Depending on how you feel about dolls, Doll Island is not what you’d expect… or it’s exactly what you’d expect.
We had been happily punting through the canals of Xochimilco for a couple hours. All was peaceful outside our trajinera—the flat-bottomed boat that carried us through the ancient waterways of the UNESCO world heritage site. We passed lush greenery and small islands, unoccupied except for an occasional grazing cow. Pure white herons fished among the lily pads and glided just above the still waters. On our trajinera, all was festive. I was spending the day with David and his family. Our party of 13 talked and laughed, ate and drank, enjoyed each other’s company and the lovely day.
Two hours into our trip, the young man who punted our trajinera through the miles of Xochimilco’s canals announced we’d be stopping shortly. I was glad to be able to get off the boat, stretch my legs, and make a pit stop. David’s tío Jesús gave me a steady hand to disembark and I started up the short trail onto the island. When I was sure of my footing, I looked up… and was overcome by the feeling that the boat ride had been a classic horror movie prelude.
The island was scattered with rickety wooden buildings, weathered fences, and gnarled trees. And hanging thickly on everything were dolls and doll parts. Baby dolls, Barbie dolls, stuffed animals. Most dirty and worn, with no clothes. And all of them staring, staring.
What was this place? Why was this place???
The story of the dolls
In one of the buildings, a man told visitors about his uncle, Julián Santana Barrera, who lived on the island for decades. He befriended a girl who visited the island. Tragically, she was later found dead, entangled and drown in the lily pads along the island’s shore. When he later found a doll among the lily pads, he fished it out of the canal and hung it up as a sign of respect to the dead girl.
Santana Barrera began to experience what he thought were supernatural events that he attributed to the girl’s spirit. At some point, he also became convinced there were evil spirits trying to harm him and the girl. He hung more and more dolls to both ward off the evil spirits and to please the girl’s spirit.
He lived this way for 50 years. Some say when he died in 2001 that he was found in the same spot the girl drowned half a century before.
The island (in Spanish called Isla de las Muñecas, literally Island of the Dolls) has been featured internationally in media such as the Travel Channel, ABC News, and HuffPost. Because of its fame, people from all over the world continue to send dolls that are hung up with the others.
An almost-believer
Doll Island is, without question, the creepiest place I have ever been. All those dolls, strung up with wire and string, horrified and intrigued me. I don’t much believe in ghosts and evil spirits, but I must admit I was glad to be there in the middle of a sunny day with a lot of fellow tourists.
Epilogue
When it was time to go, we made our way back to the trajinera, one of many lined up tightly, side-by-side along the shore. As we settled in for the return trip, our young boatman jumped from the shore to the boat deck. He started to make his way to the front of the boat by walking along the outside edge of the trajinera, as I’m sure he’d done dozens or hundreds of times before.
Suddenly, his foot slipped and he fell fast, disappearing into the dark waters of the canal. The boats were dangerously close together; one wave would cause them to knock together, crushing the young man.
In one quick move, David’s tío Fito leaned over the side and pulled him to safety. Once onboard, Tío Jesús (a doctor) tended to the young man. Miraculously, aside from being drenched and somewhat in shock, his only injury was a cut finger. He refused further help and did his best to shake off the incident.
As we floated back through the peaceful canals, I couldn’t help but wonder if Doll Island was looking for another victim… even though I don’t much believe in ghosts and evil spirits.
If you dare visit Doll Island
The only way to get to Doll Island is by trajinera. Hire one of the colorful trajineras at the Embarcadero in the Xochimilco neighborhood. There is a small entrance fee (a few pesos) to visit the island that is separate from the cost of the trajinera.
