Why anyone would make the effort to travel to an island where thousands of decapitated baby dolls are pinned to a wall, fences and trees, really is beyond me.
Yes, I reckon that this is the creepiest tourist attraction in the world because babies scare the fuck out of me at the best of times.
Image credit: Barcroft
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Apparently these dolls are the locals' way to ward off the bad spirit of a girl who they believe is haunting the island after she drowned.
According to local legend, the girl drowned in the 1950s in the canal. The owner of the island, Julian Santana Barrera, is said to have seen the spirit of the girl around the island numerous times. In a bid to scare the lost soul away, he started to erect hanging dolls around the island, making features that have since become a tourist attraction.
"Many of these dolls were found in the trash. He took them and proceeded to place them on the island," said photographer Sebastian Perez Lira following his visit to the island. "Over the years, people began to donate dolls, some in good condition and others more on the brink of destruction."
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2,000 of them now hang around the island. Apparently, Barrera became isolated and moved deep into the woods away from civilisation. In a tragic twist, he was found dead in 2001. Drowned in a canal.
The dolls - some of which have been there for more than 60 years - may or may not work to keep the evil spirit at bay, but they certainly haven't scared away the visitors.
People are travelling from all around the world to see the attraction for themselves on Isla de las Muñecas, which is only accessible by boat, reports the Mirror.
It's like something Sid from Toy Story would create. Image credit: Barcroft
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"You cannot accurately describe the feelings when you are standing in the middle of all these dolls. Nerves invade you as you approach each one," Lira said.
Yeah sounds great. Gonna go and get my ticket booked now.
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