allan Night and Allan Day. Traditionally it was celebrated on the night of October 31 and the day after.

A lot of common traits with Hollantide celebration in Wales and Isle of Man as well as Halloween itself. To celebrate they rung the church bell to comfort Christian souls on their journey to heaven. They made Jack’o lanterns from turnips. But the most important fruit this feast was red apples. Large, glossy Allan apples were polished and given to friends and family as gift for good luck.

Divination game to read the future was also a part of the festivities. They ere for example throwing walnuts in the fire to predict the fidelity of their partners, or poring molten lead in cold water to find out the job of their future husband. Also some parts of Cornwal, they lit ‘Tindle’ fires to the Coel Coth of Wales.

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Day of the Dead — Mexico

Día de Muertos: This day is often recognized for the costumes and makeup.

The Day of the Dead or Día de Muertos in Spanish is a Mexican holiday, well known for their distinctive costumes and face paint. Before the Spanish colonization in the 16th century, the celebration was in the beginning of the summer in Mexico. But it became intertwined with the Christian church and European Halloween traditions and moved to the end of October and beginning of November.

It is a holiday, stretching over several days gathers families and friends to pray for their lost ones and help their way to heaven. According to the Mexican culture, the death is viewed as a naturally part of the human cycle and should therefor not be seen as a day of sadness, but a day of celebrations.

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Pchum Ben — Cambodia

Preparing to open the gates of hell: Monks praying and people gifting food and flowers to the ancestors.
Prayers during Pchum Ben. Credit: Maharaja45

The holiday is a fifteen day celebration on the 15th day of the tenth month in the Khmer calendar, at the end of the Buddhist Lent, Vassa. And would in the Gregorian calendar, mostly be in September and October. The translation of Pchum Ben is Ancestor Day, and its a time were many Cambodians pay their respect to the dead family and relatives up to seven generations.

Monks chant the sutta in Pali language without sleeping overnight to prepare the gates of hell opening. This occurs once a year and is a time were manes (spirits) of the ancestors come back. Therefore they put out food offerings that can help them end their time in purgatory.

People give foods like sweet sticky rice and beans wrapped in banana leaves, and visit temples to offer up baskets of flowers as a way to pay respect to their deceased ancestors. It’s also a time for people to celebrate the elderly.

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Pangangaluluwa — Philippines

After sundown: In Philippines they light candles and camp out in the cemeteries to honour the ancestors.
Photo by Alexandr Chukashev on Pexels.com

The name of the holiday is from the word kaluluwa, meaning soul or spirit. It is an event that lasts three days at the cemetery with food stands and pop-up stores around the cemetery as the people celebrating the festivities, camp out.

On the first of November people gather in cemetaries to light candles and put flowers on the grave to respect the ancestors. some places in the north they have this old tradition of lighting pinewood next to the graves. In the cemetery there is a priest walking through it to bless all the tombs.

Outside of the emetaries, there are carollers singing through the night, all draped in white blankets. The same tradition is for children as they go door to door and singing hymns to get money.

Today, the local tradition is slowly fading out, merging more and more with the modern Halloween traditions, but out in the provinces, mostly, the old practices is still upheld for now.

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Saint Andrew’s Day — Romania

Night of the Wolf: During this night wolves have special powers and can speak.
Photo by David Selbert on Pexels.com

This day is today connected to the Christian saint, but it also have some pagan origins with the Roman celebration of Saturn. In the Dacian Ney Year was an interval when time started up again. On the turn of the night, wolves were allowed to eat the animals they wanted and it was also believed that they spoke as well, although, if you heard it, it meant an early death.

Early on the day, the mothers went into the garden to get branches, especially from apple, pear, cherry trees and rose bush branches. They made a bunch of these branches for each family member, and if a branch bloomed by New Years day, it meant they would be lucky and healthy the following year.

There was also a tradition of girls hiding sweet basil under their pillow to have dreams about their wedding. It was also customary for girls to put 41 grains of wheat under their pillow, and if they dreamt someone stole them, it meant they were going to be wed the next year. This premonition was also done by bringing a candle to a fountain at midnight and ask Saint Andrew himself if he could give them a glimpse of their future husband.

This day was especially good for revealing the future husband by magic, a superstitious belief that was also in Ukraine, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, Russia as well as in Romania. This was also the day were vampiric activity was at large, all until Saint George’s Eve on the 22. of April.

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Dziady — Poland

Dziady: Cemetery on dziady night by Stanisław Bagieński from 1904.

The Dziady is a slavic feast to remember the ancestor long passed. It is sometimes translated to Forefathers Eve. It used to be celebrated both in the spring and in the autumn, but today, it is usually held in the end of October like .

In the feast they eat ritual meals to celebrate the living and the souls. It was either held at the house or at cemeteries, were poring directly on the grave was and still is a thing. In some areas the ancestors also had to bathe, and saunas was prepared for them. They also lit up candles and lights to guide the souls so they wouldn’t get lost and wander off.

There was also a special kind of begger, a beggars-dziady, people thought to be connected to the other words. They were given food and sometimes cash to make them pray for their loved lost ones.

