{"id":461805,"date":"2026-10-10T03:22:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T03:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/461805\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T03:22:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T03:22:35","slug":"la-lechuza-the-mexican-folklore-legend-that-haunts-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/461805\/","title":{"rendered":"La Lechuza: The Mexican Folklore Legend That Haunts Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month to all my fellow Hispanics! There are plenty of ways to celebrate our culture, but because I’m a fan of all things spooky, I like to celebrate a little differently.<\/p>\n

After all, Hispanic Heritage Month falls right in the middle of spooky season, and if there’s one thing Hispanic families know how to do, it’s tell a good scary story!<\/p>\n

I’m talking about those terrifying stories our abuelitas told us growing up. The ones that were supposed to teach us a lesson but instead left us traumatized well into adulthood.<\/p>\n

For me, there’s one Mexican folklore legend that still gives me the creeps, and it’s the reason I sometimes get nervous whenever I see an owl.<\/p>\n

Mexican Folklore Is Filled With Terrifying Legends<\/p>\n

If you grew up in a Hispanic household, there’s a good chance you heard stories about El Cucuy, La Llorona, or El Chupacabra.<\/p>\n

These legends have been passed down for generations, and for many of us, they were our first introduction to horror. Of course, our abuelitas usually had a lesson hidden in those terrifying stories. Don’t wander off alone, don’t misbehave, and whatever you do, DON’T go outside after dark or whistle!<\/p>\n

That last warning brings me to one of the creepiest legends in Mexican folklore, La Lechuza.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: D\u00eda De Muertos Does Not Need a Beige Makeover<\/a><\/p>\n

The Legend of La Lechuza in Mexican and Texas Folklore<\/p>\n

According to Mexican and Texas folklore, La Lechuza is a witch who can transform into a giant owl. Depending on who’s telling the story, she might even have the face of a woman!<\/p>\n

The legend has been passed down through generations, including in communities along the Texas-Mexico border.<\/p>\n

As the story goes, La Lechuza hides in trees at night, whistling or sometimes imitating the cries of a baby to lure unsuspecting victims outside.<\/p>\n

And if you fall for it? La Lechuza swoops down and carries you away!<\/p>\n

Some versions of the legend even claim she follows cars traveling down deserted roads at night.<\/p>\n

Now imagine hearing THAT as a child!<\/p>\n

READ MORE: El Paso’s Gloomy Weather Made For the Perfect Fall Day<\/a><\/p>\n

Why the Legend of La Lechuza Still Scares El Pasoans<\/p>\n

My abuelita always warned us that seeing a Lechuza was never a good sign. And if you ever spotted one, there was only one thing you were supposed to do.<\/p>\n

Cuss it out.<\/p>\n

Yes, according to my abuelita, the best way to scare away La Lechuza was to start yelling every bad word you knew!<\/p>\n

I remember one night when we actually spotted what we believed was La Lechuza sitting in a tree in our yard. Our neighbor even came running over with a shotgun, ready to take care of the situation!<\/p>\n

Thankfully, the owl flew away before anything happened, but I’ll never forget the sound of those wings flapping as it took off.<\/p>\n

Now, as an adult, I know La Lechuza is just a folklore legend, and that owl was probably an innocent bird minding its own business.<\/p>\n

But my abuelita definitely knew how to put the fear of La Lechuza in me!<\/p>\n

And I’ll admit, every now and then, when I see an owl, I still yell out the F-word as loud as I can.<\/p>\n

You know, just in case.<\/p>\n

Haunted El Paso Neighborhoods<\/p>\n

Step Inside El Paso\u2019s Haunted Kohlberg Mansion<\/p>\n

You can actually buy one of El Paso\u2019s most historic haunted mansions. Explore the Kohlberg Mansion and discover what paranormal investigators found inside.<\/p>\n

Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Brandon Thomas\/ Dead Battery Co.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Happy Hispanic Heritage Month to all my fellow Hispanics! There are plenty of ways to celebrate our culture,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461806,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139,143],"class_list":["post-461805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news","tag-local-el-paso"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}