The legend of la casa de la tía Toña

In Chapultepec, Mexico, commonly known as the “Bosque de Chapultepec,” there is an urban legend about an old woman, her mansion, and her guests.  

The legend involves tía Toña, a wealthy old woman who lived in a mansion in the Chapultepec forest. The story goes that Tía Toña was left a widow after her husband, a wealthy merchant, passed away. She was so devastated after her husband’s death that she decided to share her inheritance—a large mansion and a large sum of money—with the homeless children of the city.

After the children move into the home, there are different accounts of how the story continues.

One version of the legend says the woman killed the children out of anger after learning that they had stolen her money and jewelry. She murdered them by beating them to death and throwing them into a ravine near the mansion.

Another narrative is that tía Toña poisoned the children because they were ungrateful and treated her badly. When she realized what she had done, she unalived herself by eating the same poisonous food.

Similar to the previous two, the third account of the legend is that tía Toña murdered the children, but this time she killed them with an axe. The children were mean and would take advantage of tía Toña, eventually her patience waned and she snapped. After her anger subsided, she unalived herself out of guilt.

The legend, according to USC Digital Folklore Archives, takes the opposite approach, claiming that the children banded together to kill tía Toña in order to steal all her money. The children then moved the woman’s body into the attic, but soon after her death, they would be haunted by the woman’s angry spirit. Eventually, the woman’s spirit would drive the children out of the house and lead them to their death.

From then on, it was said that the mansion was haunted by the spirits of the children and tía Toña.

The legend has enticed many people to search for the home in hopes of having a paranormal experience.

There are some people that have confirmed that tía Toña’s house is haunted, claiming that a group of students died trying to cross the bridge that led to the entrance of tía Toña’s mansion and that if you are near the house you can hear the cries of the murdered children.