In Ecuador, people spin tales of the one-legged protector of the Andes, La Patasola, a beautiful woman who leads unsuspecting men to their doom for damaging the environment. In Mexico, there is La Llorona, a grieving specter ready to steal your children out of grief at losing her own. In the mountains of Germany, witches still maintain a presence—except it’s more kitschy than scary. What these “monsters” have in common is that they are all female, and they all simultaneously exalt feminine power and represent the fear that it engenders….
