It’s not unheard of for people to swoon over someone in a ‘love at first sight’ kind of situation. I think at one time or another we have all found ourselves in thrall over an alluring person who, at the time, embodies our idea of the perfect partner. But what desperate lengths will a person go to make themselves more attractive to the object of their obsession? This little Texas tale is a gruesome fable to remember the next time your infatuation for someone becomes unmanageable…
La Llorona
Almost every Latin culture knows the story of La Llorona. The people of El Paso are no exception. The name translates to “the Crier”, which perfectly describes the behavior of this angry spirit. Part banshee, part horse, La Llorona haunts the riverbanks of the Rio Grande, searching in vain for her two children whom she stabbed and threw into the river after her wealthy boyfriend refused to marry her because of them. After murdering the children, she returned to her lover’s home, still wearing her bloody nightgown, to prove what she was willing to do to keep him. He was not impressed by her insane obsession. Deeply disturbed, he immediately ended their relationship.
The story goes in two different directions here, as some people believe she stabbed herself and drowned in the river, while others say an angry mob of people came and threw her to her death in the Rio Grande. Either way, the heartbroken woman perished and her sullen ghost came back to search in vain for her children. People still hear a mournful wailing sound coming from the river, and some have even reported seeing a figure wearing a bloody nightgown lumbering through the river beds. Except the head is not human- it’s a horse’s head. To this day, adults and children alike are warned about going to the river at night, saying that if you’re not careful La Llorona will force you to stay there with her and keep her company till the end of time….
Dallas native J. Rene Guerrero published his debut novel, White Rock in 2017. It is the first in the Thin Veil Series.