Mandy, Robert, Annabelle… are some of the most famous haunted dolls in the world. They are considered to be dolls possessed by malevolent spirits, bringing misfortune or casting curses on their owners.
Top 10 Most Haunted Dolls of All Time
As a child, every girl likely owned at least one beautiful doll, which she cherished and kept close, even while sleeping. However, have you ever encountered a doll that seems to have a strange desire to possess your soul and body or disrupt the items in your home?
Let’s take a look at some terrifying haunted dolls that you would never want to own, according to the dedicated site Mentafloss below.
1. Mandy Doll
The story began in 1991 when a woman named Mereanda donated this doll to the Quesnel Museum in British Columbia, Canada. She recounted that one night, she was awakened by strange crying sounds coming from the basement.
When she went down to check, she found a window wide open, with an old doll sitting there staring at her. Terrified, she donated the doll to the museum the next morning, where it was named Mandy.
Image of Mandy Doll
Mandy is a doll produced in England or Germany in 1910 or 1920. Now, its clothing is tattered and old, and its face is cracked. When brought to the museum, many believed that Mandy was just a regular doll, but soon after, strange occurrences began to unfold.
Firstly, museum staff found their lunches missing even though they had stored them securely in a cabinet. After searching everywhere, they eventually found them in a small drawer.
Strangely, many other staff possessions also “vanished without a trace.” Each night, the museum guard reported hearing footsteps moving around the room, yet no one was ever seen.
Amid existing suspicions, an investigation into the origins of Mandy Doll began. However, no one knew where Mandy came from or how it was created. It seems that this doll possesses an unusual power that has accumulated over many years.
Initially, Mandy was placed right at the entrance. The cracks on its face, combined with its smile and mysterious gaze, made many feel uneasy. Eventually, Mandy was moved to a separate room.
However, for unknown reasons, many people who came to film or take pictures of Mandy found all their shots obscured by a strange light, and after about five seconds, all cameras would shut off automatically. In other rooms of the museum, these cameras operated normally.
Some visitors reported feeling as if they were being watched during their visit. Occasionally, they claimed to see Mandy’s eyes blink at them, and many witnessed the doll moving to a different position only to return to its original spot in the blink of an eye.
2. The Legend of Robert the Doll
When it comes to haunted dolls, Robert the Doll from the United States is considered the most famous. Robert inspired filmmakers to create the terrifying doll character Chucky in the popular film “Child’s Play“.
Robert belonged to his owner, Robert Eugene Otto. In 1906, a Bahamian maid handmade a doll about 36 inches tall as a gift for young Eugene. Many believe that the maid cursed the toy after Robert’s parents expressed their displeasure toward her. Shortly after she left, mysterious events began to occur, causing trouble for the Otto family.
Robert named the doll after himself and loved talking to it, with some claiming that the doll responded in a voice. They also reported that the toy could change its facial expressions at will and could move to its own private space.
Neighbors claimed to have seen the doll moving from one window to another while the Otto family was away. Family members heard eerie giggles coming from the toy.
Robert caused many strange incidents during the day, but at night he focused on “playing” with Eugene Robert. Items in the house would break or disappear; glass and silverware in the dining room would fall and shatter; clothing would tear on its own; and bedding would mysteriously crumple and become disheveled.
Eugene Robert suddenly began to weaken and became increasingly peculiar. Every night, he would sneak out through the window and wander the night. As his parents began to notice and complain, they realized something was amiss. Eugene constantly said, “Robert did it!” Soon, people began to speculate that it was indeed Robert who was causing these issues.
Gradually, bizarre stories continued to unfold, with Eugene Robert’s family members passing away under suspicious circumstances. Even when Eugene got married, strange events persisted.
From the time he got married, Eugene had agreed with his wife that Robert should always be kept near them. However, disaster struck, as Robert seemed determined to keep Eugene to himself. Shortly after their wedding, Eugene’s wife suddenly went insane and died under mysterious circumstances.
When Eugene passed away, Robert was transferred to a new owner. This new owner also could not escape the haunting disturbances of Robert. Terrified, the new owner quickly left, and Robert was returned to the Martello Museum in Key West.
Even when placed in the museum, many reported that the doll would curse anyone who took its photo without permission. If Robert agreed, he would slightly tilt his head to show consent. Visitors who forgot this had to return to ask for forgiveness, as their cameras mysteriously malfunctioned afterward.
3. Annabelle Doll
In 1970, a woman passing through a thrift store discovered the lovely Annabelle doll and bought it for her daughter as a gift. The daughter adored Annabelle and placed it on her bedside table.
However, shortly after, strange phenomena began to occur. The doll could move through rooms without anyone touching it. Old pieces of parchment also appeared with scrawled messages from a child. On some days, the doll was even seen standing upright on its fabric legs…
Terrified, the girl sought the help of a medium to explain the bizarre occurrences and learned that the Annabelle doll contained the spirit of a girl who had died during the construction of the house. This spirit expressed a desire to stay because she liked her current owner.
The entire family agreed to keep the doll in their home. However, the strange occurrences only intensified. A male friend who visited was attacked by the doll, leaving deep scratches on his stomach and chest.
The girl decided to contact two famous psychics. This psychic couple revealed that the spirit inside was not that of a little girl, but rather a demon that enjoyed lying to get close to girls in order to possess their souls.
