Here at Books with Bite, I love Halloween. Why?
Well for one, I was supposed to be born on Halloween, but I decided to come earlier :)
Reason #2, I LOVE CANDY! It is my excuse to eat as much as I want without anyone telling me anything! Reason #3, I love scary movies. Ever since Candyman scared the living daylights out of me and was unable to go to the bathroom alone for months I have been an addict to scary movies.
So without further adieu, I am going to be hosting some giveaways this month as well as showing some scary stories from where I live. Here in the valley we have some scray stuff! LOL Seriously we do. At the University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College they do ghost hunts. I will be trying to attend one this month and hope to post my adventure online!
So here is my first story. The Legend of The La Llorona.......
"The Legend La Llorona is New Mexico's most famous legend, and the state's
most famous ghost. It is centered along the Rio Grande south to
Juarez, Mexico. There is scarcely a child in New Mexico that has
not been told the story of La Llorona as a youngster.
Though there are many variations, the legend goes something like this:
In the early 1700s, there was a young woman named Maria living
in Juarez, Mexico. As Maria blossomed into a young woman, her
striking beauty attracted the charms of many local men. Coming
from a poor family, her mother encouraged her to marry one of
these dashing young men for a good life. However, Maria refused,
stating her beauty would one day attract the charms of a very rich man.
Before long, the handsome young man of her dreams rode into
town. He was the son of a well known wealthy ranchero west of
Juarez. He wore nice clothes and had a handsome, well groomed
horse with a fancy saddle – all the signs of a man of wealth.
Maria would follow him around, trying to catch his eye, but he
seemed to only notice the young women who were fairly “well to
do.” At night, he would charm the local ladies with his guitar and golden voice, breaking Maria's heart.
One day, the young ranchero came into the tienda where Maria was
shopping. She blushed from embarrassment, as she was wearing
an old dirty, tattered dress. However, the blushing beauty suddenly
caught the eye of the young ranchero. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
After a short courtship, the ranchero paid her father a large dowry
and they were soon married, in spite of the objections of the
rancheros father. After all, it was frowned upon for a wealthy man
to marry a woman from a lower class.
After their marriage, they moved to Mesilla, where it is said he
worked his own ranch and worked as a merchant along El Camino
Real. Other say he moved to Mesilla to avoid the scorn of his father
for marrying a woman from such a poor family. Regardless, over
the following years, Maria bore him three children.
As the years went by, Maria and her wealthy husband grew apart.
He was often gone for months at a time on the ranch, or shipping
goods along the Camino Real. He developed little interest in Maria
or the children. Maria suspected he was frequenting the company of other women during his travels.
One day Maria was walking along the street with her three children
when her husband's buggy approached. Sitting close was another
woman – a beautiful young woman. He passed her and the
children, pretending not to notice them. Maria's heart was wrenched in two.
Her anger exploded into a jealous rage. If only she didn't have the
children, she thought, then her husband would love her again. In
her rage, she dragged her three children to the Rio Grande and held
their heads under the water until they were dead. Maria had
committed the ultimate sin – deliberately killing her own children.
Returning home later that night, she explained to her husband what
she had done to please him. He was horrified and ordered her out of
his life. It is said Maria roamed the streets of Mesilla for many
nights, calling and crying for her children, earning her the name La Llorona – the wailing woman.
Realizing she had lost everything in life, she went down to the river
and cried for her children one last time. When there was no answer,
she drove a dagger deep into her chest, falling dead into the Rio Grande.
The people of Mesilla, finding her body, buried her in the town
cemetery. It is said, even today, La Llorona can be seen roaming
the cemetery and the river, crying for her children, giving the
Mesilla cemetery the reputation for being haunted."
* I got this story online from: Originally published in Socorro’s El Defensor Chieftain
newspaper, Saturday, December 1, 2007.*
Happy Reading!
"When her boyfriend breaks up with her on the first day of sophomore year, Lucy has no idea how she’s going to make it through homeroom, let alone the rest of her life. Enter three stunning girls with a magical offer Lucy can’t refuse. All she has to do is get a guy to fall in love with her in the next seven days, and then…break his heart and collect one of his brokenhearted tears. As the girls teach Lucy how to hook a guy (with the help of a little magic), she quickly discovers how far she is willing to go—and who she is willing to cross—to get what she wants.
