Dolls are supposed to be soft, cute and cuddleable. Most are, but there are some dolls you might want to stay away from, especially if they are haunted! Apparently haunted dolls are not just fictional props used in movies to scare audiences. No, these little toys of terror have a sinister history and some are still around today. How can a doll become possessed you ask? And how much harm can they really do? I dug up some history on some of the more famous haunted dolls. You won’t believe what I found!
First of all, have you seen the movie “The Conjuring“? If not, go rent it immediately. If you have seen it, do you remember the doll named Annabelle? She was that creepy doll that became possessed by an evil spirit. I was hesitant to see this movie when I heard it was about a child’s doll that becomes possessed. I immediately thought, “another Chuckie”? (I loved Child’s Play as a kid but didn’t think I’d be interested in another movie about toy possession.) I was pleasantly surprised the doll was only an element in the movie, yet it was very effective! After watching The Conjuring, I can honestly say it is one of the best horror movies that was released this decade and the story of Annabelle the doll intrigued me so I decided to do a little research.
Well here goes…the creepiest part of the movie. Annabelle is real. She is a real doll that Ed and Lorraine Warren (real life demonologists) kept in their museum of spooky artifacts. In fact it resides there today locked away in a case. The movie doll looks really scary (I can’t imagine any child that would even want it in their room). But the real Annabelle is actually a large Raggedy Ann doll. It’s original owners, a couple of college girls, noticed that the doll seemed to be moving around alot…by itself! If they left it in the bedroom, they’d come home and find it on the living room couch. Then they started finding little notes written on parchment paper with messages like “Help Us”. These strange occurrences escalated in frequency. After the girls found what looked like blood on the dolls hands, they hired a medium to help them figure out what the hell was going on. Apparently a little girl named Annabelle Higgins had died in a field where they lived. Her spirit had somehow attached itself to this doll. A friend of the girls, a guy named Lou, was attacked by something causing weird claw marks that burned on his flesh. The girls turned to a priest for help, who in turn referred them to the Warrens. Their verdict? A demon had attached itself to this doll. It didn’t possess the doll, because only people can be possessed. Instead, this spirit was manipulating the doll but was really after the girls souls. Ed Warren took that doll and locked it away where it couldn’t hurt anyone (we hope). In fact they are making a spin-off of The Conjuring called “Annabelle”. Click here for an interview with Lorraine Warren as she takes you through her museum of horrors. Around the 2 minute mark, you will see the real Annabelle doll. Watch Annabelle’s story here. Haunted Dolls #2- Annabelle
There is another doll that is supposedly the most haunted doll in America. It’s name? Robert the Doll. He has his own wikipedia link. Long story short, a Key West painter was given this doll in 1906 by a Bahamian servant, skilled in black magic and voodoo. Well as you can imagine bad things started to happen…things like the doll began blinking, moving around, even speaking. When the home passed ownership to a new family, the doll was rediscovered in the attic. The 10-year-old girl who lived there claimed the doll tried to kill her. It was the inspiration for the Chucky doll from the movie Child’s Play. Robert the Doll is now part of the ghost tours in Key West, Florida. Read more about him here. Haunted Dolls #1- Robert The Doll
You think that’s all? No way we have only begun. I found some links that introduce some more terrifying dolls that exist out there. Watch them, if you dare! I hope this article didn’t give you pediophobia, the fear of dolls. However, it may make you think twice about cuddling up to that little doll looking so innocent in the corner of your room!
It’s odd that something that was created to comfort children and entertain them has been turned into an instrument of evil. Maybe that’s the real horror about these dolls – Even something designed to comfort you is actually the exact opposite.