Terrified, Annabelle’s owner later donated the doll to the Warren Occult Museum, located in Moodus, East Haddam, Connecticut, USA, where it is kept safe by the staff.
4. Patty Reed Doll
The doll of 8-year-old Patty Reed was part of a journey to California in 1846 with her family, during which the group encountered a sudden snowstorm that forced them to eat anything from animal skins, fur, and even resort to cannibalism to survive.
During their trek, little Patty was asked to leave behind unnecessary items to lighten the load, but she insisted on keeping her doll. Fortunately, both the doll and Patty’s family were saved later on.
Today, the Patty Doll is on display at the Sutter’s Fort State Historical Park in Sacramento, California. It is rumored that the doll is haunted due to witnessing the horrific acts of cannibalism during that fateful journey.
5. Voodoo Zombie Doll
The Voodoo Zombie Doll originated from New Orleans and was sold on eBay to a woman in Galveston, Texas. The eBay listing included strict rules for the owner: Do not remove it from the tightly pinned silver plate. However, the woman broke the rule and faced severe consequences.
The woman claimed to be haunted by the doll every night; it would invade her dreams and attack her. Unable to endure the mental torment from the haunted doll, she resold it on eBay. Most recently, it came into the possession of a ghost hunter hoping to unravel the mystery surrounding the Voodoo Zombie Doll.
6. Joliet Doll
This inherited doll is a haunted item that has become a subject of Hollywood lore, yet it is very real. Anna owns the doll named Joliet, which was passed down from her great-grandmother.
For four generations, the women in her family have been cursed. Each of them gave birth to two children, one boy and one girl, but the boy always died mysteriously at just three days old.
Anna stated that the Joliet doll was given to her great-grandmother by an enemy while she was pregnant. Shortly after, her son died under unexplained circumstances at three days old.
Not only that, but every night in Anna’s house, there are often giggles followed by blood-curdling screams. They believe these are the cries of the children cursed by the haunted doll over the years.
7. Devil Baby Doll
The story dates back to the 1800s when a wealthy girl married a Scottish man. Her jealous ex-lover sought revenge. He turned to a powerful voodoo priestess named Marie Laveau for help.
Laveau cursed the young bride, causing her to die shortly after giving birth to a horrifying child. It was said to be a descendant of Satan, sporting two horns on its forehead. Laveau took the child home and raised it until her death. When the child passed away, it was buried next to Laveau’s grave in St. Louis Cemetery.
The people of New Orleans feared the Devil Baby. It was said to lurk in the shadows and alleyways, wreaking havoc on anyone who crossed its path. To protect themselves, villagers carved images of the Satan child using pumpkins and hung them outside their doors to ward off the Devil. One of the dolls still exists today but has gone missing.
Artist Ricardo Pustiano, who lived in the 20th century, purchased all these dolls and produced multiple versions for sale. His customers claimed that the dolls often seemed to watch them sneakily, leading to warnings that the doll was haunted and that a demon resided within.
8. Pulau Ubin Babies Doll
The Babies Doll only becomes frightening when the ghost of a young girl requests to be purchased from beneath her grave.
During World War I, the British invaded many colonies around the world and apprehended a German couple in Singapore in 1914 on suspicion of espionage. They were captured, but their daughter managed to escape and fell into a ravine. A small shrine was built by locals in Pulau Ubin to honor the poor girl.
In 2007, a man was haunted for three consecutive nights by a young girl in his dreams, who insisted on taking him to a toy store to buy a Babies Doll. After the third night, he went to the store and found the exact doll he had seen in his dreams.
He purchased the doll and placed it on the young girl’s grave. Since then, visitors to her grave have brought small items like perfume and lipstick as offerings to her spirit, hoping to bring peace to her soul in the afterlife.
9. Victorian Mourning Doll
This doll dates back over 150 years to the Victorian era, a time when child mortality was high. By the end of the 19th century, owning a mourning doll and placing it next to a deceased child was common.
These dolls were typically made from wax, with hair sourced from the deceased child. They were also dressed in the clothing of that child, and people would mourn over them as if they were real. While not necessarily haunted, the fact that they represented dead children and were made with real hair remains deeply unsettling.
10. Peggy Doll
Peggy is a famous haunted doll in England, owned by paranormal researcher Jayne Harris, who leads a small organization called Haunted Doll. The previous owner of the doll was a woman who, terrified by what it brought, passed it on to Jayne.
Peggy is said to have the power to manipulate people’s dreams, warning or haunting them. Psychics who have studied this doll believe it is connected to the Holocaust, while Jayne believes the spirit within the doll died from respiratory issues, possibly from toxic gas.
In 2015, Peggy caused a media stir due to an article written about her. Approximately 80 readers reported having terrible experiences after seeing the doll’s picture. Some exhibited signs of nausea, while others became panic-stricken. Jayne requested that the doll no longer harm people, but it seemed ineffective. After encountering her, a woman even died of a heart attack.
Unresolved Mysteries
Despite investigations by scientists into all three cases, the questions remain unresolved. Researcher Joshua P. Warren believes there is a source of energy surrounding these dolls.
It seems that within each doll lies a real person. While some suspicions have been pointed out, the mystery of these haunted dolls remains an open question.
