The Most Haunted Places in The RGV: An Introduction

By Johanna “Luna” Sanchez

Special to the PRESS

My name is Luna, and I am part of a paranormal investigation team called @JoeDarklyVlogs. The team and I will be taking you across the Rio Grande Valley to encounter some of the experiences we, and others, have come across with the paranormal. 

Our first visit was in Mercedes, Texas, located in Hidalgo County, where many local residents have encountered paranormal phenomena. Some have said they recall seeing a lady in white, also known as “La Llorona,” around the canal areas, and a great fishing spot the residents there call “The Water Falls.”

We interviewed one individual that claims to have heard the lady in white crying, and wailing in the late hours of the night. The same individual that claims to have heard the Lady says that when she wails, all the dogs in the neighborhood begin to howl. 

They also said, “That when you hear them howl, you can hear them to the next town over,”in Weslaco, Texas, also in Hidalgo County. 

Another individual, along with his partner, who work for the Mercedes Police Department, also claim to have encountered the lady in white. The officer claims that they received a call from a concerned citizen stating that “there (was) a young woman crying loudly in one of the canal areas.” 

The officer and his partner took the call and went to take a look for themselves. The officer said when they got to the canal located on 5th and Florida St., they did in fact see a Lady in White standing by the canal, crying that she was looking for her children. The officer asked her where they were, but got no response. He says that after he went back to the patrol unit to call it in, then returned to ask her again, she was no longer there. 

JoeDarkly and I, along with the team, took it upon ourselves to investigate this mysterious entity that everyone claims to have seen around that area. On our investigation, we tried to make contact with this entity, first going to the canal on 5th and Florida St., where the individual we interviewed claims to have seen and heard the spirit, but we got no response. The next night, we took our equipment down to “The Water Falls,” where people have also claimed to have seen this mysterious lady, and we got a little more interaction with the spirit. 

Things started to get creepy when we walked the backroads at “The Water Falls.” It felt as though someone was watching us in the distance. My brother, JoeDarkly, tried to make contact with the spirit, but again got no response. Not until we got further into The Water Falls did we see someone standing in the distance, looking straight at us! JoeDarkly again asked, “Are there any spirits here who would like to speak?” The person we saw standing further ahead of us began to walk slowly towards us, then soon disappeared. We were all so terrified that we grabbed our equipment and ran to the car. 

To this day, we ask ourselves: What was it that JoeDarkly, the team, and I encountered that night at the famous place known as “The Water Falls?” Was it “La Llorona?” Or maybe it was another spirit we came in contact with. We will never know, but if you like to hear about ghostly encounters, or like to watch videos of the paranormal, stay tuned for more of The Most Haunted Places In The RGV. Don’t forget to check out our videos on our YouTube channel, @JoeDarklyVlogs, to see more paranormal phenomena and investigations.