From different places and for a long time, the witches' dances have been observed on the Xicuco hill, located in the municipality of Tezontepec de Aldama and in the Tula area of the state of Hidalgo.

Older people say that these witches are not sorceresses who fly with a broom and magic wand, as in fairy tales or movies, but rather they fly transformed into terrifying animals or balls of fire.

Legends claim that these beings usually hold their covens (meetings) on the hilltops, on Saturday nights and especially on June 24th, Saint John's Day, a date steeped in mystical symbolism.

They say that around a large bonfire, they dance in honor of the evil one, taking off their legs and hiding them under the ashes, to later turn into horrible turkeys, cats, dogs or vultures and also into the aforementioned balls of fire.

In this form, they fly to the homes of the villages to look for food, which is the vital energy of the children still in their arms.

Walking across the ceilings and using a special sense of smell, they find the room where the creature sleeps. They enter the room with spells, disturbing the sleep of any older siblings or parents who may be there. They approach the little ones and, with all their might, suck out every last drop of their vital energy. The creatures die instantly.

Tired of their feast, the witches return to the bonfire on the hill and become normal women again, living their lives like anyone else. The next day, there is grief and crying in the house they visited that night.

For many generations, grandmothers have recommended performing a series of spells to prevent witches from reaching rooms where a child is sleeping in their arms.

One of them involves placing scissors in the shape of a cross under the infant's crib. They also recommend tracing a cross with salt on the ceiling of the room where the infant is kept.

Similarly, parents place mirrors under their children's cribs and even a tub of water at the entrance to the house, in order to ward off the evil being. Many skeptics doubt the existence of these beings, claiming that the real "witches" are actually women who owe money to loan agencies, department stores, and popular savings banks.


Illustration by Edson Vélez Flores
They argue that the nocturnal deaths of small children occur because they sleep between their parents, who inadvertently bruise and suffocate them; and that, in order to avoid jail, these stories were invented in the past. However, many people claim that witches do exist.