" La Luchesa"
We got to the bridge that separates Mexico from the U.S. via Brownsville, Texas at about 10 a.m. Since neither of us had ever been to Mexico before, we had a bit of a struggle trying to find the motel where a lot of her relatives would be staying during the reunion. Being lost in a foreign country, even if your home country is just a few hours away, can be kind of scary.
When we finally found the motel, we were greeted by the sight of four men in a doorless, topless jeep, with one of the men holding a machine gun. He wasn't brandishing the gun in any threatening manner. It was more like he wanted everyone to see he was heavily armed, and messing with him would not be wise. I can honestly say that I have never seen anything quite like that before. It was yet another of several firsts that my trip to Mexico would thrust upon me.
My friend and I were contemplating whether we should get out and look for the "rooms" where her family was staying, or remain in the car. Thankfully, the guys left the motel parking lot and we continued on. My friend and I were very apprehensive about staying at the motel after seeing those militant-looking guys.
When we got to the room her parents were staying in, we were shocked to see that there were only dirt floors, no air conditioners or fans to cool off from the intense summer heat, and there was only one toilet and shower that everyone at the motel had to share. I really didn't want to stay there for one night, let alone three (which was how long the reunion was to be). But I didn't want to be rude or seem like a spoiled American, so I kept quiet.
When I stepped outside for a cigarette, my friend quickly followed behind me to tell me that she really didn't want to stay at the motel either. We decided to party until midnight, which is when the border closes until morning, then stay at a motel on the American side of the border until day two of the reunion. The reunion was going to be at a big ranch owned by one of my friend's relatives.
Since we weren't familiar with any of the roads, we followed my friend's parents to the ranch. When we finally got there, the reunion was just starting to get fun. There was a dj, some bouncy houses for the kids, and more cases of Corona than I've ever seen in my life. I was careful not to drink too much since we were planning to drive back to the U.S. later.
Unfortunately, my friend started partying really hard. By 10 p.m., she was passed out. I was fairly confident that I would be able to find my way back to the main road that leads to the border crossing as long as someone could tell me how to get from the ranch to the main road. Just about everyone there was either drunk or didn't speak English very well. I started looking around to see if I could find any of my friend's relatives that I knew, but the more I searched, the more I began to realize that I didn't recognize anybody.
By 10:45, I managed to guide/carry my inebriated friend to the car. I figured I could call my friend's parents on my cell phone to ask for directions on how to get the main road. Of course, being out in the middle of nowhere, I couldn't get a signal. I tried for about five minutes to get some kind of signal, and when I didn't, I decided to try to find the road on my own.
Where we were, none of the roads were paved, or named for that matter, which wouldn't have made much of a difference anyway since there were no street lights to help us see. The roads were extremely narrow at certain points, and there were several areas where, if you were just a little off, you could fall down these very steep drops. I assume these drops led to ditches of some sort, but they were way down low. If we had fallen down one of the steep embankments, days could have gone by without anyone even noticing. There were no guard rails or reflective signs to warn drivers where the steep drops were, so I drove very slowly.
As I was driving around looking for anything familiar that might confirm that I was at least headed in the right direction, I was also simultaneously trying to get a cell phone signal, wake my friend out of her stupor, and checking the time on the car radio.
By 11:45, I was legitimately lost. There was still about a half tank of gas, but with no way of knowing where I was, I might as well have been on empty. I decided to turn back around and head back in the direction I was coming from. I realized that once again, nothing about the landscape seemed familiar.
About a mile down the dark and very desolate dirt road, I saw some kind light. It was dim and it didn't look like car headlights. The light lasted only a few moments and then it just went away. As I drove further, I caught a glimpse of what looked like a person standing on the side of the road. You may recall that due to the dangerous driving conditions I mentioned earlier, I was driving very slowly.
I drove another 30 or so feet and again, I saw some kind of figure, which was now standing on the opposite side of the road. I began to feel extremely uneasy. Whatever I was seeing was following me. I began screaming my friend's name as loud as I possibly could to wake her up. I wanted so badly to just drive as fast as I possibly could, but if I did that, I probably wouldn't be here writing this today.
