Island of the Dolls.

Dolls can be creepy for a number of reasons, the lifeless eyes, the knowing smile, or the outstretched limbs that seem to be calling out to you. But nothing is creepier than the Island of the Dolls in Isla de las Munecas – 17 miles south of Mexico City, Mexico.

A little girl died in the canals nearby, so to honour her memory, people started to leave dolls for the spirit of the girl. Over time hundreds of dolls, some severed and tied from that neck, have been placed around the island.

The island is in fact a floating garden, known as a chinampa, which belonged to a man named Julian Santana Barrera, a hermit who lived isolated on the canal. 

The creepy creation was discovered in the 1990s when the local council started clearing up the canal, since then the garden has been a popular tourist spot for people seeking the strange and unusual.

Mr Santana Barrera created the terrifying island in dedication of a little girl whose dead body he found floating in the canal near his home.

A few days later he discovered a small doll found in the same spot where the girl’s body was found, the believed her spirit was inside the doll. He hung the doll to the tree in her honour.

Over time he would collect dolls from rubbish tips and severed limbs from scrap piles to add to the shrine of the little girl. When locals found out about this island, Mr Santana Barrera became a bit of a celebrity and people would bring him dolls to add to the collection.

Bizarrely, in 2001 he was found dead in the canal, from drowning, in the exact spot where the little girl’s body had been found.

It would be interesting to see if such a small island, with such unusual objects and circumstances, would be haunted. I would personally love to visit Mexico and visit the Island. Maybe one day i could add a doll to the collection.

If anyone knows of any paranormal activity or investigations that have taken place here, please let me know!!