Haunted doll
{{Short description|Cursed or possessed doll}}
{{For|uses in fiction|Killer toy}}
File:Robert The Doll (5999680656).jpg]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
A haunted doll is a handmade or manufactured doll or stuffed toy that is claimed to be cursed or possessed in some way.
History
According to Linda Rodriguez McRobbie, the concept of malevolent dolls gained attention in the 20th century when film and entertainment technology was able to realistically portray "safely inanimate" dolls as "dangerously animate". McRobbie cites examples such as the 1936 film The Devil-Doll by Tod Browning, the Living Doll episode of the TV series Twilight Zone, the clown doll from the film Poltergeist, the Chucky doll featured in the Child's Play film franchise, as well as "B-movie variations on the homicidal doll theme" such as Dolly Dearest, Puppet Master, Demonic Toys, and Blood Dolls. More recently, a character based on the doll named Annabelle owned by Ed and Lorraine Warren has been featured in The Conjuring series of films.{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-creepy-dolls-180955916/|title=The History of Creepy Dolls|last=McRobbie|first=Linda Rodriguez|website=Smithsonian|language=en|access-date=2019-03-27}}
The popularity of films and entertainment about haunted dolls has resulted in the sale of dolls claimed to be haunted on eBay, Amazon, Etsy and many other sites. According to Katherine Carlson of The New Yorker, sales listings are often accompanied by claims of paranormal phenomena associated with the doll. Carlson wrote that such dolls bring with them a certain fascination that a regular doll does not, since "a haunted doll requires proof — or at least enough of a backstory that a prospective buyer can embrace the possibility of the supernatural".{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/rabbit-holes/ebay-fantastical-earnest-world-haunted-dolls|title=On eBay, a Fantastical, Earnest World of Haunted Dolls|last=Carlson|first=Katherine|date=2017-10-31|access-date=2019-04-10|magazine=The New Yorker}}
According to folklore professor Libby Tucker, "Ghost tours, ads for haunted hotels, and other monetary transactions build on preexisting beliefs and narratives. The fact that people buy and sell ghostly materials takes nothing away from these materials’ value for folklore researchers, which is considerable".{{Cite journal|last=Tucker|first=Libby|date=Fall 2009|title=Tiny Feet on the Stairs|url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/988e34e0c41436bee521db57df9b7bb3/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=26490|journal=Schenectady|volume=35|issue=3/4|pages=22|via=ProQuest}}
Notable haunted dolls
A number of supposedly haunted dolls have appeared in popular culture in recent years.{{cite book|author1=June Pulliam|author2=Anthony Fonseca|title=Ghosts in Popular Culture and Legend|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RUfpDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA83|date=26 September 2016|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-4408-3491-2|pages=83–}}
=Robert=
{{main article|Robert (doll)}}
Robert is a doll claimed to be possessed by spirits that is on display at the East Martello Museum in Key West, Florida, that was once owned by Key West painter and author Robert Eugene Otto.{{cite web|url=http://www.northjersey.com/travel/schensul-if-you-go-to-key-west-fla-beware-of-robert-the-doll-1.670857?page=all|title=Schensul: If you go to Key West, Fla., beware of Robert the Doll|author=Schensul, Jill|publisher=NorthJersey.com|date=12 January 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2013/11/18/robert_the_haunted_doll_creeping_out_floridians_since_1904.html|title=Robert the Haunted Doll: Creeping Out Floridians Since 1904|author=Ella Morton|publisher=Slate.com|date=18 November 2013}}
=Annabelle=
{{main article|Annabelle (doll)}}
Annabelle is a Raggedy Ann doll alleged by Ed and Lorraine Warren to be haunted{{cite web|url=http://www.aol.com/article/2014/10/28/the-story-behind-the-evil-and-dangerous-annabelle-doll/20985407/|title=The story behind the 'evil' and 'dangerous' Annabelle doll|author=Nancy Lynch|publisher=AOL|date=28 October 2014}} and displayed in The Warren's Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut, the United States. The doll served as the inspiration for the films The Conjuring and Annabelle.{{cite web|url=https://www.ibtimes.com/annabelle-true-story-9-freaky-facts-about-real-doll-haunting-ahead-movie-release-1698694|title='Annabelle' True Story: 9 Freaky Facts About The Real Doll Haunting Ahead Of Movie Release|author=Rebecka Schumann|work=International Business Times|date=2 October 2014}}
=Letta the Doll=
