New Year, New Fear in the Mojave Desert

Overview: Inspired by the journey Magdala and her father are forced to take in Kay Chronister’s Shirley Jackson Award Winning post-apocalyptic novel Desert Creatures, this roadtrip will have you traversing through the desolate Mojave Desert toward the neon lights of Las Vegas, Nevada, or “the Holy Land”, as it is known to the characters in Chronister’s book. The father-daughter duo in Desert Creatures are on a healing mission and, if you approach this trip as a way of facing your fears going into the New Year, you can fancy yourself on a healing mission, too. Who or what would you be most afraid of encountering? A ghost? A clown? Cannibals? A serial killer? A religious cult? No matter. On this trip you will face all five. 

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Celebrate Christmas Among the Dead in Mexico City

At a glance: This trip to Mexico City will see you lodging in the haunted Edificio Rio de Janeiro, or “the Witches House”; attending a traditional midnight mass on Christmas Eve at one of two creepy Cathedrals; visiting the spooky Island of the Dolls; and reading Monstrilio by Gerardo Samano Cordova while eating worm salt gelato. 

Mexico City’s colonial history and neo-colonial present ensures that more than a few spirits still roam the capital’s streets and take residence in her buildings. The land now known as Mexico was invaded by Spain in 1519, in a mission led by Hernan Cortes. The ensuing battles among Spanish troops and Indigenous tribes ended two years later, with Cortes declaring victory over the land. The Spanish men proceeded to impose their seed on the indigenous women and girls, leading to the eventual widespread miscegenation of the two peoples, creating the Mexican “race”. The Spanish imposed their religion too. Catholicism continues to guide the political, social, and private lives of all Mexicans, whether they practice Catholicism or not (though the majority of them do). Such conditions, unfortunately, often guarantee the presence of spirits, and the rise of coping rituals. No matter your stance on organized religion or the existence of almighty deities, when visiting Mexico City be prepared to embrace and heavily respect the religious cultural practices and the resulting (haunting) wonders that the residents’ belief systems have inspired over the centuries.

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