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La Llorona the Mexican Weeping Woman Ghost

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Along the rivers in Mexico a wailing woman wearing white can be seen and heard as she comes up drenched from the waters. She is desperately looking for her children she herself drowned. And according to the legends of La Llorona or the wailing woman, you are next.

“The scariest part was not that La Llorona was a monster, or that she came when you called her name three times in the dark, or that she could come into your room at night and take you from your bed like she’d done with her own babies. It was that once she’d been a person, a woman, a mother. And then a moment, an instant, a split second later, she was a monster.
– Jaquira Díaz’s 2019 memoir, Ordinary Girls

This Mexican legend is one of the more well known, international as well now, as the movie came out a while back. But she has been around for centuries, a legend so well known it is now more or less an important part of the Mexican heritage and culture as well as in the Chicano Mexican community of the US.

Read Also: Check out all of our ghost stories from Mexico

La Llorona is Spanish meaning the weeping woman, or the wailer. She is perhaps a bit older than most think as well. The origin of the legend can have roots as far back in the Aztec legends and being one of ten omens foretelling the Conquest of Mexico and has also been linked to Aztec goddesses like Cihuacōātl.

Cihuacōātl was one of a number of motherhood and fertility goddesses. She was also the mother of the hunting God Mixcoatl, whom she abandoned at a crossroads. Tradition says that she often returns there to weep for her lost son, only to find a sacrificial knife. This story can help us understand why sometimes the story of La Llorona sometimes is set on a crossroad, not a long a river or some form of water.

The most common lore about La Llorona is about how she was being an Indigenous woman who murdered her own children, which she bore from a wealthy Spaniard. The villainous qualities of La Llorona have also been connected to the stories about Doña Marina, also known as La Malinche, or Maltinzin. She has been portrayed as a scheming woman who betrayed her people when she assisted the conquistadors and bore their children.

The Dangerous Wailing Woman in White

As well as finding similarities to the old Aztec mythology as well as working as an allegory about “betraying her own people”, the legend of La LLorona is something we can find similarities to all across the world. The story has also the ring of ‘White Woman’ often found in European legends as well as Greek mythology stories like with Jason and Medea, a scorned woman, killing her children when her man betrays her.

The weeping woman: A wooden cutout in the shape of La llorona. She has a white veil over her and is placed on the island la llorona in the channels of Xochimilco in Mexico.

Read Also: The Lady in White in Zitadelle Spandau or The Haunting of The House of Hohenzollern are all ghost stories featuring the trope of the lady in white haunting a place.

The difference between the European trope of the Woman in White ghost is that La Llorona are often described as being more dangerous to those encountering her than her European counterpart. This makes her more like the vengeful spirits we often read about in Asian ghost stories as with the Japanese Onryo or the Korean Virgin Ghost for instance.

The story of La Llorona takes many turns and has today many variations. The ghost of La Llorona, the wailing ghost woman appears in crossroads, by lakes or rivers, on the road and has many variations. Even if she is most well known as a Mexican folktales there are other variation of the stoghost story in other South American countries as well like in Guatemala and Venezuela.

Read Also: The Legend of La Sayona or La Descarnada of the Highway for more stories about dangerous female ghosts found in Latin American folklore.

And as the history of Mexico, with its changes and social unrest, the story of La Llorona has followed closely behind, reshaped to fit the narrative of the time. Therefore, we will relate one of these variations and one of the common one told in the modern era.

The Story of La Llorona

The most told version of the story of La Llorona is set in a small village in Mexico, were a young woman lived. As mentioned she is often portrayed as an indigenous woman. Her name was Maria and came from a poor family. She was known in the village for her beauty, but will be remembered as La Llorona, the weeping woman. A tragic club to be in.

The Curse of La Llorona: The Tragic tale of the woman who drowns her children because her man abandoned her has been made into a movie many times. Here from the 2019 movie, the Curse of La Llorona//Source IMDB

One day, a very wealthy man came passing through town. DEpending to when the story is set, he was a Spanish conquistador or a wealthy rancher. He stopped when he saw the beautiful Maria and approached her. She was charmed by the wealthy man and when he proposed, she accepted at once. Maria’s family was overjoyed that their daughter would marry into a rich family and have a chance at a better life. But the father of this wealthy man however, was deeply disappointed at his sons choice of bride and didn’t approve of their marriage.

They chose to ignore the disapproving father and Maria and her now husband built a house in her town to get away from his judgmental father. Time went by and Maria gave birth to two twin boys. A seemingly happy marriage and life from the outside.

But not everything was rosy colored as it seemed. Her husband was always travelling and almost never spent any time with the family. When he was home, he only spent time with the boys, and Maria knew he no longer loved her and she started to fear that he would leave them.

Read Also: There are many ghost stories about women being left by their lover. Like The Ghost on Emily’s Bridge, The Grey Lady of Stavern at Hotel Wassilioff or the ghost of Chaonei No. 81 — Beijing Horror House

One day the husband went away and never returned. Many years went by but they didn’t hear from him and they didn’t even know if he were living or dead. Still, there seemed to linger a faint hope in Maria, that he someday would return to them and they would once again be a happy family.

