Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff. Lauren Vogelbaum here dressed in a shop's best fashions. Mannequins are common in storefront windows as a way to attract potential customers, But what about when the mannequin becomes the main attraction. That's the case for a family owned bridle shop La popular dress shop in Chillavla, Mexico, where there's plenty of lore and legend about whether the female figure standing in
the window is actually a mannequin. Lapascualita is an eerily lifelike mannequin, and the speculation is that she's the actual dead body of the daughter of a former owner. The Tale of the Mannequin La Pascualita is a popular regional story in northern Mexico and near the border with Texas and New Mexico, but this famous mannequin and the store window she stands in have gained more of a reputation
as a tourist attraction. For the article, this episode is based on hastuff Work spoke with Thomas Prower, a Latino licensed mortuary professional and author of the book Morbid Magic, Death, Spirituality and Culture from around the world, he said. As with any urban legend, there's no official story, but the common narrative is that a woman named Pascuala Esparza began displaying a new mannequin in the window of her bridle
shop in the nineteen thirties. The story goes that this new manniquin appeared not only uncannily lifelike, but also closely resembled Esparza's deceased daughter, who died young before her wedding day. So was the mannikin, a nicknamed La Pascualita, actually the mummified body of the shop owner's daughter. The legend goes that the mother had her daughter embalmed so that she
could keep her daughter near and dear to her. Prower said, there are various supposed causes of death of Pasquala's daughter, most of them related to bites and stings from venomous bugs, or suicide due to her mother not approving of the impending marriage. A storyteller's point to supposed signs such as the unusual features of her mask like face and incredibly detailed hands, including fingernails, palm lines, and veins. It's especially
startling to find in a small local shop. Some stories go so far as to say that Lapascualita is not just the daughter's body mummified, but a ghost who comes alive in the bridal store at night. It's easy to see how the story that this is not just a bridal mannequin but a corpse bride has taken off and created a life of its own. There's no denying that the figure has eerie, realistic features that make her look
like more than just a mannequin. Prower said, Lapasqualita's realism is what makes her stand out from the mannekins of the day, with the hands and veins being super detailed, and supposedly her eyes are rumored to be the kind that follow you and seem to be looking at you if you move around the room. However, although the legend is fun, it's far fetched to think that this is an actual embalmed corpse. A Preserving such a thing for almost a century would take constant work and require special
conditions to avoid deterioration. A storefront window exposed to the intense heat of the sun is far from an ideal condition for maintaining an embalmed corpse for starters, and Prower would know, since he is a licensed mortuary professional. He explained, there are techniques to embalm a person standing up, but
embalming doesn't preserve a corpse forever. To have an embalmed corpse on display in the window of a small family owned business, day in and day out, exposed to the hot desert sun and human interaction would take a toll on the corpse and it definitely wouldn't stay so fresh after being on display for over ninety some years now. If doubts about La Pascualita are lingering in anyone's mind, Prower put the nail in the coffin of this shop
window legend. Quote. As a licensed mortuary professional who has seen and worked with many corpses, I can guarantee that there is no way that mannequin is a corpse. Like lots of good folk and urban legends, this one has the key ingredients of a lack of verifiable historical information and a fantastic explanation that's more tantalizing than the mundane one. Plus, there's another likely reason that the story of the real life corpse bride in the shop window continues. It's an
excellent marketing tool for this local dress shop. Researcher Teresa Cordova, now the director of a community arts and culture space in New Mexico called Las Pistoles, wrote about La Pascualita in her twenty twelve University of New Mexico dissertation thesis. She visited the shop where the bri al mannequin stands, explained her research objectives, and was granted an appointment to talk with the manager. But when she came back for the scheduled meeting a few days later, she realized she
had been stood up. A store clerk eventually told her that there would not be an interview because the owners claimed it would bring bad luck. She wrote in her thesis, I left the store and realized how the story of Pascualita was the dress shop's marketing tool in a city with multiple wedding dress shops. The owner and public relations
director viewed my study as negative publicity. Determined to find more information about La Pascualita and prove her existence, Cordova sought out archives at the city church and was told the story was only a legend. She wrote, I could not find any record of her life in the archives because she did not in fact exist. I was unable to rely on any historical archives, written obituaries, or church documents in order to reconstruct the life and death of
La Pascualita. Denying interviews about the corpse in the shop window seems to be a good marketing strategy and one that maintains the intrigue and mystery of lapask Kalita. Prower said. It keeps the legend alive, keeps their business in business, and keeps a little more magic here in our mundane world. Today's episode is based on the article LAPAs Kalita Bridal shop mannequin or Embalmed Corpse on HowStuffWorks dot Com, written
by Lauren David. Brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com, and it is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.