Kerry Walton, of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, has appeared on a number of television programs with a doll he claims to have found while visiting an abandoned building in 1972 in Wagga Wagga.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/mystery-behind-200-year-old-doll-from-hell/3098881/|title=Mystery surrounds 200-year-old 'haunted doll from hell'|last=Harris|first=Meghan|website=Chronicle|language=en|access-date=2019-04-01}} According to Walton, he named the doll "Letta Me Out" because of its supposedly supernatural characteristics. Walton claims that people have seen the doll move in front of them, and that the doll has left visible scuff marks around the house.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pedestrian.tv/entertainment/letta-me-out-cursed-australian-doll/|title=Meet 'Letta Me Out', An Extremely Haunted 200 Year Old Doll From Wagga|date=2018-09-07|website=Pedestrian TV|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-30}}
= Okiku =
According to modern Japanese folklore, in 1918, a teenager named Eikichi Suzuki purchased a large doll from Hokkaido for his younger sister, Okiku, who gave the doll her name. When Okiku died, her family came to believe that Okiku's spirit was inhabiting the doll and the hair on the doll was growing. The doll resides in Mannenji Temple in Hokkaido, where it is claimed that a priest regularly trims Okiku's still-growing hair.{{cite book|author=Catrien Ross|title=Japanese Ghost Stories: Spirits, Hauntings, and Paranormal Phenomena|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yYLQAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT82|date=30 August 2011|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|isbn=978-1-4629-0100-5|pages=82–}}
=Mandy=
Made in England or Germany between 1910 and 1920, Mandy is a porcelain baby doll donated to the Quesnel Museum in British Columbia in 1991 that is claimed to have supernatural powers: Mandy's eyes supposedly follow museum visitors. The doll has been featured on the Montel Williams Show.{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/10/31/haunted-doll-canada_a_23577068/|title=Canada Is Home To One Of The World's Most Famous Haunted Dolls|date=2018-10-31|website=HuffPost Canada|language=en|access-date=2019-03-30}}
=Pulau Ubin Barbie=
According to Singapore legend, Pulau Ubin Barbie is a Barbie doll displayed in a memorial temple said to have supernatural powers.{{Cite web|title = Worshippers offer cosmetics to Barbie doll at Pulau Ubin temple|url = http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%252BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20130329-412295.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130331234817/http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20130329-412295.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = 31 March 2013|website = AsiaOne|access-date = 23 November 2015|publisher = Singapore Press Holdings|date = 29 March 2013}}
='After Midnight' dolls=
Late night comedy panel show After Midnight features a haunted doll as a recurring prize.{{cite web |title=Taylor Tomlinson is riding high with a new Netflix special and a late-night TV show |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/02/29/1234762021/taylor-tomlinson-is-riding-high-with-a-new-netflix-special-and-a-late-night-tv-s |website=www.npr.org |publisher=National Public Radio, Morning Edition |access-date=24 May 2024}}
=Fofão=
Sold in Brazil in the late 1980s, the doll was based on the children's show character of the same name. They became the target of urban legends claiming that they had a knife or dagger inside their bodies used for rituals and to curse children.{{Cite web|url=https://super.abril.com.br/mundo-estranho/o-homem-que-criou-a-maldicao-do-fofao/|title=O homem que criou "a maldição do Fofão"|website=Super}}
=Xuxa=
Similar to Fofão, also sold in the late 80s and based on children's show host Xuxa. One of the dolls became the target of a rumor claiming it had been possessed by the devil and had killed a child even being reported in a newspaper.{{Cite web|url=https://aventurasnahistoria.com.br/noticias/reportagem/xuxa-e-lenda-da-boneca-possuida-que-assombrou-sorocaba.phtml|title=Xuxa e a lenda da boneca possuída que assombrou Sorocaba|website=Aventuras na História}}
See also
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- [https://www.academia.edu/3672405/An_Examination_of_Ancient_Greek_and_Roman_Witches_throughout_Literature An Examination of Ancient Greek and Roman Witches throughout Literature]
- [http://academics.smcvt.edu/africanart2/Thomas/Vodou/origins2.htm History of Bocio Dolls] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325003559/http://academics.smcvt.edu/africanart2/Thomas/Vodou/origins2.htm |date=25 March 2015 }}
{{Urban legends}}
{{Dolls}}