Haunted doll

Early history

The earliest haunted dolls were poppets, effigies and voodoo objects which were created by early peoples for either religious or ceremonial purposes. These traditional objects were later acquired by various civilizations for mystical purposes or the occult. In Rome dolls were used quite often in magical rituals to represent a connection to a god or goddess. Egyptian priests and magicians often used poppets for ceremonial purposes, to rid the body of evil or to place curses on those who went against the will of the Gods.

Poppets have historically been used to place curses on other members of a community for religious or traditional purposes. Some of the earliest effigies were used by African, Native American, and European cultures. The European poppet has its roots in early Germanic and Scandinavian tribes which used them for ceremonial purposes. Modern day Wiccans have adapted this practice for their own uses. Most Wiccans use a poppet as a symbolic representation of a person. Spells and other actions are performed on the poppet to transfer whatever might be affecting the targeted individual out of their body in something like a healing ritual. The nkisi or bocio are traditional effigy-like dolls of West and Central Africa. These dolls were often used in specific ceremonies but could also be used in healing rituals or to bind evil spirits. Voodoo dolls are fairly modern a novelty items. Their concept is thought to be based on European poppet dolls.

Famous haunted dolls

Although haunted dolls or cursed objects in general have a long history it is only within the last few hundred years that people have started cataloging specific haunted dolls. These are some haunted dolls which have widely been recognized as being haunted by the paranormal community.

Robert

Robert is a doll that was once owned by Key West painter and author Robert Eugene Otto. The doll is alleged to be possessed by spirits, and was the inspiration for Chucky, the doll in the 1988 horror film Child's Play.

Supposedly, Otto was given the doll in 1906 by a Bahamian servant who was skilled in black magic and voodoo and was displeased with the family. The doll is currently located at the East Martello Museum in Key West, Florida.

Annabelle

Annabelle is an allegedly haunted rag doll residing in The Warren's Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut. The doll served as the inspiration for the films The Conjuring and Annabelle.

Letta the Gypsy Doll

In 1972, Kerry Walton decided to face a childhood fear by visiting an abandoned building that had scared him for years. While there, he discovered an old marionette underneath the porch. He decided to take it home with him, and he still owns it to this day. Some people believe that the doll was made two hundred years ago by a Romanian gypsy for his son who had drowned. It is believed that the soul of the gypsy's son now lives in this doll. The doll was given the name Letta, or Ledda, due to his European gypsy heritage. The doll is rumored to move on its own at times; change positions while seated; and is said to emit a pulse while held. It has been reported that it rains whenever the doll is taken outside. Supposedly, hanging pictures slide off the wall when the doll enters a room. The doll has real human hair. Animals often try to attack the doll whenever they come into contact with it. People have said they feel fear or sadness when they see the doll.

Voodoo Zombie Doll

The voodoo zombie doll was originally made in New Orleans, and sold through eBay to a woman in Galveston, Texas, in 2004. The original eBay seller's advertisement stated that the doll was "very active" and "almost alive." The doll arrived in a metal box and included a list of rules to follow while owning it, mainly to not remove it from its box. The woman did not follow the most important rule and removed it from its silver casing. The woman claimed that the doll repeatedly attacked her. After removing the doll, the woman claims that it haunted her dreams and that it would attack her repeatedly. She re-listed it on eBay many times. However, each time she managed to sell the doll, the new buyer would receive an empty box on their doorstep. Meanwhile, the doll would keep reappearing in her house like it had never been shipped in the first place. Many years later, she was finally able to pass it off to a ghost hunter, who still owns it to this day.