Maria and her boys was out walking along a river one day when the faint hope she had been carrying came crashing down. A carriage was pulled by and to her greatest shock she saw her once husband sitting in it. By his side a much younger and beautiful woman sat and it was clear that he had abandoned them for good.

Maria was furious and desperate as her world fell apart and she could no longer fool herself. Without thinking she picked up her two boys and threw them in the river, drowning them in a fit of rage, of desperation and perhaps even a horrible psychosis. Only after she saw the floating bodies of her now dead sons she realized what she had done. She jumped out after them to die with them. Now she spends rest of eternity on the hunt after her children along that river.

The Haunted Rivers and Dangers of her Ghost

Doomed to linger in purgatory for her sins, she haunts the place were she committed her crime. Exactly where this place is differs as the legend about her ghost now has gone into the cultural sphere and is more like an entity in itself than just a singular ghost.

It is said that is you hear the crying of La Llorona close to rivers or other forms of water, you must run the opposite way as she is known for being a dangerous ghost to encounter, still mad and filled with rage that will harm you.

In some variation of the legend the children were illegitimate children, and she murdered them so that they wouldn’t get taken away from her and be brought up by another woman the father was legally wed to. In any versions though, the legend about La Llorona invokes pity for her fate as well as fear for her actions.

The Danger of La Llorona: The story of La Llorona tells about a woman who murdered her children when her husband abandoned her. Now she haunts the rivers and are a danger to those encountering her.

According to the legends, she still calls after her children “ay, mis hijos” and is said to be on a hunt for her children like she doesn’t remember what happened to them, still unable to accept what she did. It can bring bad luck, even death if you hear her cries.

If you are pregnant, you must be extra careful of her because La Llorona is attracted to children and wants them to join her. Therefore children should not walk alone along rivers and she has become some sort of cautionary tale to keep them away from the dangerous waters.

It is said that in some versions of the story, she kidnaps kids that are reminding her of her own and asks for their forgiveness. Then she murders them to take the place of her own.

La Llorona in Popular Culture

Although the legend about La Llorona is an old one, it is still an iconic figure to feature in books, movies and songs. There she differs from being a misunderstood female ghost to a full on evil spirit that are out to harm people.

In movies there have been made stories about her since the 1930s, mostly horror movies, and it even got its own spin off in James Wan’s The Conjuring Universe in 2019.

The popular folk song called La Llorona that were popularised in 1941, was also included in the Pixar movie Coco in 2017. So it’s safe to say that the legend about the wailing woman still lingers in the Mexican and US cultural sphere and fears of her ghost doesn’t seem to fade away anytime soon.

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References:

La Llorona – Wikipedia 

Cihuacōātl – Wikipedia

The Wailing Woman | History Today

Dark Tourism, listicle, Review

5 Haunted Attractions to Visit

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Perhaps this is not the greatest summer to travel, but as the borders are opening up, so do we as well move over greater distances than we have. Perhaps some of these places are even closer to you than you think? Here we have gathered some of the most haunted attractions around the world you can visit for a ticket.

Winchester Mystery House
San Jose, California

The Mystery House: Front view of the Winchester Mystery House/Ben Franske

This strange house, built upon the money, wealth and grief of the family fortune, the gun trade, this house is something else. Wind winding staircases going nowhere, doors leading to unknown destination and who know how much else secrets and hauntings the house holds.

Akershus Fortress
Oslo, Norway

By the Sea: Akershus Castle in Oslo, Norway/Pudelek (Marcin Szala)

The fortress was built in medieval times, withstanding plague, starvation from the cold winters and as a last stand during wars. It is also the location of several ghost the fortress has claimed as its own over the years. Smacked in the middle of the modern city of Oslo, it stands as a stark contrast of old and new, living and dead.

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Island of the Dolls, (La Isla de las Muñecas)
Mexico City, Mexico

Isla de las Muñecas: nearby the Xochimilco canals/Esparta Palma/wikicommons

If not for the ghost, go for the creepy decor. Allegedly a man found a dead girl and her doll. He started collecting dolls to appease the girls spirit. Now the island is full of them, hanging from trees, looking at all the tourists taking their holiday at this peculiar place. For around 200 pesos you can get a boat to take you there. On the island, there is also a bar. So, hey, holiday!

The Catacombs
Paris, France

Bones: Wall made of skulls, catacombs of Paris/Djtox/wikicommons

A final resting place for some, not so restful for others. The catacombs were created in 1786 and are 500 miles of an underground maze, built of bones of the dead. And for a ticket, you can walk them. It has been held several scary paranormal claims, and it will only probably be more of them.

The Tower
London, England

The Tower: This is a picture of the so called White Tower of the Tower of London/Dietmar Rabich, London, Tower of London, White Tower — 2016 — 4679, CC BY-SA 4.0

Yes, the tower, how many ghosts do you have captured? The fortress smacked in the busy streets of Londong have been a infamous spot for death and misery for over 900 years. It also holds some royal ghosts that never found peace, among them Anne Boleyn and Mary, Queen of Scots.

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