For my final project, I chose to write a screenplay on La Llorona. There is a wealth of information following the story; as we have seen from other student’s blog posts, the legend exists in many forms in many cultures. I therefore wanted to try and adapt the story to give some originality, while still retaining the basic level of the myth. In reflecting upon how I wanted to pursue the story, I remembered the first time I had seen mention of La Llorona, although I did not know the legend at the time. It was in the show Supernatural, with the very first episode being about a “Woman in White” that was based off of the myth. I decided to follow a similar investigative pattern to the show, while still retaining my own original work.  The character of my story, Tom, discovers the origins of La Llorona and then works on finding out more and protecting his children. I chose to go with a white man as the main character in order to show how this myth has crossed cultural boundaries and affects multiple ethnicities. Below, I will break down the various scenes of the screenplay, along with notes on why I chose to pursue certain avenues. I will also attach the screenplay in it’s original format so that, if people wish to, they can view the work.

Scene One:
This scene is the introduction of the story. We see the main character, Tom, working at his desk. As he types, his children, Anna and Edward, run into the room. Tom plays with them for a time before his wife, Marie, comes in and extracts the children from the study so that Tom can continue to work. We close on the image of a screaming woman in white on a book Tom is reading. The scene was intended to introduce Tom and his family to the audience. In addition, I wanted it to be clear that Tom is a happy, loving man, in order to better establish how the story will actually affect his psyche by the end of it.

Scene Two:
This scene is a continuation of the themes of the previous scene and introduces Tom’s interest in the La Llorona myth. Tom’s children ask him about his work, and so he begins telling the story of La Llorona to them. Before he gets to the part where the children of the story are drowned, however, he activates an app on his phone that scares Edward and Anna, so that he won’t have to finish the story. His daughter, Anna, asks him if he ever had a sibling to help him when he was scared. Tom replies that he did, and that her name was Anna, but that she died when he was very young. After the children leave, Tom finishes the story for his wife, telling of how the children were drowned by La Llorona. He then kisses his wife good night and goes back to work. The scene gives the basic idea behind the La Llorona myth: She was a woman who met a nobleman, but he was not faithful, so she went and killed the children before killing herself out of sorrow. The scene is intended to introduce the myth, and to provide backstory for Tom: we see his dedication to his children, as he does not wish to scare them, and the more important piece, that his sister died when they were young. This plot point becomes pivotal in Tom’s later quest to learn more about La Llorona.

Scene Three:

This is a short scene, but is important to set up the rest of the story. It can be seen as a turning point, when Tom begins to see La Llorona as more than a myth. As Tom researches local obituaries, he finds the story of his own sister’s death. He reads through it and thinks nothing of it, before he sees a note: a woman in white was spotted near the river where his sister drowned. Tom thinks this is interesting, and begins searching other obituaries. He finds numerous children have gone missing along the river over the past years. Tom closes all the stories, leaving only the one about his sister. This scene is therefore important because it sets up Tom’s sister as more than just backstory, and gives Tom the beginning of some mental instability.

Scene Four:

This is the first time we start to see Tom’s paranoia about the myth kicking in. Tom and his family walk along the river that runs through his town. Tom is unable to engage in conversation with his family, as he is distracted by his potential revelation that his sister was killed by La Llorona. Tom glances down at the river, and sees a woman in white. He jumps back, but then he realizes it is just a woman meeting her lover down by the river. His family notices, but Tom makes up a story about seeing a shark in the water to entertain the children. This is the start of the psychological horror element, present in Gothic literature, that we see in the work. The things that terrify Tom exist in his head at this point, as evidenced by his fear even in the middle of the day at something he has very little reason to believe in. Tom’s children wish to go to a spot by the river and play in the water, but Tom once again becomes scared and forbids it. This worries his wife, who confronts him about his erratic behavior. He admits the story of La Llorona is getting to him, but that he would appreciate her supporting him. Marie agrees, and Tom’s phone rings. He has a brief conversation with a man named John who agrees to meet with him a few days later. It is in this scene, therefore, that we see how deeply the myth is starting to affect Tom, as he believes the danger of La Llorona is real enough to forbid his children to go near the water. At first, I considered having La Llorona exist only in Tom’s mind, in order to play up the psychological aspect of Gothic literature. However, I decided that there needed to be a very real menace to the story, and bringing in the mythic element would serve the screenplay.

