Howdy, my loves!
This time I have something different for you… I would advise you to turn off the lights and wrap yourself in a blanket because this is going to be a scary journey!
The Old West was and still is a fascinating place for most of us! Doesn’t it excite you whenever you think of it, my dears? Because it sure does excite me!
But the last thing we can imagine when thinking of the Old West is…ghosts. That’s right, ghosts. Who would have thought that they used to have their own haunted stories back then? It’s amazing when you think of it!
This is why today, I have prepared some of the most terrifying Old West stories, that I’m sure will keep you awake at night. Are you ready?
The legend of La Llorona is extremely popular in Mexico and Mexican culture, and it’s so widespread, that even the United States has its own version of the story.
In our folk-tales, La Llorona was a young woman who used to love dancing. Dancing was her passion. She would spend hours dancing every day, again and again, even going as far as to neglect her own family’s needs!
In her obsessive mind, her children limited her ability to follow her dream so she started growing resentful of them. It got so bad, that she started threatening them and wishing to kill them.
One day, she went out of her mind; she simply didn’t know what she was doing. She took her two young kids and drowned them in a local river, killing them in the most horrible way! When she came back to her senses, she felt so guilty for what she did that she jumped in the river, taking her own life!
Since then, many testimonies have arisen, of a young woman wandering around the same river every night, crying and shouting “Oh! My sons! Where are my children? Give me back my children!”.
There are many different versions of it too, with only some minor things changing. For instance, some say that her husband caused her mental breakdown when he came back home from a trip, with a younger woman. Nonetheless, she went mad!
Parents tell their kids this story, to remind them not to wander outside alone because La Llorona will take them. I think this story is enough to stop all of us from walking out alone, especially near a river!
Do you believe in dark magic? Because this legend is going to make you question everything.
The Navajo, the second-largest Native-American tribe, have their myth of strange creatures called the skinwalkers or yee naaldlooshii, which means “they who walk on all fours”. According to legend, they used to be witches and healers who took the path of dark magic and transformed into something out of this world.
It’s hard to find details on this topic because even talking about them can result in great harm to the teller. By most sources, they can shift into any animal and imitate any sound to lure people towards them. Their intention is to kill!
Cowboys started spreading tales of the skinwalkers throughout the Old West, creating a sense of fear. The skinwalkers were blamed for almost everything after that; whether it was a murder or a disappearance, they would take the blame over any culprit. Pretty convenient, huh?
As a gang leader, Jesse James, an infamous robber, was a nightmare for every Sheriff. He committed criminal acts all across the Midwest and he soon became a wanted man. Every bad and good deed is repaid, however, and this is exactly what happened to him.
He was shot down by a member of his own gang! People didn’t believe it, of course, because of his unmatched reputation. An experienced criminal got killed by an unknown person? Impossible! People did not believe that he was really dead or that anything could ever stop him!
This all changed when people spotted him… or his ghost. When they would try getting close to him, his figure would disappear. There were many testimonies and the myths only grew from there.
Even to this day, locals report eerie voices, and pictures of his figure still circulate online! Most support this is all Jesse James’ ghosts doings, who wants to live a peaceful life on the farm, a century after his death…!
Maybe he really is out there!
This is enough to give me nightmares tonight! Have you ever heard of these stories before?
And do you have your own to share? Please do comment below and share everything you know!
See you next time!
Written by Cassidy Hanton
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