Chihuahua, Mexico's La Pasqualita has been giving
window shoppers the creeps for decades with her eerily lifelike
appearance and possible adventures after dark.
Dressed in bridal wear and exhibited in an
otherwise unremarkable storefront window, La Pascualita is not your
average mannequin. Local rumor has it that the clothing dummy is
actually the well-preserved corpse of the owner’s daughter, who died
from a black widow spider bite just before her own wedding.
Amazingly, La Pascualita has ‘lived’ in the La
Popular store window for over 80 years. She made her first appearance on
the 25th of March 1930, reportedly wearing a gown from the
spring/summer collection. Immediately locals were struck by how real La
Pascualita looked. They were also curiously concerned about her uncanny
resemblance to the owner Pascuala Esparz, and given the recent passing
of her daughter, rumors of a grisly origin instantly began to swirl
around the mannequin. There is even rumor that La Pascualita changes her
position when no one is looking.
Even on close inspection, La Pascualita’s skin,
hands, seemingly varicose veins and hair do look very real, not unlike
the preserved corpses of Lenin and Mao, who were publicly embalmed in
1924 and 1976 respectively. However, in contrast to the actually
preserved comrades, La Pascualita is not kept under the watchful eyes of
armed guards. In fact, she is on view for all to see, if taking a trip
down a dark corner of the uncanny valley is what you are looking for.