Scene Five:

Tom visits John at his home. We find out that John is Tom’s uncle, who became estranged from the family after the death of Tom’s sister, who was also named Anna. The two men briefly discuss this before Tom admits that he thinks something killed Anna. At this, John, who has been standoffish to this point, allows Tom into his secrets. John discusses at length local legends of a woman in white who kidnaps children. He then goes into a story about a woman, Katherine Ruckinson, who existed 200 years previously. I gave this woman a variation of the La Llorona myth, while still adding in some characteristics that I thought would make her a bit more complex. This woman, Katherine, was a beautiful woman. She was courted by one of the wealthiest men in town, named William Ruckinson. However, she became pregnant out of wedlock, forcing her to marry. She had children, but the negative talk of the town against her immodesty caused her to resent her children, who she blamed for her small problems. After her husband contracted a sexually transmitted disease, she realized he was being unfaithful. Katherine, who was obsessed with bloodlines, became convinced the children were not hers, even though this was of course impossible. She took the children to the river, and drowned them. She was found the next day, wailing and screaming until her lungs were destroyed, leaving it so she kept coughing blood. She then killed herself by drowning herself in the river. John goes on to explain that a certain pattern emerged in the recent killings: Katherine appears to target bloodlines, going after siblings or even children of her initial victims. Tom, realizing that his sister was killed by Katherine and that his children could be in danger, rushes home. This scene is by far the longest of the work, but the most pivotal. It establishes the Gothic tone by giving a horrific story that utilizes elements of the existing myths, while still adding in certain details that give Katherine a level of sympathy. Furthermore, Katherine is intended to trigger the abject, as she can be recognized as a woman, but one that has been horribly transformed.

Scene Six: Tom rushes home, and as he does, his children sneak out of the house, bored of being cooped up inside. The scene alternates between shots of Tom driving home, and the children getting closer to the river. Eventually Tom reaches home, where he notices the children are gone. He sprints out into the woods, followed by his wife. While this is happening, we see Katherine, a.k.a the Woman in White, or La Llorona, begin taking the children. Tom briefly explains the situation to his wife as they run. Eventually, the two parents reach the river, where they see their children being taken. They call to the children, but Edward and Anna don’t respond. In desperation, Tom calls Katherine’s name. She stops at this, and turns. Tom attempts to appeal to her humanity, asking her to release his children. After his pleas however, La Llorona turns away, as she has no humanity. Tom then launches himself at her and frees Anna from her grasp. Katherine begins wailing, spraying blood on him and pulling Edward into the water. Tom goes after Edward as well, who he finds embraced by La Llorona, who holds him as if he were her child. Tom frees his son and flees. In my original draft, I had Edward die, taken by Katherine. However, I found this too morbid, and chose to allow Edward to live. However, I did add in the detail of Katherine / The Woman in White holding Edward like her own child to play into the abject once more, as we can recognize her feelings of motherly attachment. In addition, I made sure to include Katherine’s bloody lips spraying the air to establish the dark Gothic tone. This scene takes place during the day, as I wanted it to be clear that this kind of horror is not reserved only for the dark, but can breach the light of day as well.

Scene Seven: The final scene. Tom and his family are seen packing up. We find that they are moving out to Arizona (very few rivers and such). We then close on a shot of the river by Tom’s house, where we see Katherine, or La Llorona, beneath the surface, wailing softly.

Overall, I hoped the screenplay accomplished the goal of showing how a legend that was originally based in various cultures, such as Mexican, Aztecs, and so on, could spread into other cultures as well. In addition, I hope the screenplay establishes the Gothic element in the dark overtones of the story, as well as the way the abject is utilized in Katherine, who can be recognized as a sympathetic character warped beyond what a human should be. By giving her a name and a backstory, I hoped that I made La Llorona seem more human, and therefore more terrifying. La Llorona is an intimidating myth to try and adapt, but a story that still can be used in a number of different ways.

Screenplay:

La Llorona

Works Cited

Aragon, Ray John de. The Legend of La Llorona. 1980

Hayes, Joe. “LA LLORONA – A HISPANIC LEGEND.” LA LLORONA – A HISPANIC LEGEND. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014. <http://www.literacynet.org/lp/hperspectives/llorona.html>.

Perez, Domino Renee, There Was a Woman: La Llorona from Folklore to Popular Culture