It Weeps

By E. Murillo

Jr. 2023

In the small town of Juarez there is a legend of The Weeping Woman. Legend says that there

once lived a woman and her two kids in a small house deep in the forest. She loved her kids more than

anything. Unfortunately, after realizing her husband had an affair with another woman, she went insane

and drowned both her kids at the bottom of a nearby lake. Evening was approaching, and her husband

arrived home. He noticed that his kids weren’t inside and asked his wife where they were. She sat there in

silence and gave him no reply. After countless times asking, she confessed to what she had done. He

quickly ran to the lake and found the lifeless bodies of his dead children floating face down in the dark

water of the lake. In a furious rage, he returned with the bodies of his kids and brutally beat his wife to

death. As soon as he stopped, he didn’t know what to do, so he ran far away from the town.

Weeks passed and the townspeople came to realize they had not seen the woman and her kids in

some time, so they decided to check up on them. The people were shocked upon entering her home and

found three decomposing corpses. Despite not knowing what happened, they held a funeral for them and

laid their bodies to rest in the town’s cemetery. Days later, a lumberjack spotted a strange figure at a

house deep in the woods. The people of the town spread rumors about the mysterious figure who took

away children that were never heard from or seen again. People said that at the moment the children went

missing all that was heard were the words, “Oh, my children!”

When the sun rose in the morning, weeping was heard from the mothers whose children went

missing. There was one person who got a good look at the mysterious figure and described it as having

the appearance of a human female with long black hair and wearing a long white dress. She would only
appear at nighttime when everyone was asleep. No one knew why she did this, but they were certain that

if this continued, they would need help from some sort of expert.

“It's been a week since the kids went missing,’’ said Marcus.

“Yeah. Fourteen kids were reported missing in the past week and three today,’ stated Carlos.

“Marcus, we need to find out where this creature is taking the kids.”

“I agree,” replied Marcus. “Let's do a stake-out and find out.”

The day was coming to an end and as the sun was setting, Carlos gathered a flashlight, a shovel,

and a cross. Marcus was finishing dinner with his family. The two brave men decided to meet up at the

lake where the townsfolk said the mysterious figure was last seen. They silently waited all night in a small

hut for any signs of or noises from the haunting creature. Midnight approached, and Carlos had fallen

asleep. Marcus knew he had to keep a lookout for the creature; however, he slowly dozed off, unable to

fight the closing of his eyes any longer. Moments later, in the distance, the mournful sobs of a woman

were heard. The sobs were getting louder as she approached the entrance of the town. Marcus quickly

woke up and saw the creature heading towards the town's gate. He was in shock after seeing the creature

phase through the gate even though it was closed. Marcus shook Carlos, trying to wake him up and he

explained what he saw.

“We need to follow it!” Marcus shouted.

“Alright let's go around the edges of town so it doesn’t spot us,” replied Carlos. “You go right,

and I’ll go left.”

“Don’t do anything until we find out where the kids are,” said Marcus. “Clear?”

“Clear,” replied Carlos.

 Marcus decided to head back home to get another flashlight, and as he approached his house, he

heard strange noises. As he walked down the hall, he realized the noises were coming from his child’s

bedroom. He slowly opened the door, there stood a woman in white he’d mistaken for his wife. She

turned to face him, and Marcus then saw that it wasn’t his wife, and worse, she was holding his son in her

arms. She looked at him with an intensity that almost burned his eyes and pitifully wailed, “Oh, my

children!” Her face was deeply wrinkled, and her skin was as pale as a corpse. Before he could take any

sort of action, the woman, now appearing to be transparent, walked towards and through the wall with

Marcus’s son shrill in her arms. Marcus rushed outside and followed her trying to be as quiet as possible

so she wouldn’t know he was hot on her trail. Carlos got worried when Marcus didn’t return and

frustrated after seeing no sign of the figure. He decided to look for Marcus with the hope he’d not only

find him but also catch a glimpse of the mysterious figure. There was no sign of either one.

Marcus silently followed the woman into the forest, and the deeper into the forest he went, a

disgusting odor grew more intense. Marcus followed her for quite a while, when finally, he found where

she had taken all the missing kids. In a deep, dark cave on the edge of the forest lay all the lost children,

but something didn’t seem right. The odor he’d smelled earlier was even more overwhelming now. It was

the smell of rotten flesh - that of the town’s missing children. Marcus was more than scared; he was

overwhelmed by the sight and ran faster than he ever believed he could towards town. He ran so fast with

only one destination in mind - the church - that he ran directly into Carlos. With him was the town’s

priest.

