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A Haunted Island Protected By Dolls (PHOTOS)

Posted: 10/18/11 09:59 AM ET

When faced with terrifying visions of a long-dead child, should one:

A) Get the hell out of dodge.

B) Seek the source of the specter's discontent.

C) Decorate your little island home with hundreds of dismembered heads, legs, and arms of baby dolls.

Surprisingly, Don Julian Santana of the Isla de Las Munecas in Mexico chose to go with option C. Today, the slowly decaying remnants of dolls hang from trees and hide in bushes in an effort to ward off the restless spirit of a young girl who -- as legend tells it -- drowned offshore.

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Santana did not set out to create this creepy shrine to a girl he never knew, but upon his arrival to Isla de Las Munecas he felt the presence of a spirit he believed to be that of this young girl who drowned. He became both afraid of the restless spirit and obsessed with it.
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When faced with terrifying visions of a long-dead child, should one: A) Get the hell out of dodge. B) Seek the source of the specter's discontent. C) Decorate your little island home with hundreds ...
When faced with terrifying visions of a long-dead child, should one: A) Get the hell out of dodge. B) Seek the source of the specter's discontent. C) Decorate your little island home with hundreds ...
 
 
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08:19 AM on 10/23/2011
Strange is as strange does.
Many people do swear by this. I do not go any where practice similar near it.
I did work with some men who told me a story about a man they knew. True story, supposedly. "[ "There was this man who live in a big beautiful home (on the exterior, as no one was ever inside). No one ever saw another human around. When you came to his door and knocked, a voiced would say,"Don Pedro is not home, may, I take a message".. The door was never opened and no one was ever allowed in. The man dressed nicely, went to work, had a nice car and was civil. He wanted for nothing. He had no friends, nor family.
Upon his death, it was learned that he was tended by "spirits" whom gave him whatever he wanted.
Stipulations were that he had to have a certain food prepared for them set out 3 times a day at the same exact time. If he missed one meal or was off on his timing, instant death.
Strange practices like this still continue in our modern world.
Voodoo is alive and well all over the world.
07:00 AM on 10/23/2011
Saw this on Destination 'Truth' while at a friends house setting up for an evening of beer pong. To this date it was the only episode that creeped the heck outta me. Places like that should not be allowed to exist.
Can't sleep, dolly is watching and plotting.
02:34 PM on 10/22/2011
Wow creepy I wouldnt go into that island alone especially at night , but there are some creepier things than this , like actually seeing a real ghost or the outside or inside of a haunted house . A island with with dolls in the day wouldnt creep me out as much as a ghost town would . Im surpised no one took the dolls down yet
09:32 AM on 10/19/2011
It's actually on one of the canals at Xochimilco, a short train ride from downtown Mexico City. The canals themselves have quite the history, having been built by the Aztecs. Much of the surrounding land is still used for farming. But you can rent a flatbed canal boat and poler to take you to the shrine where the dolls are ... and it's even creepier than these pictures reflect.
02:57 AM on 10/19/2011
It's Chucky's! Home now
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01:41 AM on 10/19/2011
Terrible..those baby dolls need love and a good home ; )
11:30 PM on 10/18/2011
I actually like places like these too, like Silverwing said...the story was a nice distraction...

If anyone is too scared to sleep tonight would you care to stay up with me and help me with my biochemistry work?
11:22 PM on 10/18/2011
I actually find that clown intriguing...I would hang it too if someone gave it to me.
10:39 PM on 10/18/2011
I wonder if he'll bring them when he sneaks in here.
10:22 PM on 10/18/2011
wow..how some people deal with things they dont understand.
09:41 PM on 10/18/2011
I think it was Josh Gates on Destination Truth who most recently "investigated" this place. Ghosts or not, dolls are creepy as hell and this island is full of extra extra creepy ones. I remember when I was 4 or 5 all of my action figures gathered at the top of the stairs in a plot to kill me. I woke up a little while later but don't try to convince me it was all just a dream. I know what the dolls were planning and I've spent the last 40 years keeping those nasty things out of my house. They're almost as scary as clowns. You have to admit that Ronald McDonald is scarier than any ghost or monster you've ever seen. There's a hole in the floor of the ball pits at all McDonald's funlands that leads straight to Ronald's torture chamber. If the germs and bacteria at funland doesn't get you, the clown will. Yeah, my kids are well adjusted and normal... Not!
04:54 PM on 10/20/2011
I think your children should call the men with the little "white coat" :)
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09:08 PM on 10/18/2011
I'm thinking about doing this to my house, one day. I do wish to be left alone by strangers. I wish to scare them away for good. I do want to be that crazy person. Because I can't trust anyone new.
I have an image of doll heads, arms, and legs (separated) all hanging from the ceiling. With "Where's my dolly?" painting on the wall.
08:59 PM on 10/18/2011
Anthony Bourdain visited here on No Reservations (Travel Channel) a couple of years ago. Quite creepy.
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08:33 PM on 10/18/2011
I don't think the dolls are there to "ward her off" per se but to distract her, like an offering, something the lost spirit of a child can play with.
11:23 PM on 10/18/2011
Why didn't this guy just have an exorcism performed? Or is that just for possessed people?
06:29 PM on 10/18/2011
I remember seeing this on the Travel Channel's Lonely Planet show. (That was a great show!) It definitely creeped me out.