The Fleshless Woman (Mexico)

Many moons ago, in the surroundings of Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec Empire, a couple used to live there. They had been married for many years, and the man technically loved his wife. However, the man (a respected Aztec warrior) was always angry and disappointed with his woman because she could not give him the boy he dreamed of. His woman was infertile.

In their social group, it was a shame that any man, especially warriors, could not have boys. Their tribe saw infertile women as inferiors because their constant wars required new men to fight and gain more land.

Without a doubt, the man in this couple experienced huge pressure, but he carried on with his life with his woman. Perhaps, Quetzalcoatl would bless him one day, and his woman would get pregnant and have his own boy.

One day, the chief called the warrior to the warzone since they needed to invade new lands. The man left his home that night. Days later, his woman discovered she had gotten pregnant! She was jollier than ever in her life. She would be a mother and finally fulfill her role as a woman.

Unfortunately, many months passed, and her husband never returned. The woman got desperate because maybe anyone would discover her pregnancy.

One afternoon, her neighbor noticed she was pregnant and accused of adultery with the priests. She was alone at home and could not get pregnant!

The priests sentenced to death were stoned the next morning publicly.

The woman tried to escape, but some warriors captured her and brought her to the main hall. The next morning, several men stoned her to death because of her adultery. After several hours, they thought she had died and threw her corpse into a mass grave. Perhaps, the birds of prey would devour the rest of her.

However, the woman inexplicably survived, and her skin started to shed from her body until she became fleshless. At that moment, she became a spectrum, and the Fleshless Woman (figure 1) had been born. She hid in the bushes for a couple of days and started to prepare for her revenge. The Fleshless Woman was furious because she had lost her boy, and now she was an ugly spectrum.

Figure 1. The Fleshless Woman.

It seemed like a devil who devoured flesh entered their homes and shed it from there, leaving them fleshless. Plus, their faces seemed covered in fear.

After all those men were gone, more people from different tribes and social groups started to die in similar ways. No one comprehended what was happening! But something evil was chasing them, especially the ones who discriminated against infertile women.

One night, a man escaped from the Fleshless Woman and spread like wildfire her description around the entire tribe.

The priests tried to perform multiple sacrifices to the gods to calm the Fleshless Woman’s fury, but nothing could stop her! She was unstoppable.

Some men believed it was the spirit of the adulterous stoned woman because some of them went to the mass grave and could not find her corpse! But there was no way to prove it since that was a mass grave. They thought she was taking revenge.

After several months, her husband returned to his house one night. He did not know what had happened. He was only surprised that his wife was not at home and seemed abandoned for many months. He was tired and went directly to his bed.

On that night, his wife’s spectrum appeared on his windows and said: "We will never be together, nor will you be able to meet your son, but I will always roam this world protecting you as long as you do not take a woman to replace me." She vanished after these words.

The husband shed tears of sorrow for this revelation. He had lost everything, but he obeyed the command. He remained single, and his life was prosperous and successful. He seemed like an unbeatable warrior who was protected by something that no one knew. He died after a long life.

After his death, the Fleshless Woman calmed down, and the wave of deaths stopped.

Nowadays, some Mexicans claim you can encounter her when attending childbirth. During those days, you can see her shadow which is skeletal and sinister. She observes with envy how a child is brought into the world. A pleasure which, because of the prejudice of others, she could never enjoy.