Robert the Doll

Dolls often appear in horror stories and films alike and have featured in many nightmares over the years. They sit in that uncanny valley of being inanimate objects that look human, yet aren't. Stories of possessed dolls are everywhere and as with any superstition it gains a certain amount of credibility when there are several accounts. The fact that many childrens dolls were made with the childs own hair and sometimes even teeth does little to make them less frightening. Today's post is about Robert the Doll, an old doll that caught my attention originally because the Chucky films are rumoured to have been based on him.

Robert was made in around 1900 and is dressed as an American Naval officer, hat and all. He was given to a young Eugene Otto in 1906 by the families Bahemian servant who was skilled in black magic and voodoo. Black magic and voodoo is something that crops up in many possessed dolls stories, with a 'soul stone' or 'soul crystal' being placed inside the doll to give it a soul of its own and some intelligence.

It soon became clear that something was amiss. Eugenes parents often heard him talking to the doll, and the doll talking back. At first they thought he was just pretending and putting on a different voice to reply with, but over time even they came to believe that the doll was speaking of its own accord.

Robert was often spotted running from room to room, or hovering in the corners of peoples vision only to vanish when they looked. Footsteps were heard as well as a sinister giggling from no discernible source. Neighbours reported seeing him in the windows of the house, moving from room to room to appear in different windows when they looked away.

Often in the night Eugene's parents would wake to hear him screaming and would find furniture tipped over and items scattered around the room with Eugene swearing Robert did it. By the time Eugene died some say that Robert's face had become more expressive, especially the eyes, and guests reported his face sometimes changing before their very eyes.

After his death in 1974 the house remained empty for some time until a new family moved in, and their ten year old daughter took Robert for her own. The mysterious happenings didn't stop however and it didn't take long before the girl woke in the night to find Robert moving objects. On several occasions she even swore that he'd attacked her when she'd tried to raise the alarm, something she held to for the rest of her life.

After being moved from the house Robert is kept at the East Marcello Museum. Since Robert arrived museum Staff have reported strange noises, and  visitors have witnessed his expression turn to a menacing smirk and his toy lion moving places while they look away. One time a visitor fled the museum, swearing he heard giggling coming from the doll.

Camera malfunctions seem to also be a common occurrence, photos coming out blurred or distorted or even simply being blacked out. Digital cameras have had files corrupted and had troubles turning on or off, again due to the electromagnetism possibly related to the haunting.

It is believed that if you wish to take Robert's photo you need to ask politely, and if he tilts his head to one side it means no. If you still persist and take a photo then bad luck will follow you, as might Robert...


Spooky stuff...