La Llorona

La Llorona is a Mexican myth that has been told for generations. There are numerous version of the tale, all of which depict a weeping woman in a dress. Much like our American boogeyman, La Llorona is implemented in order to scare children into doing what they are told.  One story that I have been told about this comes from my Brother's Girlfriend. Born and raised in San Diego, California, her grandparents passed this story along.

She has told me many accounts of the pure fear that was struck into her, because of this tale. She would watch her back, as she walked home, or run in fear as her parents said "La Llorona is coming." As I stated above, there are many different versions. Here is the story that she told me. La Llorona was a mother of two young children. A boy and a girl. She met a man, who she had all of the hope of marrying. She dreamed of a perfect family, having more kids, and being the perfect wife. However, the man was found cheating, this broke her heart, and she could not forgive him. She plummeted into depression after losing the love of her life, and decided to take hers. She made the decision of taking both of her children down to the river, and drowning them both, followed by herself. Now it is said that she wanders around endlessly searching for her children. In the hopes of getting her "perfect" family.

Now this is just the tale that I was told. There are endless variations. There are even some that portray her as a large demon like creature that eats her children. As this image below shows.

I was first exposed to this at Halloween Horror Nights. Where they created a maze based off of this legend. The creative director John Murdy brought in a man named Diego Luna, and together, they incorporated many of the variations that are told to children every day. This experience started my interest in the subject, and I found many good movies, books, and even shows that are based off of it. It is really a great story, that has the power to cause both fear and curiosity. It is a story that sticks to children even into their adulthood. Even as an adult, they may still find themselves watching their back for La Llorona.

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