Haunted Dolls | Robert The Doll

Did you know that a simple, innocent-looking doll could house a spirit? Brace yourself for a nerve-wracking journey through a world where toys are more than just playthings. Today, we pull back the curtain on the eerie phenomena of haunted and possessed dolls, diving head-first into chilling tales that'll give you goosebumps. From Okiku, a century-old doll believed to house a young girl's spirit, to the infamous Annabelle, Letta, and Sir Robert, we don't hold back on the spooky details.

As we peel away layers of mystery, we explore the fascination around malevolent dolls in media and entertainment, and the curious Internet bazaar selling reportedly haunted dolls! But beware, these dolls aren't always innocent as they seem. Remember Robert the Doll? Gifted to a boy in 1904, he's believed to be the world's most haunted doll and has a disturbing backstory that would send shivers down your spine. From paranormal activities to health issues, flat tires, and malfunctioning equipment, visitors around Robert have experienced it all.

To top it all off, we're inviting you to share your paranormal adventures. Ever had a brush with the otherworldly? We're all ears! In future episodes, we plan to spotlight your creepiest, most gut-wrenching tales. Whether you're a seasoned listener or a first-time guest in our paranormal parlor, we're absolutely thrilled to have you here. So, get those headphones on, and get ready for a roller-coaster ride through the uncanny world of haunted dolls.

Instagram & TikTok @morguewithmorg

Transcript

Haunted and Possessed Dolls

Speaker 2 0:22

Hi , horror babes . This is the Philly Horror Gal podcast where we talk all things from power normal to true crime and everything spooky horror related in between . I'm your host , morgan Taylor . I am a youtuber , makeup artist and horror connoisseur . I was born and raised in Philly and this is episode number two . We're gonna be talking about haunted , possessed dolls and we're gonna be talking about one doll in particular . I was gonna talk about two dolls today , but I think one will be good enough . Maybe in another episode I'll talk about another , this other one , but yeah , this whole topic creeps me the fuck out . Like I'm not even gonna lie , I have the heebie jeebies even just thinking of this concept . It is insane . I get creeped out just even thinking about this . If you guys haven't watched my first episode , I highly recommend it .

Speaker 2 1:08

I get into my childhood home and the reason why I am such a believer in power normal and there was dolls in that story . So definitely go listen to that . That was episode number one , so I am so excited we are on episode number two . It is almost like October is pretty much almost done at this point and it is insane to me . I can't even fathom that . Like how quick it went by and I love October , like I live for October and it's already done . But that's why I love this podcast , because this podcast it's gonna be October all year long , you know . I mean like we're not just doing October and October . We're gonna do October in December , we're gonna do October in January , we're gonna do October in freaking June . You know I'm saying there is no end . Okay , that is why I love this time , though I feel like it just kind of fuels my energy even more .

Speaker 2 1:53

In today's episode we're gonna be talking all about haunted possessed dolls , the origins , and one doll in particular Sir Robert . Sir Robert , he is one of the most haunted dolls in the world . Yes , more haunted than Annabelle , right , but before I get into him , I wanted to google the origins of where this idea came about , because obviously , like we've seen so many horror films that involve creepy haunted possessed dolls , the origins I , when I google Arjun's haunted doll , arjun , this actually popped up on the top . So it says , according to modern Japanese folklore , in 1918 , a teenager name and I'm sorry if I mispronouncing this person's name , ikechi Suzuki , purchased a large doll from Hikato for his younger sister , okiku . He gave the doll her name . When Okiku died , her family came to believe that Okiku yeah , okiku , her spirit was inhabiting the doll and the hair on the doll was actually growing . So that is pretty creepy . That is absolutely scary and horrifying . But I mean , I guess it's . She was so attached to the doll . She's like this is my doll , I'm in this doll and yeah , so my hair is gonna keep growing .

Speaker 2 3:06

You go to Wikipedia . They have on the bottom notable haunted dolls and of course they mention Sir Robert , the top one . We have Annabelle and Letta the doll , which I was reading about . But Okiku is down here and it says that the doll resides in Manji Temple in Haikai-do , where it's claimed that the priest regularly trims Okiku's still growing hair . That is insane . That's crazy . Like it missh gets her hair cut . You know what I'm saying ? So yeah , I mean pretty wild . So there is plenty of haunted dolls .

