La llorona

When my Tío Larry was a kid, he and his cousin Amos used to play together on his aunt's ranch in Mexico. Like many other kids, he had been told the story of La llorona or "the crier". Also known as the white lady, she was supposed to have drowned her children in a river in an attempt to win back her lover's affections. Unfortunately, she was rejected and drowned herself, too. After that, she roamed the streets forever crying and searching for her dead children. Kids are told not to wander the streets alone at night, because she is said to abduct children. One night, my tío and his cousin were playing hide and seek out on the ranch, and they heard a horrible screeching sound, that sounded like the cry of a cat. My tío turned around and saw La llorona crying and reaching her arms out towards them. He and his cousin looked at each other for a split second before sprinting back to the house at full speed. As they ran up to the door, they saw their aunt standing on the porch and both exclaimed excitedly that they had seen La llorona. Their aunt looked at them, pale in the face and said "I know. I saw her, too."

As a child, this story terrified me. Luckily, I have never encountered La llorona, but my friend's grandmother claims that she haunts the train tracks in Arroyo Grande.