During the summer, fall, or even early winter, Independence Pass is a great place to go on an adventure. The snow high peaked mountains are a great place to hang out and take in the scenery. Even though Independence Pass is known for its beautiful site seeing, there are some stops along the way that aren’t so keen to the eye. The Doll Forest, a few miles before Leadville, is by far one of the scariest, but fascinating things the pass has to offer. Bloody, decapitated, and even impaled dolls hang from trees, surrounding a house hidden in the woods. AHS sophomore, Nick Mitchell, has been through the forest plenty of times.

“I was astonished on how someone would spend so much time hanging dolls from trees and installing “No Trespassing” signs in the middle of a forest,” Mitchell said. “I get the No Trespassing signs, but who would hang dolls from trees and impale them with sticks just to keep people out of their land. It’s by far one of the coolest yet creepiest things I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Unlike the doll forest in Xochimilco, Mexico, the roadside dolls in Leadville are used as a political symbol, not an old ghost tale. The Island Of The Dolls in Mexico is strictly known for the haunting of a young girl, who drowned in a nearby canal. Though many people may think the dolls on the pass have a similar reason for existence, they don’t. The property owners believe that everyone is hung up on anti-abortion campaigns. As a result of this, they decided to make a statement with their dolls by dying their hair, putting fake blood on them, and cutting off a few limbs here and there. Now, they’re not saying their pro-abortion, but people make too much out of it. AHS English teacher, Maile LaPenna was one of the few to find out the true meaning of the dolls.

“When I first saw it, I felt a combination of horror and fascination. I had heard about it and seen it out the window of my car before, but never got out to see it, until one day, my friends and I stopped to check it out. It was super creepy, but also super awesome at the same time. I hopped out of the car and walked into dozens of No Trespassing Signs, which I didn’t follow because I couldn’t resist,” LaPenna said. “I would always think about why anyone would ever make a landmark like that. But then I realized, it’s just art. The dolls are just a way to send their message out without having to speak it.”