Enter Mexico's haunted 'Island of the Dolls' if you dare: Thousands of creepy toys hang from the trees to quell the tormented screams of a ghost of a little girl who drowned there
Julian Santana Barrera retreated to a remote wooded area in Xochimilco, Mexico city to live out his life as a recluse
He discovered corpse of a young girl - and the toy doll she left behind - floating in a nearby canal when he arrived
Barrera began to hear footsteps in the night and the anguished wails of a woman after he hung the doll from a tree
He continued to hang other toy dolls from the trees in the 'chinampas' area to appease her ghost for over 50 years
His family now run the area as tourist attraction where visitors hang other dolls and claim to hear them whispering
Hundreds of photographers and thrill-seekers travel to the haunted Island of the Dolls every year, but it was never meant to be a tourist attraction.
After a two-hour canal ride from Mexico City, they arrive at a nightmarish clearing deep in the woods where thousands of mutilated dolls hang from the trees and hide among the dense branches.
They were put there by a reclusive Mexican man who believed they would appease the troubled ghost of a small girl who died there over 50 years ago - and still haunts the woods today.
Julian Santana Barrera retreated to the woods soon after she drowned in the nearby canal. He claimed he could hear her tormented screams and footsteps in the darkness.
Even today - 14 years after his own mysterious death in those woods - visitors say they hear whispers in the night and feel the dolls' eyes following them through the trees.
Haunted: A reclusive Mexican artist began to hang dolls from the trees (pictured) in a forest to appease the ghost of a young girl who - legend has it - drowned in a nearby canal
Tribute: Barrera discovered a doll floating in the canal where she died and hung it from a tree as a mark of respect to the deceased girl
Creepy: He became convinced that the little girl's ghost had possessed the doll and began to hang up more and more to appease her spirit
Barrera found the girl's corpse floating in the canal and blamed himself for not being able to save her life, according to the so-called Isla de las Munecas' official website.
He later discovered a doll floating in the same waters and, assuming it belonged to the deceased girl, hung it from a tree as a sign of respect. His descent into madness began with this seemingly innocent act.
Barrera began to hear whispers, footsteps and the anguished wails of a woman in the darkness even though his hut - hidden deep inside the woods of Xochimilco - was miles away from civilisation.
Driven by fear, he hung the dismembered toys from the trees to protect himself from her ghost and spent the next 50 years 'decorating' the woods in a desperate attempt to appease her.
He hung hundreds of toys - some missing body parts - from the trees and the wire fencing which surrounded his wooden shack.
Barrera lived a hermit's life in those woods until 2001 when his nephew found him dead - drowned in the same canal where he found the floating doll.
He had retreated to the area, known locally as the 'chinampas', when his girlfriend left him for another man. There, he grew vegetables and flowers to sell in the nearest town but never spoke to anyone while he was there, according to Mexican website Zocalo.
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