La Llorona is a fairly common tale in the North America, as if finds it's roots in Mexico, but has reached as far as South America and other countries where Hispanic folklore is more widespread.The most common storyline goes:
There was a beautiful woman named Maria who wished, to and eventually did, marry. The couple had three children, but as the husband started to work away Maria, who was ignored and eventually cheated on by her husband became quite troubled. So one day she finally snapped and killed her children by drowning them, consumed by a jealous rage when she learns her husband is going to wed the other woman. Realizing what she has done, Maria then becomes overwhelmed by guilt weeping and crying hysterically and eventually kills herself. After a man finds her body by the river with her children and they are buried, the tale of her ghost spread quite rapidly as people heard tales of mysterious weeping sounds. Thats the background, at least.
The theory behind exactly why and where her mournful spirit haunts are rather broad and typically vary, some by topography and other means of geographic reference. Various accounts portray how La Llorona acts similar to the crying banshee, mourning the deaths of people around her, while other darker varieties of the tale foretell of death omens, and even how La Llorona will haunt and sometimes kill people, and children. The tales of her murderous spirit generally are accompanied about how she haunts various topographical entities: near a river or some other small body of water, a small back road or alley, and some even say she will come if you live near a particular variety of tree. Most of the darker conclusions of the haunting story result in drowned children or dead men as La Llorona lurks for revenge against her unfaithful husband.
Typically, the legend serves as a cautionary tale on several levels. Parents will warn their children that both bad behavior and being outside after dark will result in a visit from the spirit. The tale also warns teenage girls not to be enticed by status, wealth, material goods, or by men making declarations of love or any promises too good to be true. Some also believe that those who hear the cries of La Llorona are marked for death.
Personally I have some quite unnerving memories associated with the story of La Llorona. When I first heard the tale, I was about 4 or 5 year old and living in a small town in called Saguache, Colorado. The tale of the weeping (or crying) woman (literal translation of La Llorona) reached my school and scared the heck out of a lot of us. It was the first scary story anyone every told me and the cautious fear of it is one of my earliest memories. Thoughts of La Llorona often left me sleeping with a baseball bat as a means of protection. These days I know better than to try and hit a ghost with a baseball bat, but it just goes to show how this tale has spread and why I would have a particular interest in it. I also think it's interesting to note how the Susan Smith murder case resembles that of La Llorona tale.
2. http://www.literacynet.org/lp/hperspectives/llorona.html
There was a beautiful woman named Maria who wished, to and eventually did, marry. The couple had three children, but as the husband started to work away Maria, who was ignored and eventually cheated on by her husband became quite troubled. So one day she finally snapped and killed her children by drowning them, consumed by a jealous rage when she learns her husband is going to wed the other woman. Realizing what she has done, Maria then becomes overwhelmed by guilt weeping and crying hysterically and eventually kills herself. After a man finds her body by the river with her children and they are buried, the tale of her ghost spread quite rapidly as people heard tales of mysterious weeping sounds. Thats the background, at least.
The theory behind exactly why and where her mournful spirit haunts are rather broad and typically vary, some by topography and other means of geographic reference. Various accounts portray how La Llorona acts similar to the crying banshee, mourning the deaths of people around her, while other darker varieties of the tale foretell of death omens, and even how La Llorona will haunt and sometimes kill people, and children. The tales of her murderous spirit generally are accompanied about how she haunts various topographical entities: near a river or some other small body of water, a small back road or alley, and some even say she will come if you live near a particular variety of tree. Most of the darker conclusions of the haunting story result in drowned children or dead men as La Llorona lurks for revenge against her unfaithful husband.
Typically, the legend serves as a cautionary tale on several levels. Parents will warn their children that both bad behavior and being outside after dark will result in a visit from the spirit. The tale also warns teenage girls not to be enticed by status, wealth, material goods, or by men making declarations of love or any promises too good to be true. Some also believe that those who hear the cries of La Llorona are marked for death.
Personally I have some quite unnerving memories associated with the story of La Llorona. When I first heard the tale, I was about 4 or 5 year old and living in a small town in called Saguache, Colorado. The tale of the weeping (or crying) woman (literal translation of La Llorona) reached my school and scared the heck out of a lot of us. It was the first scary story anyone every told me and the cautious fear of it is one of my earliest memories. Thoughts of La Llorona often left me sleeping with a baseball bat as a means of protection. These days I know better than to try and hit a ghost with a baseball bat, but it just goes to show how this tale has spread and why I would have a particular interest in it. I also think it's interesting to note how the Susan Smith murder case resembles that of La Llorona tale.
Sources:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Llorona2. http://www.literacynet.org/lp/hperspectives/llorona.html
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