“Father John, what are you doing here?” Marcus asked. “It’s like you were reading my mind!”

“Well, Carlos here told me that the two of you were looking for the missing kids,”

John replied.

“Carlos, I found the missing kids,” a grief-stricken Marcus whispered, “but they’re all dead.”

“What?!” yelled both Carlos and John.

“How? Where? I don’t understand” John muttered.

 “She went to my house and took my son, so I followed her and ended up at

a cave I never knew existed. She’s the one who took all the missing kids,” said Marcus.

“I couldn’t get my son back. I was caught off guard and so scared, so I ran away and that’s when I

bumped into the two of you.”

“Wait a minute. She. She who?”

“I have no words to describe her or even guess who or what she is. You’ll have to come see for

yourself.”

“Yes. We have to do something to get rid of this thing before more lives are lost,” said John.

Father John agreed to help Marcus and Carlos find a way to rid the town of the murderous

creature. The three men began their plan at the town’s church in urgent need of special supplies. John

gathered up his silver cross, a rosary he’d received from the Pope, a Bible blessed by his mother on her

deathbed, and holy water he’d gotten during a trip to The Holy Land. Each of the three men agreed to do

whatever it might take to put an end to the demonic creature and her slaughter of innocent children.

Feeling much more confident and stronger, the men followed Marcus as he led them to the cave. As they

approached the cave, the nauseating odor returned and within minutes they spotted the fiendish creature

inside holding a child. Marcus knew right away it was his son and took off running full speed towards

her. She turned towards him - glowing red eyes shooting out at him like flames - and started mumbling

the words, “Oh, my children! Oh, my children!” She kept mumbling this over and over, and as she did

the child became pale - as sickly white pale as she. It was as if her words were draining the child’s life.

“What are you doing to him?” Marcus fiercely hollered. “I said, what are you doing to him?”

“Hungry,” she replied in a muffled, mumbling moan. “I need food.”

“What is she talking about, Marcus?” asked John.

“I don’t know what she’s talking about. There isn't any food here. There is nothing here besides

the dead children and us.”

 “Ummm, Marcus. M - M - Marcus, look at your son!” stuttered a shocked Carlos.

When Marcus took a look at his son, he had the look of a corpse. She had sucked out the soul of

his infant son and all that remained was an empty frame. Full of rage, Marcus rushed towards her, but

before he could take his revenge, she grabbed him by the throat. Her animal-like claws dug into his neck.

With breath as hot as Hell’s flames, she hissed, “My children. These are my children. No one else's.”

Unable to escape her, Marcus became the target of yet another of her attacks. The satanic being opened

her mouth only this time her words were not the same. “My husband. My husband,” she repeated.

Marcus didn’t know how to get out of this situation, but he knew he had to do something soon. His

strength was fading in the same way he watched his son’s.

“Do it now!” yelled Marcus. “Hurry before it’s too late.”

“What are you talking about?” asked a confused Father John.

“We already agreed to this,” Marcus shouted. “We agreed to do whatever it took to get rid of this

thing. Perform the exorcism! Now! Isn’t that why you brought all those things with you?”

“Marcus, you can’t be serious,” replied Carlos. “She will consume your soul before Father John

can complete the exorcism.”

“That doesn’t matter. Do it now, Father!” yelled Marcus.

John knew that performing the exorcism would get rid of her evil spirit, but he didn’t want

Marcus to die in the process. John decided to perform the ritual and started by reciting ancient holy

words. While performing the ritual, the color of Marcus' skin slowly faded as she continued to consume

his soul. John almost finished the ritual in time, but sadly the she-demon already consumed the life force

of Marcus. Carlos told himself he had no choice but to follow in the footsteps of his friend and sacrifice

himself, so Father John coils successfully complete the ritual and rid their town of this murderer.
 Carlos, with all the strength he had, ran towards the shadowy figure, knocked her to the ground,

and tried pinning her while also covering her mouth. In a mist, she seeped into the body of Carlos and

was soon free from his grip. He lost sight of her and soon found himself held up in the air by the same

cold hands that just killed his friend. The last words needed for the exorcism to be completed passed from

Father John’s lips, but sadly, he didn’t finish in time to save Carlos. The ghost of the Weeping Woman

slowly faded, only leaving behind a pile of bones and a dress. The deed was done, but at what cost.

Twenty-One dead bodies in the cave and only one survived. John didn’t want it to end this way but sadly

there wasn’t any other way of ending this madness. He was scared for life after that moment. He didn’t

tell anyone what happened in that cave, nor did he return to that town. He continued living his life in a

small house high up in the mountains. Everyone in town never came to realize what happened to all the

missing people.