31 Haunted Hotspots and Urban Legends for the Brave Traveler

7. The Legend of La Llorona – Latin America

One of the most chilling and well-known ghost stories across Mexico, Central America, and the American Southwest, La Llorona—the Weeping Woman—has haunted the region for centuries. This tragic, vengeful spirit is said to be the ghost of a woman who, in a fit of jealous rage or despair, drowned her children in a river. Overcome with guilt, she spent the rest of her life searching for them, only to perish herself, cursed to wander the earth in eternal sorrow. Now, her soul is trapped between worlds, doomed to roam the rivers and lakes where she took her children’s lives. Travelers and locals alike claim to hear her anguished cries—"¡Mis hijos!" ("My children!")—echoing through the night. Those who have seen La Llorona describe her as a tall woman in a flowing white dress with long, black hair. Some say she has a beautiful face, others claim she has a skull-like visage, but one thing remains the same—if she appears to you, it is an omen of death.