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September 26, 2012 with 294 notes
        tags: La Pascualita. Bride. Wedding. Creepy. Weird. Spooky. Myth. Legend. Dead. Death. urban legend. corpse. paranormal. supernatural. fake. hoax. mexico.

La Pascualita: The Corpse Bride of Mexico

La Pascualita is a bridal mannequin that has “lived” in a store window in Chihuahua, Mexico for the past 75 years. According to urban legend, La Pascualita isn’t a dummy at all, but the perfectly preserved corpse of the previous owner’s daughter.

La Pascualita was first installed in 1930, dressed in a spring-seasonal bridal gown. People simply could not tear their sight away from this new mannequin, with the wide-set glass eyes, real hair and blushing skin tone. They realized that the mannequin closely resembled the shop’s owner at the time, Pascuala Esparza. It didn’t take long for them to come to the conclusion that the dummy was in fact the embalmed body of her daughter, who had died recently on her wedding day [and] By the time Pascuala could issue an official statement denying the rumors, nobody was willing to believer her. 

Of course, the speculated presence of a corpse must naturally be accompanied by supernatural happenings. Several odd incidents have been reported. It is said that a love-sick French magician would arrive at night and magically bring it to life, taking her out to town. A few others believe that her gaze shifts and follows them around the store. At night, she is also believed to shift positions in the window.

Sonia Burciaga, a shop worker says, “Every time I go near Pascualita my hands break out in a sweat. Her hands are very realistic and she even has varicose veins on her legs. I believe she’s a real person.”

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(Source: odditycentral.com)

August 7, 2012 with 1,677 notes
        tags: History. Skeleton. Teeth. Gems. Diamonds. Skull. National Geographic. archaeology. Native American. Mexico. Bling. Jewels. Anthropology. Mesoamerica.
Sophisticated dentistry allowed Native Americans to add bling to their teeth as far back as 2,500 years ago, a new study says. Ancient peoples of southern North America went to “dentists”—among the earliest known—to beautify their chompers with notches, grooves, and semiprecious gems, according to a recent analysis of thousands of teeth examined from collections in Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (such as the skull above, found in Chiapas, Mexico).

Sophisticated dentistry allowed Native Americans to add bling to their teeth as far back as 2,500 years ago, a new study says.

Ancient peoples of southern North America went to “dentists”—among the earliest known—to beautify their chompers with notches, grooves, and semiprecious gems, according to a recent analysis of thousands of teeth examined from collections in Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (such as the skull above, found in Chiapas, Mexico).

July 5, 2012 with 244 notes
        tags: Jewellery. Beetles. Mexico. Maya. Mayan. Yucatan Peninsula. Insect. Fashion. Tradition. Animal Rights. Brooch. Animals. Weird. Maquech Beetles. Jewelry.
Maquech Beetles – Mexico’s Controversial Living Breathing Jewellery:  Jewellery enthusiasts in Mexico have been flocking at stores to buy these ‘pet-cessories’ since the 1980s. The brooch is actually a part of a centuries-old Mayan tradition of decorating wingless beetles from the Yucatan Peninsula. Gemstones and gold are glued on the beetle’s body which sounds like a cruel process which has been denounced by animal activists in the past. The insects themselves are pretty harmless and docile, quite perfect to play the part of living jewelry. Each one has a decorative safety pin attached to it with a 2-inch-long chain leash. When pinned to clothing, the beetles can wander around, but can never get away.

Maquech Beetles – Mexico’s Controversial Living Breathing Jewellery: 

Jewellery enthusiasts in Mexico have been flocking at stores to buy these ‘pet-cessories’ since the 1980s. The brooch is actually a part of a centuries-old Mayan tradition of decorating wingless beetles from the Yucatan Peninsula. Gemstones and gold are glued on the beetle’s body which sounds like a cruel process which has been denounced by animal activists in the past. The insects themselves are pretty harmless and docile, quite perfect to play the part of living jewelry. Each one has a decorative safety pin attached to it with a 2-inch-long chain leash. When pinned to clothing, the beetles can wander around, but can never get away.

(Source: odditycentral.com)

June 13, 2012 with 33 notes
        tags: Acámbaro Figures. Hoax. Clay. Out of Place artifacts. History. Weird. Mexico. Creation. Evolution. Mystery. 1940s. Archeology. Dinosaur.
Acámbaro Figures The Acámbaro Figures are a collection of small ceramic figurines allegedly found in Acámbaro, Guanajuato, Mexico.  They were discovered by Waldemar Julsrud in July of 1944.  According to accounts, Julsrud stumbled upon the artifacts while riding his horse in the Acámbaro area.  He hired a local farmer to dig up the remaining figures, paying him for each object he found.  Eventually, the farmer and his assistants discovered over 32,000 figures, which included representations of everything from dinosaurs to people from all over the world, including Egyptians, Sumerians, and bearded Caucasians.  The Acámbaro Figures have been cited as out of place artifacts, as they are clearly human made and portray a large variety of dinosaur species.  According to all history books, humans did not live in the time of the dinosaurs.  Upon the discovery of the figures, many creationists from all over the world proclaimed the artifacts legitimate.  If these figures are genuine, it could stand as credible evidence for the coexistence of dinosaurs and humans, which would severely damage the theory of evolution and offer support for the literal interpretation of the Bible. Attempts have been made to date these figures using Thermoluminescence, or TL dating, and the results suggested a date around 2500 BCE.  A man named Don Patton claims he found radiocarbon dates for the figures ranging from 6500 years to 1500 years ago; however, the objects are in very good shape and show no characteristic evidence of having been in the ground for at least 1500 years. If they were authentic artifacts, they should be scratched and marred from the rocky soil, which is characteristic of other objects found in that area of Mexico.  Other supporters of the figures claim that the incredible detail of the dinosaurs suggest a firsthand experience with the creatures. The sheer number of the figures discovered is often cited as evidence for a hoax.  To date, no credible scholars of archaeology or paleontology accept the discovery as valid.

