Legend says Don Julián found a drowned girl, and what he did next turned his land into Mexico’s Island of the Dead Dolls

Travel vlogger Alexander Travelbum recently documented a visit to Isla de las Muñecas, or the Island of the Dead Dolls, a site tucked within the water channels of Xochimilco, south of Mexico City. As reported by Ladbible, the island has long drawn travelers and locals despite, or perhaps because of, its unsettling reputation.

Reaching the island typically costs around 50 pesos per person by boat. The canal route passes the region’s famous floating gardens, known as chinampas, which were originally built by the Aztecs using branch and reed rafts covered in lake mud to grow crops, according to Britannica. Over time those rafts took root and became the islands that still dot the area today.

Travelbum noted that several fake doll islands exist nearby, and that imposters can often be spotted from the boat because the dolls are placed too obviously. During his 2020 visit, he and his group traveled the canals for about an hour before reaching the real island, where they found hundreds of old, broken, and rotting dolls hanging from trees and the sides of abandoned buildings.

The island’s tragic backstory still draws visitors today

The land was once owned by a recluse named Don Julián Santana Barrera. According to the local legend tied to the island, he found a drowned girl in the canal sometime in the 1950s and hung a single doll from a tree to honor her spirit. He reportedly grew convinced over time that spirits, including the girl’s, were haunting the land, and began collecting and hanging more dolls around his house and the island to ward them off.

There is no official evidence confirming that the girl ever existed, and the story remains unverified beyond local legend. The collection grew substantially in the years that followed, and unrelated viral travel mishaps have circulated online recently as well, including a couple’s dispute over conduct while visiting a European tourist site.

Don Julián died in 2001, and according to the account passed down by his family, his nephew found him in the canal after Don Julián had reportedly told relatives that mermaids in the water had been calling for him. His family later opened the island to the public, and it now features three huts and a small museum containing old newspaper clippings detailing the island’s history and Don Julián’s life.

Travelbum described the island as beautiful despite its dark reputation, even suggesting it could work as an offbeat romantic getaway. His travel companion called it one of the more memorable places she had visited, and other recent viral entertainment stories have circulated as well, including a new streaming release date for an unrelated film franchise.

The island remains a fixture of dark tourism in the region, and Xochimilco’s canals continue to draw visitors interested in both the folklore and the area’s broader history.