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You Have Got to Be Kidding Me!

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — The camp out for Black Friday deals has begun. Tony Avitar of Akron has a home away from home, at least for the next few days.  He has set up a tent right outside the Best Buy in Cuyahoga Falls. The father of five has been there since Thursday afternoon — a week early — to be the first in line when the store opens for Black Friday. "When you have five kids and you have limited income, what you want to be able to do is want to be able to provide for them and get them decent Christmas presents", he said.  Avitar is no novice because he has camped out for the past nine years, and has done his homework. He knows exactly what he is buying and how much he’ll save. "Every year, I save at least a thousand dollars. I think this year the good sales are a 40-inch Toshiba flat screen that’s normally about $500 bucks, it’s $179. Also laptops. Anyone who can’t afford a laptop, I think there’s one for $180 bucks", he explained. The bargain hunter is not alone. Family and friends like Summer Morgan help him out. “Take breaks. If we need to grab food, take showers. We take turns,” she said. But even Morgan questions what he’s doing. “I understand the concept of saving money, but going out a week ahead is a little crazy,” she said. A second tent was set up on Friday, but there was no one inside when Fox 8 News Reporter Maria Scali stopped by on Saturday. While some Best Buys across the country have discouraged the camp outs, that is not the case at the Cuyahoga Falls store. "We always have great deals on Black Friday. It’s always great to see the passionate customers every year who are camping out, and making the effort. It’s a tradition in itself",  Manager Nick Dolansky said.  Shoppers had mixed reactions seeing the tents outside the store. Todd Gray had just made a purchase at Best Buy. “You got these people over here camping out a week early. I’m sorry, that’s just crazy,” he said, while shopper Toye Akin saw it differently. “Very smart for him to come out early, start camping out here to get the deals on Black Friday. I think that’s smart”.  Avitar said he will remain in the tent until Best Buy opens Thanksgiving night at midnight. “I’ll be here for the duration,” he promised. Avitar said he will even have Thanksgiving dinner in the tent with his family. That’s been their tradition the past few years.

Island of the Dolls

The Island of the Dolls (Isla de las Munecas) sits in the canals south of Mexico City and is the current home of hundreds of terrifying, mutilated dolls. Their severed limbs, decapitated heads, and blank eyes adorn trees, fences and nearly every available surface. The dolls appear menacing even in the bright light of midday, but in the dark they are particularly haunting.

Not surprisingly, the island’s origins lie in tragedy. The story goes that the island’s only inhabitant, Don Julian Santana, found the body of a drowned child in the canal some 50 years ago. He was haunted by her death, so when he saw a doll floating by in the canal soon after, he hung it in a tree to please the girl. He hoped to both appease her tortured soul and protect the island from further evil.

One doll in a tree, however, was not enough to ease Santana’s troubled mind. He continued to fish dolls and doll parts out of the canal whenever he saw them, hanging each one carefully on the island. There weren't enough canal dolls to satisfy Santana’s tortured spirit, so he began scavenging more from trash heaps on his rare trips away from home. Later in life, he began trading his home-grown fruits and vegetables for dolls.

Many stories have been associated with the island over the years. A popular tale was that Don Julian had gone mad and believed the dolls to be real children who he pulled from the canal and tried to revive. But the truth, as told by his family members who now run the island as a tourist attraction, is that Don Julian simply believed the island was haunted by the spirit of the little girl. For reasons only known to Don Julian himself, he believed that he could make the dead girl happy and keep evil at bay by hanging discarded dolls in all of the island’s trees.

The story took a particularly sinister turn in 2001 when Don Julian drowned in the canal just like the little girl. Many people said that the dolls, inhabited by tortured spirits, conspired to murder the old man. Others believe that Santana’s death was an accident and that since his passing, the dolls have taken over his role as the island’s caretaker.

Although Don Julian’s sentiment was innocent and admirable, the doll graveyard he created is undeniably creepy. Soulless eyes follow visitors as they move around the small island (which is actually a chinampa, or artificial floating garden), and many swear that they can hear the dolls whispering to them. This labor of love (or fear, as it were) has resulted in an accidental sensation among those who admire the bizarre and twisted side of tourism.

Winter Times Past - They're Coming Back!

 

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