Acámbaro Figures

The Acámbaro Figures are a collection of small ceramic figurines allegedly found in Acámbaro, Guanajuato, Mexico.  They were discovered by Waldemar Julsrud in July of 1944.  According to accounts, Julsrud stumbled upon the artifacts while riding his horse in the Acámbaro area.  He hired a local farmer to dig up the remaining figures, paying him for each object he found.  Eventually, the farmer and his assistants discovered over 32,000 figures, which included representations of everything from dinosaurs to people from all over the world, including Egyptians, Sumerians, and bearded Caucasians.  The Acámbaro Figures have been cited as out of place artifacts, as they are clearly human made and portray a large variety of dinosaur species.  According to all history books, humans did not live in the time of the dinosaurs.  Upon the discovery of the figures, many creationists from all over the world proclaimed the artifacts legitimate.  If these figures are genuine, it could stand as credible evidence for the coexistence of dinosaurs and humans, which would severely damage the theory of evolution and offer support for the literal interpretation of the Bible.

Attempts have been made to date these figures using Thermoluminescence, or TL dating, and the results suggested a date around 2500 BCE.  A man named Don Patton claims he found radiocarbon dates for the figures ranging from 6500 years to 1500 years ago; however, the objects are in very good shape and show no characteristic evidence of having been in the ground for at least 1500 years. If they were authentic artifacts, they should be scratched and marred from the rocky soil, which is characteristic of other objects found in that area of Mexico.  Other supporters of the figures claim that the incredible detail of the dinosaurs suggest a firsthand experience with the creatures. The sheer number of the figures discovered is often cited as evidence for a hoax.  To date, no credible scholars of archaeology or paleontology accept the discovery as valid.

March 10, 2012 with 16 notes
        tags: Creepy. Dolls. Island. Travel. Mexico. Island of Dolls. Isla de las Munecas.

Isla de las Munecas

On a dark and creepy island in the canals of Xochimico near Mexico City sits what might be the world’s strangest and scariest tourist attraction ever. However, the sad island was never meant to be a stop on tourists’ itineraries. The Island of the Dolls was dedicated to the lost soul of a poor little girl who met he fate too soon.

The Island of the Dolls (Isla de las Minecas) sits in the canals south of Mexica City and is the current home of hundreds of terrifying, mutilated dolls. Their servered limbs, decapitated heads, and blank eyes adorn trees, fences and nearly every available surface. The dolls appear menacing even in the bright light of midday, but in the dark they are particularly haunting.

Not surprisingly, the island’s origins lie in tragedy. The story goes that the island’s only inhabitant, Don Julian Santana, found the body of a drowned child in the canal some 50 years ago. He was haunted by her death, so when he saw a doll floating by in the canal soon after, he hung it in a tree to please the girl. He hoped to both appease her tortured soul and protect the island from further evil.

One doll in a tree, however, was not enough to ease Santana’s troubled mind. He continued to fish dolls and doll parts out of the canal whenever he saw them, hanging each one carefully on the island. There weren’t enough canal dolls to satisfy Santana’s tortured spirit, so he began scavenging more from trash heaps on his rare trips away from home. Later in life, he began trading his home-grown fruits and vegetables for dolls.

Many stories have been associated with the island over the years. A popular tale was that Don Julian had gone mad and believed the dolls to be real children who he pulled from the canal and tried to revive. But the truth, as told by his family members who now run the island as a tourist attraction, is that Don Julian simply believed the island was haunted by the spirit of the little girl. For reasons only known to Don Julian himself, he believed that he could make the dead girl happy and keep evil at bay by hanging discarded dolls in all of the island’s trees.

The story took a particularly sinister turn in 2001 when Don Julian drowned in the canal just like the little girl. Many people said that the dolls, inhabited by tortured spirits, conspired to murder the old man. Others believe that Santana’s death was an accident and that since his passing, the dolls have taken over his role as the island’s caretaker.

Although the island did not receive much tourist attention during Don Julian’s lifetime, it has become a well-known attraction since then. International television crews have filmed there several times, including one show that claimed to find proof the island is haunted.

Getting to the island is a long and difficult task, but walking among the creepy dolls is an experience like no other. Most, if not all, of these dolls were rejected by their previous owners for various reasons. Severed limbs and body-less heads hang side-by-side with whole, sun-bleached dolls. Mold covers some, while others are missing nearly all of their artificial hair. Spiders and insects have taken up residence in the hollow parts of most of the dolls.

Although Don Julian’s sentiment was innocent and admirable, the doll graveyard he created is undeniably creepy. Soulless eyes follow visitors as they move around the small island (which is actually a chinampa, or artificial floating garden), and many swear that they can hear the dolls whispering to them. This labor of love (or fear, as it were) has resulted in an accidental sensation amongst those who admire the bizarre and twisted side of tourism.

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