La Isla de las Munecas

In case you were looking for a little getaway this Halloween season, I have the perfect place for you: La Isla de las Munecas. This tourist attraction, sent in by alert reader Kendo, can be found on the Teshuilo Lake near the Xochimilco canals in Mexico. For those of you faithful readers who do not speak Spanish, "La Isla de las Munecas" translates to The Island of the Dolls.

Legend has it that a little girl drowned on this island back in the 1950s. Don Julian Santana decided to live on the island and so he put up some toy dolls to appease the wandering spirit of the little girl.

Santana was also a farmer. He would trade some of his produce for additional dolls, in whatever condition they were found. Santana would then tie them onto trees, or place them on the ground, or put them in little arrangements.

However, no matter how new the dolls were initially, the harsh winds and strong rains made them all battered and weathered. Santana liked to dress them up, add sunglasses or headdresses.

Santana welcomed tourists and other visitors to his island of dolls. He would proudly give visitors a tour and charge a small fee to take pictures.

Santana died in 2001. He was reportedly found in the water in the exact spot where the little girl had initially drowned.
The dolls are still there in Xochimilco - thousands of them. They patiently wait for people to come and visit, then silently stare at any visitors who happen by.

Maybe one day I'll take a trip down to the Teshuilo Lake. But, then again, I doubt I could convince my wife that we should go to La Isla de las Munecas. Maybe I'll just tell her it translates to "The Island of Arts and Crafts."

Hi, I'm Elmo. . .WANNA PLAY?

I don't want to alarm any of you.

Ok, that's a lie. I do. I have some terrible news. News that may shock some of you, and may confirm what most of you already know.

Elmo is evil!!!

In fact, research has shown that E-L-M-O (Elmo) is only three letters away from E-V-I-L (evil). It's a scientific fact.

Want further proof? Ok, he's a red, furry, creature. And history has shown that the majority of RED furry creatures have been communists.

Still not convinced? Ok, if you change the letters E, L, M, and O to Roman numerals and divide it by the number of letters in the phrase "Sesame Street" then you get 666!!!!

Ok, that's another lie. But the following is true: I just read an article that told the story about a family in Florida who had an Elmo doll that was threatening to kill their 2-year-old son!

The Bowman family had purchased one of those talking Elmo dolls that you can program your child's name into by hooking it up to a computer. It worked fine at first, but after a battery change it had a glitch and it just kept repeating "Kill James" over and over again (James is the name of the 2-year-old for those of you people not following along). Now was this just "a glitch" or was the doll turning evil and plotting the demise of an entire Florida family? Well, knowing me and sensing the tone of this entry, you have to know I'm thinking the latter.

STILL don't believe me? Ok, fine, I warned you. Here's the video. It'll haunt your nightmares in the darkest hour of the night!!

So, there you go. Now zombies aren't the only thing we have to worry about, now it's evil dolls. Well, MORE evil dolls. Most dolls have been pretty evil/creepy for years.

Or it could be the computer that was evil and was taking over the innocent doll. But evil computers are another story.

Sweet dreams!