▶ The Mexican Corpse Bride

‘La Pascualita’, who first appeared in the window of a bridal boutique in Chihuahua, Mexico, in March of 1930, has become the subject of some spooky urban legends. These are all attributed to the striking realism of the figure, and the rumor that she isn’t just a mannequin: she’s supposedly the embalmed daughter of the former shopkeeper. Ever since she was first placed in the display window, many people have felt disturbed over the details on the figure, like her fingernails and facial features, and some noticed a similarity to the shop owner, Pascuala Esparza. She became known as ‘La Pascualita’, and despite published statements from the store owner’s family denying her origin, the name stuck. People have said that the figure will change positions at night, and many are creeped out by her gaze, which is said to be piercing and almost ‘alive’. Some of the current employees of the store refuse to change the clothes on the dummy, and many say that their hands break out into a sweat whenever they get near her. ”Her hands are very realistic and she even has varicose veins on her legs. I believe she’s a real person,” one employee was quoted as saying. Whether she is real or not, the display window that La Pascualita resides behind has become a popular place for Dia de Los Muertes altars and she has become a bit of a famous oddity with recent attentions devoted by Mexican celebrities.