La Abuela Enlutada

Published by Aaron Perez

12/10/2025

Image Credit: https://cdn.ntmx.me/media/2024/10/30/_hdb9dfd1dcbf07161b6423a1d486a8e976d4e49db5.webp

    If you’ve ever wandered through the quiet halls of the Museo de Arte de Ciudad Juárez late at night, you might have felt it—that prickling sensation on the back of your neck, like someone is watching you. And if you stop in front of a certain somber portrait of an elderly woman dressed in black mourning clothes, you’ll swear her eyes follow you across the room.

    Welcome to the legend of La Abuela Enlutada—the Mourning Grandmother—one of the creepiest and most beloved urban legends in northern Mexico.

    The official title is actually El luto eterno en lienzo: Retrato de la madre del artista (“Eternal Mourning on Canvas: Portrait of the Artist’s Mother”). It was painted by Austrian artist Víctor Scharf (born 1872 in Vienna), and it depicts his own mother, María Luisa Chauvan, in deep mourning, her face etched with sorrow.

    On October 31, 1984—yes, Halloween—the painting was donated to the museum by Scharf’s niece, the painter Denyse Claude Egea (sometimes spelled Danyesa). It has hung in the museum ever since, quietly staring at generations of visitors.

    And apparently, doing a lot more than just hanging there.

    Security guards and museum employees have been telling the same stories for forty years:

  • Her eyes follow you. No matter where you stand in the room, the old woman is looking right at you.
  • Lights flicker and turn off by themselves when no one is near the switches.
  • The heating system shuts down in the middle of winter, leaving the museum freezing.
  • Objects move on their own—chairs rearranged, doors that were locked found wide open.
  • Guards on the night shift often catch a glimpse of a black-clad figure out of the corner of their eye. When they turn, there’s nothing… except the feeling they’re not alone.

    The most persistent version of the legend says that on the anniversary of her death (or sometimes every November, the traditional month of mourning in Mexico), the abuela’s spirit steps out of the canvas and wanders the museum. She doesn’t hurt anyone—she just likes to play tricks. Some guards swear she’s mischievous rather than malevolent. There’s even a rumor that sometimes, if she likes you, she’ll leave a few coins on the floor the next morning. “Y también da dinerito,” people joke nervously.

    In October 2024, the museum leaned all the way into the legend. They hosted a theatrical performance called El luto eterno en lienzo as part of Noche de Museos and Día de Muertos celebrations. Actors brought the story to life, recounting the night the painting arrived and the strange things that started happening immediately afterward. People packed the room. Some laughed nervously. Others refused to look directly at the painting afterward.

    Skeptics say it’s just a very well-painted portrait with that classic “eyes-follow-you” optical illusion common in old oil paintings. The flickering lights? Old wiring in a historic building. The cold spots and moving objects? Drafts and overactive imaginations.

    But then you talk to the guards who’ve worked there for decades. The ones who refuse to be in the gallery alone after closing. The ones who say they’ve heard soft footsteps in empty rooms, or felt a gentle hand on their shoulder when no one was there.

    And honestly? When you stand in front of her, under the dim museum lights, with that piercing, sad gaze locked on you… you start to wonder.

    Next time you’re in Ciudad Juárez, go visit her. The museum is right there in the old customs building downtown. Walk up to the painting. Look her in the eyes.

    Just don’t be surprised if, when you turn to leave, you feel like someone is walking right behind you.

    Sweet dreams.

Sources:

"El Museo de Arte de Ciudad Juárez ofrece dramatización sobre las leyendas que envuelven el cuadro La abuela enlutada." Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura, Secretaría de Cultura, 29 Oct. 2024, inba.gob.mx/prensa/21259/el-museo-de-arte-de-ciudad-juarez-ofrece-dramatizacion-sobre-las-leyendas-que-envuelven-el-cuadrola-abuela-enlutada.

"Hoy: Conoce la leyenda del cuadro embrujado en la Noche de Museos." Net Noticias, 30 Oct. 2024, netnoticias.mx/juarez/hoy-conoce-la-leyenda-del-cuadro-embrujado-en-la-noche-de-museos.

"La Abuela Enlutada." JrzArt, 17 June 2021, jrzartproject.wixsite.com/jrzart/post/la-abuela-enlutada.

"¿Y también da 'dinerito'? El espíritu de una abuela que hace travesuras en el Museo de Arte." Radio Fórmula, Grupo Fórmula, 25 Feb. 2024, www.radioformula.com.mx/ciudadjuarez/Y-tambien-da-dinerito-El-espiritu-de-una-abuela-que-hace-travesuras-en-el-Museo-de-Arte-20240225-0050.html.

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