Espooky Tales

Carmen shares the legend of El Callejon del Beso, El Grito de la Valenciana and La Casa de la Tia Aura, all from the Mexican state of Guanajuato. Cristina shares the recent case of a hermana buscadora from Penjamo, Guanajuato. They end with spooky recommendations, carmen's rec: Molka by Monika Kim and Cristina's rec: I Am Frankelda, the 2025 Mexican stop motion movie. First, they read a listener s...

In this episode, Cristina tells Carmen about the April 20th, 2026 shooting in Teotihuacan, but also more about how this type of violence was once thought to be only a western problem and has spread to the global south, as well as discussing some conspiracy theories that popped up after the shooting. If you have a spooky story to share, email Espookytales@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at the Es...

Terror struck the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida in June 12, 2016. The club was hosting their weekly Latin club when a man entered and opened fire. 49 were dead and over 50 were wounded. Over 90 percent of victims were Latinos.  Today June 12, 2026 is the anniversary of this event and Espooky Tales is re-releasing episode 170 in light of today. 

It's a book club episode! Carmen and Cristina read the Possession of Alba Diaz by Isabel Cañas. First they recapped the book, then did discussion questions and ended by picking the next book club episode. Here is the synopsis for the Possession of Alba Diaz:  In 1765, plague sweeps through Zacatecas. Alba flees with her wealthy merchant parents and fiancé, Carlos, to his family’s isolated mine for...

Carmen and Cristina had the pleasure of talking with Cynthia about her new book Muñeca, available 6/2/26 (WE LOVED THE BOOK). Muñeca is a vivid, surreal Gothic about a queer, Latine, working class witch who sets out to rescue a bespelled heiress and loses control of her powers and her heart in the process. It is 1968 Oakland, and Natalia Fuentes has been hearing rumors about the beautiful Violeta...

Carmen shares the legend of the ghost bride of Patos and other legends from the Mexican state of Coahuila. Then, they end with spooky recs. Carmen's recommendation is the book Malas by Marcela Fuentes and Cristina recommended McFarland USA and El Norte (neither is spooky, but they are Latinx movies). If you have a spooky story to share, email Espookytales@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at the E...

The Satanic Panic was still very alive in the 1990s and in the midst of this, ABC's 2020 aired the alleged real exorcism of a Colombian American teen named Gina. Carmen and Cristina share the context in which her exorcism took place and then discuss the exorcism itself. First, they read a listener story and they end with spooky recs. Carmen recommended the zombie romance called Dating after the En...

Isabel Cabanillas de la Torre era artista y muy conocida en su comunidad. Todos los vendedores de comida la conocían. También era activista en un grupo llamado Mesa de Mujeres, una agrupación centrada en la violencia de género. Asimismo, era integrante de Puro Borde, un colectivo artístico de la ciudad. Algunos de sus murales aún pueden encontrarse en Ciudad Juárez. Salió de un bar en el centro de...

On June 11th, 2018, Fabian Caceres left his home and enated the double femicide of Gabriela Alcaíno Donoso and Carolina Donoso. This led to the passing of Gabriela's law in Chile, changing the way femicide is classifed forever.  If you have a spooky story to share, email Espookytales@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at the Espooky Hot Line (360)836-4486. You can also submit it on Discord! Join th...

On 3/18, the NYT dropped its years-long investigation into Cesar Chavez, and in it, survivors told their stories for the first time. It revealed that he abused them when they were minors. In this episode, we share the new allegations, but also discuss a troubling past that involves anger issues, being controlling, the wet lines, his admiration for a cult leader, and more. sexual assault resources:...

Isabel Cabanillas de la Torre was an artist and so well known in her community. Every food vendor knew her. She was also an activist with a group called Mesa de Mujeres, a group that focused on gender violence. She was also a member of Puro Borde, an art collective in the city. Some of her murals can still be found in Ciudad Juarez. She left a bar in downtown Juarez after midnight on Jan 18, 2020...

On the 1st of November, two cyclists were biking from Ciudad de Mexico, heading south to Tepoztlan. As they rode, they turned off the regular road, there, under a bridge in the highway, in the undergrowth, they found the body of a woman. She was wearing a beige dress, it was hiked up  above her waist, she was missing one of her high heels and her long hair was in braids. She had no ID on her. Rica...

