Haunted Dolls: An Overview
Written by Andrew Hagerty
So while during an investigation we came across a doll that may have had an attachment. Now we have had objects with attachment before, but this was the first doll I came across that looked like it was a possibility. Shortly thereafter we had several more cases where a doll was the focus of some suspicious activity.
Naturally I delved into research. I was of course skeptical of the whole phenomenon, though dolls are totally creepy to me. I was amazed at the wealth of information out there on the subject. There are many listings on Ebay for Haunted dolls. Now I have no idea why you would want to buy a doll that is supposedly haunted. Many of my clients will tell you that paranormal activity in the home is not really all that great. To knowing bringing in unsettled spirits is a recipe for much unpleasantness. Of course many of these stories and claims are unsupported. However some are supported by many witnesses or at least some very creditable witnesses.
During my research I came across numerous haunted Doll stories. I also came across several famous cases. There is even a Haunted Doll Museum located online. I found an Isle of dolls in Mexico who where placed there due to the commands of a drowned little girl. There are haunted Voodoo dolls, and devil baby dolls. The really creepy ones are the old style Porcelain dolls with the painted on faces. One thing for sure is that form some reason dolls attract spirits.
One of the more famous cases I came across was Annabelle, the haunted Raggedy Ann doll. I covered that case in detail on another post here. But the jist of it was that a non human entity wanted to use the doll to gain trust and entrance into the owners home. There is also Robert the Doll, who I will cover in more detail in a future post on the site along with many, many others. Robert seemed to slowly come alive over the course of his owners childhood, and seems to still be active. The dolls I will go into details on all have one thing in common. They have been handled by paranormal investigators or have been seen by many witnesses. So I will take the professional’s opinions as valid. Also most of the stories of this caliber seem to have the doll currently residing in a museum.
Of the others, the unsubstantiated stores of haunted dolls, there are many common details. Dolls have been around for centuries. Every culture seems to create these little imitations of humans and all seem to do so for the same purpose: to provide companionship, entertainment and comfort to our children. The University of Washington's developmental psychologist Stephanie Carlson thinks imaginary friends can be a positive experience for children. She says, "There's a certain amount of control over a relationship with an imaginary friend that you don't have with a real friend. It's a practice ground". It is also believed that negative companions can help children work out conflicts. Carlson also says, "These are not all smooth interactions, but can still be useful and functional in development, even if they're not all friendly". I wonder could this apply to dolls as well? Do we unintentionally fill them with a life force? Could a haunted human hair doll spark a ghostly connection to the
long dead donor. Many of the claims appear to be the dolls teleport around, move on their own, wink at them, make faces and sometimes even speak. Many of the claims are from dolls that first had a child that loved them and treated them as real. They were the child’s companion. This belief allowed something to inhabit the doll. Another common claim is that the spirit of the child inhabits the doll after demise, especially of the child died young and unexpectedly. Sometimes something else uses the doll to get attention to it’s self.
Many times people run into this phenomenon then they buy an antique doll at a garage sale or online. Obviously if someone is selling a valuable doll really cheap, your spidey sense should go off. Of course some dolls do “go dormant” when owned by people, only to reawake after they receive new owners. No one is sure why this may be. If you do by a doll and within a year or so, things start to get unnerving, one of the easiest things you can do is remove the doll from the property. Although it sometimes takes a while for the spirit in the doll to get enough energy to interact with it’s surroundings, it cannot interact with the house if it is not there. You don’t have to get rid of the doll at this point, and please don’t sell it off to some unsuspecting person. If the activity suddenly stops at the house, you can assume it is related to the doll and then
take steps to resolve the issue. Of course the same can be said of any antique, but the focus of this article is dolls.
If your doll is haunted, is that a problem? The answer is definitely maybe. If you believe the doll is inhabited, you should contact a paranormal team, a member of clergy (or spiritualist) to check it out. Personally (my dislike for dolls) I would seek to remove it from the home by donating it to a regular or paranormal museum if an attachment can be proven. If it is a doll you just must have, get it blessed to remove the entity. Remember it may be acting cute now, and may turn out to be something deeper and darker. It may also innocent of mal intent. It very well could be a be a spirit of a human child that didn’t cross over. In that case the right thing to do is help it cross over.
If anyone in the readership believes they have a haunted doll, I would love to hear your story. Email me at Andy@nightwatchparanormal.com. Feel free to also comment below on your feeling on this subject. You can always contact us if you need support in these matters.
The world is for the living. The dead had their time, no matter how short that time may have been. If is a non human spirit, it doesn’t really need to be in your house. I avoid the situations by not having old creepy dolls. I even look at stuffed animals with suspicion. I’m a guy, so it is easier for me anyway. Well, except my one armed Raggety Andy. He is cool, we go way back, to my actual crib days. He has hung around in my stuff my entire life, so I give him a pass. He is also not creepy. Unless you ask my wife.
