6 spooky records to get you in the Halloween spirit: witches, vampires and haunted dolls

From an island filled with haunted dolls to a sea of record-breaking witches, we explore some of the eeriest records that are sure to cast a spell on your Halloween spirit. 

The haunted hermit and the island of the dolls 

In southern Mexico City lies the canals of Xochimilco, which is one of the last remaining sites built by the Aztecs. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is normally bustling with tourists exploring food vendors and listening to mariachi music, and the weekends are vibrant and festive.

However, one artificial island nestled in the centre of Xochimilco is populated not by people, but by thousands of disfigured dolls. 

La Isla de las Muñecas, or the Island of the Dolls, held a Guinness World Records title for having the largest collection of haunted dolls.  

The story of Mexico’s haunting floating shrine begins several decades ago, when a solitary man named Don Julian Santana Barrera inhabited the island. Don Julian arrived on the island during the 1950s, and legend has it that years before he came, a young woman died by drowning in the canal after being entangled by water lilies. 

When Don Julian moved to the island, he believed that he heard the girl crying, “I want my doll”, and claimed that he discovered a doll beside where her body was found years earlier. To make an offering to the spirit of the girl, he hung the doll up in a nearby tree. This is where his obsession began, as he claimed that anytime he went outside his hut, he discovered more dolls hung on trees, some without heads or limbs. 

Over the next 50 years, Don Julian searched for discarded dolls in rubbish and would even trade his vegetables for them. He continued to hang the terrifying dolls all over the forest, and it is suggested that he may have seen them as being protective. 

In 2001, Don Julian passed away, and his body was discovered near the spot where the young girl had died. There are many different theories around what happened to him, some believing he drowned in a similar way to the girl, or his death was triggered by a heart attack.  

The thousands of terrifying dolls continue to haunt the island, along with the spirits of Don Julian and the young girl, many believe. 

Get your teeth stuck into the tale of the great vampire epidemic 

Do you think there’s any chance of vampires being real, or should we bite the bullet on that one? The Great Vampire Epidemic (or “vampire controversy”) had people losing their heads (literally). 

The largest vampire epidemic occurred from 1725 to the 1750s. Known as the Great Vampire Epidemic, it struck parts of the Austrian Empire (modern-day Hungary, Romania, and the Balkans). There were around 30 documented cases that reported communities digging up corpses, then burning and dissecting the bodies. These acts were happening to make a stop to supposed vampire attacks, and it is believed that there were likely hundreds of undocumented cases. 

During the 18^th century, many vampire panic periods occurred, often during times of hardship or crisis, and were fuelled by outbreaks of illnesses such as tuberculosis or pellagra. 

Communities would study the corpses in search of signs that they were insufficiently decomposed, bloated, or had any liquid blood around the face. If any of these signs were discovered, then the body would be declared a vampire and destroyed.

When the spirits seek more space: the story of the world’s largest Ouija board 

Have you ever heard a creek in the floorboards during the night? Well, you most definitely will at this hotel in Windber, Pennsylvania (USA). The 130-year-old Grand Midway hotel is owned by film-maker Blair Murphy and is no longer in full operation, apart from occasionally accommodating some invite-only guests. 

Blair discusses that the haunting hotel has always had an unsettling feel, and there have been many guests with ghastly stories to share after a night spent there. One night, Blair and his girlfriend used a small Ouija board at the hotel to see if anything spooky happened. They claimed the level of paranormal activity in the hotel skyrocketed and people could be seen floating. 

To add to the eerie atmosphere of the building, Blair felt that building a Ouija board on the roof would be the perfect addition. Accompanied by his own ideas, he teamed up with eight artists to help plan and build the structure. 

This boo-tique hotel is not only Blair’s home, but also the site of the largest Ouija board, a truly ghastly Guinness World Records title. 

A wicked record attempt: meet the witches that cast a spell on history 

How many witches does it take to break a Guinness World Records title? The Spanish lottery retailer La Bruixa d’Or had all broomsticks at the ready for this frightening feat. 

On 16 November 2013, an incredible 1,607 bewitching individuals performed a spell to conjure luck for the Spanish Christmas lottery. The participants came wearing black pointed hats and floor-length dresses, and congregated on the main street in Sort, Spain. 

The spell-binding number of people resulted in the establishment of the largest gathering of people dressed as witches, a record that no other ghoulish group has managed to beat to this day! 

The woman who made a scream for the record 

Jill Drake (UK) burst records and eardrums in October 2000. The classroom assistant was attending Halloween festivities at the O2 Arena (then known as the Millennium Dome) in London, UK when she shattered a Guinness World Records title. 

It was recorded that the teacher had a scream that reached 129 decibels, making her the title holder for the loudest scream (individual). This record breaker had a scream so loud it was equivalent to the noise from an emergency vehicle siren, or even a jet engine taking flight. 

Scream machine: smashing the record for most jump scares 

How many jump scares can you fit into one episode of a TV show? On 6 October 2022 at the New York Comic Con, filmmaker Mike Flanagan (USA) gave us the answer.  

The Midnight Club world premiere on Netflix saw a total of 21 scripted jump scares, earning the record for the most scripted jump scares in a single television episode.