It was a Chile focused one this time! For the paranormal segment, Carmen shared Chile's bermuda triange, el cerro moreno and Cristina shared the case of Jose Huanante, a Mapuche teenager who went missing in 2005. If you have a spooky story to share, email Espookytales@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at the Espooky Hot Line (360)836-4486. You can also submit it on Discord! Join the Espooky Tales...

On June 27, 2022, at approximately 6pm, Roberto Quintero and his crew were working, when they heard screams and rushed towards the commotion, which took them to Quintana Road in San Antonio, TX. There, they found a girl staggering near a semi-truck. Once they got closer to the semi-truck, they found bodies upon bodies, not moving, with swollen faces and blue lips. Roberto called 9-1-1, exclaiming,...

More legends from Chihuahua and a case also from there, involving vampirism/satanism. For spooky recs, Carmen had none because she was busy reading Harvest of Empire and Now I Surrender. Cristina talked about One Battle After Another.  If you have a spooky story to share, email Espookytales@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at the Espooky Hot Line (360)836-4486. You can also submit it on Discord!...

Chihuahua is one of the largest states in Mexico and also very haunted. Among these hauntings are El Panteon de los ninos (the children's cemetery), La Casa dell Ahorcado (The Hanged Man's House) and Los Monitos de Meoqui (the little monkeys of Meoqui). Cristina and Carmen shares these stories, then they end with spooky recs and start with a listener story. Carmen did not have a recommendation and...

Carmen and Cristina share a few family stories and then Cristina shaares the 1985 Mexico City Musuem Heist. They end with spooky recs and start with a listener story. Carmen recommended Nobody's Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Cristina did not have a spooky recommendation.  If you have a spooky story to share, email Espookytales@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at the Espooky Hot Line (360)8...

La mama de Carmen y Cristina las acompano para este capitulo, en donde cuenta diferentes historias de terror que ocurrieron durante su juventud en Guadalajara, Mexico. DISCULPENOS porque tuvimos muchos problemas tecnicos que se notan!  If you have a spooky story to share, email Espookytales@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at the Espooky Hot Line (360)836-4486. You can also submit it on Discord!...

The metropolitan cathedral of Mexico city was built over the course of 250 years, but according to legend, Mexico city underwent an exorcism and the demon that possessed it, is locked away in the catacombs of the Mexico city cathedral. If you have a spooky story to share, email Espookytales@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at the Espooky Hot Line (360)836-4486. You can also submit it on Discord!...

Anastasio Hernandez Rojas was killed by border patrol officers in May 2010. He was handcuffed and beaten and tased multiple times until he died from a heart attack. Carmen and Cristina share this case, IT IS A VERY HEAVY CASE, listen with caution/care.  If you have a spooky story to share, email Espookytales@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at the Espooky Hot Line (360)836-4486. You can also subm...

Metapán, a city and municipality in the Santa Ana department of El Salvador. It borders Honduras and Guatemala, as it is located in the north of the country. It’s the second largest city, and in Nahuatl, it means, “river of the Maguey”. It's also a little espooky! In this episode, Cristina and Carmen share three stories from this town.  If you have a spooky story to share, email Espookytales@gmail...

No episode today (insert sad face), but here is a short list of some espooky Xmas movies instead! If you have a spooky story to share, email Espookytales@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at the Espooky Hot Line (360)836-4486. You can also submit it on Discord! Join the Espooky Tales Book Club for Busy People:  https://substack.com/@espooky?utm_source=profile-page Listen to Carmen and Cristina's o...

Before it housed the General National Archive, Lecumberri was a prison. Due to it's dark past, the Black Palace is now said to be haunted with the ghost of Don Jacinto and more. Cristina shares the history of this haunted location in CDMX and Carmen shares the case of the San Juanic Explosion. If you have a spooky story to share, email Espookytales@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at the Espooky...

The Bewitching follows three women, in three different timelines:  Alba in 1900s Mexico, Beatrice during the great depression in Massachusetts, and Minerva in the 1990s, who’s connected to both women as she is Alba’s granddaughter and attends the same university as Beatrice, who is also the focus of Minerva’s thesis. All women are facing dark forces that are possibly connected. Today's episode is...

Juan Fernando Hermosa holds the record for being Ecuador’s youngest serial killer. At just 15 years old, he was arrested for murdering 22 people. Carmen and Cristina discuss this case, but first they read a listener story and end with spooky recs. Carmen's rec was the book Play Nice by Rachel Harrison and Cristina's was Guillermo Del Toro's debut film, Cronos.  If you have a spooky story to share,...