La Llorona, Mexican Legend Options

[pit-bull-spirit]

She haunts the Rio Bravo in search for her lost children who she drowned. She's a banchee with an unearthly cry. Has anyone heard or seen her?

[ladyyymadonna]

I've heard of this local legend. I live near Houston,Texas - She is actually seen around San Antonio. Very interesting. I read about her in the WEIRD TEXAS book...

[damienc]

I've heard her once when I was younger. I live in South Eastern New Mexico and have grown up with this story my whole life. My grandma and grandpa would tell me stories of hearing her and my great-grandfather actually chasing her through the night. He was chasing a women he saw close to the house where they lived at the time. (like in the 30's or something). He cased her for awhile jumping fencs until he realised she was floating through them. But I have heard her once when I was camping in the boonies a few years ago. It gave me the chills and I wanted to leave but was too scared to leave the tent!

[Kira]

Sounds like the Blair Witch in the camping scene.

I've never heard that legend, but I'm from New England. I'm sure all areas have their own local legends based partly on fact but changed over the years, like in the game telephone.

[Flormarina]

I heard of this legend since I was a child.... my aunties used to love to scare us, I know that, the story of la llorona it has been known through all Mexico... and many people claim to have seen her.

I found this on Internet, and is the one closer to the story I was told by the story tellers in my family.. my aunties

She was in love, she got mad at her old man and she drowned their own children

http://www.literacynet.org/lp/hperspectives/llorona.html

[GhosthunterMx]

Is just an old mexican legend...It's from the Colonial Age

[FarFromGone]

Is there more than one place that has a La Llorna?
Because I was reading a book that had hauntings from each state and one ghost they called La Llorna but I'm pretty sure it wasn't from Texas, New Mexico, etc.

[bedmit]

There are many stories of the wailing women. Supernatural had an episode in the first season about one - the research the writers did on the subject was impressive.

Wailing women, or beansidhe (banshee), are found in the British Isles, throughout the American continents, and even in some Eastern tales. I will have to search for links, but I'm sure it isn't too hard to find stories frome around the world.

[Cryscat]

the La Llorna tale has evolved with the times. I know of a least two versions.

Version 1 (basic)

A rich hidalgo (nobelman) courts a beautiful but poor woman and wins her love. She bears him two sons but he does not marry her. One day he announces that he is returning to Spain where he will marry a rich woman chosen by his family AND he will take the sons with him.

The young women is crazed and acts like the great shreaking madwomen of all time. She tears at him, tears at herself. She picks up the two small boys, runs to the river with them and throws them in the torrent. She falls to the riverbank in grief and dies.

The hidalgo returns to Spain and marries the rich woman. The soul of La Llorona goes to heaven. The master of the gate there tells her that she may come to heaven, as she has suffered, but she may not come into heaven until she recovers the souls of her lost children from the river.

And that is why La Llorona sweeps the river with her long hair, puts her long stick fingers into the water to drag the bottom for her children. It is also why children should not go to the river after dark as La Llorona may mistake them for her children.

Version 2 (modern)

La Llorona goes with the rich hidalgo, who had factories on the river. But something goes wrong. La Llorona, during her pregnancy, drinks from the river. Her babies, twin boys, were born blind and with webbed fingers, for the hidalgo's factories had poisoned the river with the waste.

The Hidalgo told La Llorona that he doesn't want either her or the children. He marries a rich women who wanted the things that the factories made. La Llorona threw the babies in the river because they would have too hard of a life. She falls down and dies from grief. She went to heaven but St Peter tells her she cannot enter until she find the souls of her sons. Now La Llorona looks through the polluted river for her children but she can hardly see because the river is so dark and dirty. Now she drags the bottom with her long fingers. Now she wanders the riverbanks calling for her children.

This post has been edited by Cryscat: Jun 2 2009, 06:22 PM