Speaker 2 3:44

I actually am dying to go to the Ed and Lorraine Museum , the occult museum , which is very like . Before you can even enter it you have to have like a blessing before and there's like rules and stuff like that and it's pretty crazy , you know , and they say you're not like allowed to take photos , or I believe it's also with Robert the doll , too , you're not allowed to take photos . We'll get into that later in this episode . But there is like rules to these things , like because that's how dangerous these items are . And I would also love to go see Zach Beggin's Museum in Vegas . He has a whole haunted museum and it's like the same concept . It's all haunted artifacts and you have to be very careful . I don't think it allows you to take photos either . I mean , there's reasons for it , but it's honestly one of those things that you really make you wonder , like this is serious stuff . You know this is very serious stuff .

Speaker 2 4:38

All right , I was curious to see , like , the history of the haunted doll . So haunted doll is a handmade or manufactured doll or stuffed animal that is claimed to be cursed or possessed in some way , which obviously you know . I believe that the spirits of somebody who once owned this object , if they were so attached to it and it's just an item they were really attached to so their energy is like latched onto it , and I do believe in energy . I am a huge believer in all that stuff . To me , I can see that . But then there's also something more sinister with dolls that are possessed per se , because that's actually what they are . They're not just a spirit of somebody who once was attached to the doll , like in O'Kiku situation , where it is just her spirit and , you know , maybe nothing malevolent or bad . I don't know much about that story , so don't like , shoot me if you're like that's just entirely wrong . But with Annabelle , for example , there's a malevolent spirit attached to this doll and it portrays themselves as something maybe not malevolent , you know , something innocent . It's not . So . I mean , I do believe that when there's demonic possession attached to an item , I believe that that's like it uses it as a host before it can get to get to an actual human . So I mean , that's where things get really dark and it's pretty scary .

Haunted Dolls

Speaker 2 6:10

But we're , in this episode , going to be talking all about Robert the Doll . Yeah , before we get into Robert , though history , 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 adamant . So McRobbie Sites . So McRobbie is Linda Rodriguez McRobbie , so McRobbie Sites . Examples such as the 1936 film the Devil Doll by Todd Browning , the living doll episode of the TV series Twilight Zone , the clown doll from the Pulchergeist and Chucky the Chucky Doll featured in Child's Play from the film franchise , as well as B movie variations of the homicidal doll theme , such as Dolly Dearest , the Monarch 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 films .

Speaker 2 7:11

So 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 more sites . According to Catherine Carlson , the New Yorker sales listings are often accompanied by claims of paranormal phenomenon 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 . Folklore Professor Libby Tucker goes tours . Ads for haunted hotels and other monetary transactions build on pre-existing beliefs and narratives . The fact that people buy and sell ghostly materials takes nothing away from these materials values , but folklore researchers , which is considerable . So , yeah , a lot of people believe that sometimes these stories that's all . They are just stories just for hyping something up and bringing money in or , you know , tourist attraction . So I mean , I do think there is validity , though , to these stories .

Speaker 2 8:28

Like again , I personally had experiences with this topic in particular . If , like I said , you watch my first episode , it's creepy . I do believe entities can be attached to items , and especially , like I said , dolls . It's kind of like it mimics . They look like humans . You know what I mean . So I don't know if that's why there's entities like that are beyond human , that become attached to these things . But you know , like I mentioned before , I do believe in energy , and you know there is good and there is bad energy . So I don't think all energy is bad , but I mean there is malevolent entities out there that I do believe will prey upon other people and they will lock themselves on to something before they can get to you . Do you know what I'm saying ? So that's I mean . I mean it's such a creepy thing to think about .

Speaker 2 9:19

So , again , we're going to talk about Sir Robert today because he honestly yeah , he saw him . He's a son , let me tell you , gopidia says allegedly , I guess they have to , but I mean I don't know If you see him . He's like locked in a glass case and he's done some , allegedly has done some harm to people . But yes , so Robert the doll is the most haunted doll in the world . He is more haunted than Annabelle . Yes , that's what they say . This is what the people say .

Speaker 2 9:53

Little history about Robert the doll . So , robert the doll , where did he origin from ? Where did he origin from ? Where's his origins from , exactly ? So , robert the doll was given to this boy , robert Eugene Otto , from his grandfather as a birthday gift back in 1904 . So this is the early 1900s . Whole different time , right ? Robert became so attached to this doll . I mean , this doll was his buddy , his best friend . He would talk to it all the time , play with it , he would dress the doll up as him , just like him . I mean , he just had such an attachment to this doll . He loved this doll so much that he actually named the doll Robert , which is his name , and then he wanted to be referred to by his middle name , which is Eugene . So now his name is Eugene and Robert the doll is Robert .

