Monje de la Conchita
Fernández Leal, La Concepción, Coyoacán, 04020 Ciudad de México, CDMX
If you’re a fan of old creepy legends then this one might be right up your alley, it’s another one that takes place in the old cobblestone streets of Coyoacán, which centuries of history (Hernán Cortés was a resident) and characters have made it a haven for many tales and myths, some even involving paranormal entities. This legend takes place in the 1940s, where residents tell the story of a Franciscan monk who walked the cobblestone streets in his monk attire and barefoot. On many nights, only on the last tramcar of the night, he would board a tramcar right at the intersection of Francisco Sosa and Melchor Ocampo streets and would pay with a small handful of what appeared to be small bone fragments, and would then travel in silence without ever saying a word, the rest of the riders and the driver himself would not know how or exactly when but the monk would disappear just after passing the house of Don Pedro de Alvarado.
Other neighbors from Coyoacán would claim that they would see that same monk cross through the closed doors of the Iglesia de la Conchita (“Church of La Conchita”) late at night, they would note his tranquil way of walking, barefoot as always, and never without his rosary in his hand. The Church of La Conchita was built way in the early beginnings of the city by Hernán Cortés for his wife, the indigenous woman named La Malinche, because she said that she wanted to live near a church and a plaza. Later on, Cortes moved in with her to the house in front of the church as well, the big red house still stands there today. One good thing to know is that the monk always smiles at those who catch a glimpse of him, so you might feel better knowing that if you ever encounter this ghostly figure face to “face” he isn’t threatening or menacing at all.
There’s a special attraction in Coyoacán for these kinds of scary stores and creepy legends, its the Leyendas de Coyoacán Tour which departs every night in front of the Church of San Juán Bosco in the center of Coyoacán and has a duration of 30 minutes, these replica tramcars take you around Coyoacán for some sightseeing and there’s a guide on board that will tell these kinds of stories at nightfall. These haunted legends tour starts at 7 p.m. in front of the church and leaves every few minutes once a new car has filled up. The tour has costs $60 and it’s considered to be family-friendly.
