Megan Cooley Peterson - La Llorona: The Legendary Weeping Woman of Mexico

(ab-DUHK-shuhn) the action of taking someone away against his or her will (ap-uh-RISH-uhn) the visible appearance of a ghost (AZ-tek) a member of an indigenous people who lived in Mexico before Spanishpeople settled there (BARE-uhn) often empty (BLUHD-kurd-ling) causing terror or horror (KAW-shun-air-ee) careful or watchful (KAHN-vent) a building where a group of women who have devoted their livesto the church live (EV-i-duhns) information and facts that help prove something is or is nottrue (fuh-MIL-yur) an animal believed to be under the control of a witch or othermagical being (HYE-luhnd) an area with mountains or hills (mith-AWL-uh-jee) a group of old or ancient stories told again and againthat help connect people with their past (PEZ-uhnt) a poor person who owns a small farm or works on a farm (ri-MORS) a strong feeling of guilt or regret over something done in thepast (SYE-ruhn) half-bird, half-woman creature that lures sailors to their deathsby singing (SKEP-tik) someone who doubts or questions beliefs (SUHL-fur) a yellow chemical element found in gunpowder and matches that oftensmells like rotten eggs (WID-oh) a woman whose husband has died and who has not remarried

1. Coleman, Wim and Pat Perrin. La Llorona: A Play Adapted from Mexican Folklore. Settingthe Stage for Fluency. South Egremont, MA: Red Chair Press, 2015.
2. Loh-Hagan, Virginia. Vanishing Hitchhiker. Urban Legends: Dont Read Alone! Ann Arbor,MI: Cherry Lake Publishing, 2018.
3. Peterson, Megan Cooley. Haunting Urban Legends. Scared! North Mankato, MN: CapstonePress, 2014.

More Ghost Stories:
https://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidayshalloween/ghost-stories.htm

How Ghosts Work:
https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/afterlife/ghost.htm

Paranormal Technology:
https://www.npr.org/2011/10/31/141868232/paranormal-technology-gadgets-for-ghost-tracking

The legend of La Llorona has terrified listeners for hundreds of years. There isno single story of La Llorona. The most common version involves a beautiful woman. When her husband dies, the woman must raise their children alone. She meetsa wealthy man and falls in love. But the man doesnt want to help raise her children.He wont marry her.

Desperate to be with the man she loves, the woman takes her children to the riverand drowns them. But after killing them, she dies from a broken heart.

FACT: The story of La Llorona is sometimes told to keep children from misbehaving. Parentswarn their children that if theyre not careful, La Llorona will get them.

The womans story doesnt end with her death. Her spirit roams rivers and other bodiesof water as she searches for her dead children. Dressed all in white, she cries outfor them. Any children who are careless near water are snatched away by La Lloronastormented ghost.

No child .

Other versions of La Lloronas legend have spread throughout Mexico. In one story,a poor woman is left by the man she loves. She becomes depressed. While her sonssleep, she kills them. Then she takes her own life. Her ghost wanders the city streetsat night, crying out, Mis hijos! My sons!

In another version, a mother drowns her children in a canal. No one knows why shekills her children. Her ghost wears all white and roams the city streets at night.She cries out for her dead children before disappearing into the darkness.

La Llorona is also said to haunt Mexicos . At dusk, she appears to menreturning from working in the fields. She calls to them in the voices of their wivesor girlfriends. La Llorona leads the men to the edges of cliffs. Any man who followsher ghostly cries is pushed off the cliff to his death.

FACT: In folklore, a was a beautiful creature. She was half-bird, half-human. Sirensused their voices to lure sailors to their deaths.