The boat ride starts off like any other through the ancient canals of Xochimilco. There's laughter in the distance, floating mariachi music, and the occasional splash of an oar. But then your trajinera turns away from the main path. The air gets still. The water darkens. The laughter fades. You're no longer headed toward a party—you’re heading into a ghost story.

Every year on December 23rd, while the rest of the world is busy wrapping presents and scrambling for last-minute shopping, something wonderfully weird takes over the central square of Oaxaca City. It's called La Noche de los Rábanos — the Night of the Radishes — and it’s exactly what it sounds like… only way stranger.