Devil Baby Doll

In the 1800s, a daughter from a wealthy family married a wealthy Scotsman. This angered a jealous lover who sought revenge on the bride. The ex-lover asked the Queen of Voodoo, Marie Laveau, to help her make her ex-lover pay for what she had done. Laveau cast a powerful curse on the newlywed bride, who ended up dying while giving birth to her first child. Before the newlywed died, she gave birth to a horrible creature that resembled the lord of the underworld himself. Laveau reportedly brought the baby home and cared for it like it was her own child up until her death. The baby died shortly after Laveau died and was buried next to her in the local cemetery. When the baby was still alive, it is rumored that it would hide in the dark places of the city and attack anyone unfortunate enough to come upon it. The locals would carve fake likeness of the entity out of gourds and hang them outside their homes to scare it away. It is said that some of these dolls are still around today. It is rare to find one and they are highly coveted by historical object collectors. New versions of the Devil Baby dolls began appearing around New Orleans in the early 20th century. Many people who have purchased these dolls claim that they are evil. Some people say that the eyes of the dolls follow their owners across the room. Others claim that the dolls speak and move around on their own. Newer versions of the doll come with a warning label that inform their owners that they are haunted and prone to cause trouble.

Pupa

In the 1920s Pupa was made to resemble its female Italian owner. It was often dressed to look like her. Its hair was crafted from locks of its owner's real hair. Pupa’s owner often claimed that the doll would speak to her. She insisted until the day she died that pupa was a living entity. Her family often noted that Pupa looked alive in the pictures they took of her. Sometimes it was even hard to distinguish Pupa from her owner in the pictures. When the owner died in early 2005, the family put Pupa in a glass case. However, Pupa doesn't always like being locked in the case. She periodically changes positions. There has been a few times where she has managed to get out. She moves items around in her display case when she feels restless. Pupa's facial expression often changes when observed for a period of time. One time Pupa knocks or bangs on the glass case she is in because she is lonely.

Mandy

Made in England or Germany between 1910 and 1920, Mandy is a porcelain baby doll. She was owned for many years by a woman who claimed that she would hear the doll crying from the basement she was kept in, in the middle of the night. The woman later donated Mandy to the Quesnel Museum in British Columbia in 1991. At the museum, Mandy continues to cause mischief for the employees. People claim that lunches and other items often go missing. The items usually turn up elsewhere in the building. Footsteps are heard when no one is around. The museum staff claims that Mandy couldn't be displayed with other dolls because she had a tendency to knock other dolls over or mess up the area she is displayed in. For this reason, Mandy has her own display case far away from the other dolls in the exhibit. Visitors to the museum say her eyes will blink or follow you wherever you walk. It is hard to photograph her as she likes to mess with video or camera equipment. As a result, many pictures taken of her do not come out.

Pulau Ubin Barbie

In 1914, the British army investigated a German couple living in Pulau Ubin, Singapore as possible spies. The wife and husband were chased down and apprehended by the army but their young daughter managed to escape. Unfortunately, she lost her footing and plummeted off of a cliff. She did not survive the fall. The locals constructed a monument to honor her memory in Pulau Ubin. The porcelain altar is said to contain a lock of the girl’s hair and a personalized crucifix. Shortly after the monument was built, a man from Pulau Ubin had a dream about a little girl leading him to a specific toy store. In the dream she pointed at a Barbie doll that was put up for display in the store window. The man had the same dream three nights in a row. Eventually this compelled him to visit the store he kept seeing in his dreams. To his surprise he saw the doll that the girl had pointed out in his dream was displayed in the same window. He purchased the doll and placed it at the shrine in the place of an urn. At that moment he felt that the spirit of the girl transferred to the doll and finally found peace. Today local people and tourists from all around the world visit the doll. They bring items to the shrine in hopes that the spirit of the girl will grant them health or fortune.

Commercial value

Haunted dolls are listed for sale on sites like Craigslist and eBay. There are also standalone haunted doll purchasing websites, and sites dedicated to the "adoption" of haunted dolls which allow community members to list haunted dolls and trade them with other members. Haunted dolls are often collected to take on tour as part of cursed object exhibitions. More recently, people have started making YouTube channels about their haunted dolls. There are people who also record the so-called paranormal activity of the haunted dolls they collect and put them online for other people to see.