Anyway, my friend came to and I frantically explained to her that not only was I lost, but that something was out there, following us. Right as my friend doubtfully proclaimed that nothing was out there following us and that I was just being paranoid, we heard an awful, piercing screech followed by the sound of something slamming down on the roof of the car! I tried so hard to focus on my driving despite the fact that I could no longer see anything because now I was crying out of the sheer terror. My friend, who was also screaming and crying suddenly went silent.
"Gina," she whispered. "Look. Look out your window!"
When I looked, I saw this large humanoid creature running alongside the car. I pressed the gas and accelerated my speed up to around 35 mph. The creature easily kept up right along with us.
"What the hell is that?" she screamed. I took my eyes off of the creature so I could focus on driving, when I looked again, the creature had vanished. Thinking maybe whatever it was had left, I slowed down a bit.
Then it landed right on the hood of the car. It landed with such force that the hood caved inward. It looked right at us and revealed a set of razor-sharp claws. I did the first thing that came into my mind which was to slam on the breaks to hopefully throw the creature off. It let out an even louder, more blood-curdling screech before hitting the road. It wasn't as hard a jolt as I would've liked; it certainly wasn't enough to kill it, but it did throw the creature off. Then the creature stood up and darted off into the pitch-black landscape.
My friend and I were in a state of pure terror, unsure of what was to come next. The whole ordeal felt like it lasted for no more than 45 minutes, yet when I looked at the clock again, the time was around 5 a.m. We somehow lost about 4 hours, which I found to be quite disturbing. If I had really been driving for so long, I should have been out of gas by then. Yet, the gas gauge was slightly below the quarter tank line.
After about 20 minutes had passed since the creature last attacked our car, we were still quite lost, but with dawn approaching, we quickly found locals who could direct us back to the main road. After we reached the motel, we told everyone about our terrifying experience. We were told of a legendary creature known as La Luchesa. It's similar to Native American creatures called Skinwalkers. They are supposed to be witches who disguise themselves as owl-looking creatures.
As you can imagine, we didn't exactly get to enjoy the trip as much as we had anticipated. We cut the trip short and headed back to the U.S."
"Second Avenue Poltergeist"
"The year was 1976 and I was eight years old. My parents rented this house from in International Falls, Minnesota, on 2nd Ave E. Things didn't happen right away. Then one night I woke up cold. My blanket was gone! And wouldn't be the last time either. I sat up, looked around. I saw my blanket was under my bed, all neatly spread out. I just grabbed my blanket and went back to sleep.
In our kitchen, my mom had these four wooden plates that were hung up above the cupboards. One night I heard something fall. I got up, walked through the house and didn't see anything until I got to the kitchen and saw the plates on the floor. I was just a kid. I didn't know what to think. So I got a chair, pushed it to the counter, climbed up, and hung them back up. I tried telling my mom, but she said I was dreaming. How was that possible when I physically hung them back up?
I told my best friend Debbie. She kinda believed me. My dad was on a baseball team, and he was playing that day, so I stayed home with Debbie. It was starting to get dark out. We were watching TV when all of a sudden the bathroom faucet turned on! We looked at each other, got up, held each other as we walked to the bathroom. The hall light was on, and sure enough the water was going full blast! We crept closer, turned the light on. I turned the faucet off, then we both took off running and screaming to her house.
She was a believer. My parents didn't want to hear it. I never stayed in that house alone -- ever.
Several days later, again my parents were at a baseball game. I was next door. We were bored, so Debbie suggested, "Let's see who can make the fastest peanut butter and jelly sandwich. We walked outside to equal distance of our doors. Then she yells, "GO!" I took off running and ran into the house. The living room was so dark; the heavy drapes were drawn. So I started my sandwich when something called my name, "Crystal...." in a long, drawn-out whisper! I jumped, turned around, and stood frozen to the spot. The living room was so dark! I couldn't move! I think I stopped breathing. I don't know how long I stood there.
Finally, I just took off running. I saw Debbie and she yelled, "I won!" Then she saw my face and she said, "You are so white!" I told her what happened. From that day on, I never ever went in that house alone, day or night.
We moved two years later. I am 40 years old now. Sometimes when I am alone and relaxing, it comes to me -- my memories of those events, still fresh. I'll never forget."
More Trippy Tales...
Appearing Soon!
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