Speaker 2 10:44

So his parents noticed , of course , a lot of strange things happening in the house during this time . They noticed that , you know , things would go flying , like off shelves , they would hear voices , especially voice that was not Eugene's voice , in , like the bedroom , like they would just hear Eugene talking to somebody and they're like , okay , they would go in , who are you talking to ? And they wouldn't see nobody except Robert the doll . So there was a lot of strange things happening . But you know , I guess they just figured . Maybe it's just his imagination , maybe we're hearing stuff , maybe there's like , maybe we're not going crazy , or maybe we are , I don't know , who knows . But there was just , you know , weirdness going on .

Speaker 2 11:26

So Eugene obviously grows up . He's 18 , you know , he's at that age where you know he wants to flee the nest , find himself , figure himself out . He knows for certain he wants to study abroad and become a painter . Painting is his life . So he goes to France , studies painting and he meets the love of his life , annette Parker . Annette , yeah , he loved her so much . They started a life together . They moved back to the States . They went to New York for a little bit and then , when Eugene got the news that his parents had passed , they left him the estate . So I mean , of course this is like a nice state back in the Key West . Oh , and I do want to mention this was all taken place in the Key West of Florida . So of course Eugene moves back to Key West with his wife .

Speaker 2 12:15

He didn't mention anything about Robert . Like prior , you know , I guess I mean he probably felt weird to even mention that . Like yeah , you know , when I was younger I was obsessed with this toy and I named it after me and it's my buddy , you know . Like I guess he didn't think nothing of it . But once he came back home things got more weird . He reunited with Robert and would kind of do the same thing he did as a kid . He would just have him out , talk to him , became very attached to him again .

Speaker 2 12:43

He actually had an attic and he turned his attic . Of course that was like his sanctuary . He did paintings up there , but he was up there so much with Robert that he actually started living up in his attic . So his wife was like downstairs , like where's my husband ? What's he doing ? I mean you know what the fuck's going on upstairs ? Like I'm not quite understanding . Like up there for hours upon hours .

Speaker 2 13:08

Things got really weird for her . I mean because she's like this guy's grown man . He's upstairs with a creepy doll and what the hell's going on . Any wife would be very concerned , like if their husband like I mean , I get like you know you need your alone time , everyone needs their alone time . But she said like or they . In the stories it says like he actually turned the attic into like a mini apartment and he would just stay up there for hours . He would actually call his apartment the artist house because he's a painter and he pretty much lived up in his attic and that begins to be very concerned . Of course , both somehow I don't know how managed to stay together literally up until Eugene passes away . This was in the 1970s . Eugene passed away .

Speaker 2 13:56

He didn't leave anything for Nat nothing in the will , which I found pretty weird when I was doing research . I'm like nothing in the will , like he left nothing . Like he left nothing for his wife . What so ? The doll then gets passed down to the next person who owns the house . So this doll was just now part of this house . It's like alright , this is my house .

Speaker 2 14:16

The next person to live in this house was a woman named Myrtle . Myrtle has Robert the doll now getting really weird for Myrtle . She had construction workers actually leave the house because they would have tools flying around . They actually would see Robert the doll move on his own . One night she was home with Robert and she saw him get up and lock her in her own room . Okay , now , I don't know about you guys , but if I saw that I'm running the fuck out of the house and Robert , you take that , you fucking take the house , you take everything , I'm good , I'm good , I want no parts , I would be freaking out . So Myrtle wanted to get rid of him like as fast as possible , which rightfully so . I don't even know , though , like if I would even touch him . I would just be like , yeah , you have the house , I'm out . It was nice knowing you , right . So she heard of a museum that was opening up , like near where the house was . So she dropped him off . She's like , okay , toodaloo , bye . Like take him , I don't want him Like he's , this is just now , take him , please . So Myrtle would shortly pass away after this . She passed in 1994 , and then Robert the doll has been in the Key West Museum pretty much

Haunted Story of Robert the Doll

Speaker 2 15:29

ever since .

Speaker 2 15:29

Originally they had Robert in storage for quite some time . His story wasn't really as big , you know , I guess it was just like he was just in a box and they were like , yeah , you know , we got this somewhat possessed doll , it's in here , but you know , whatever , I guess he was collecting dust , right , his story wasn't really big . And then staff would soon started experiencing things paranormal activity with Robert himself claiming they would hear giggling . They would see him move as well . The staff would think I guess they were going crazy , that they would actually draw around him . They would leave him out and then notice in the morning he was not in the same position . They left him in the late 90s . That's when Robert would be put on display at the museum in the Key West and many people soon after would experience things . So Robert would soon affect thousands upon thousands of people after visiting .

Speaker 2 16:22

People would have reported visiting Robert having health issues after getting sick or , even worse , dying . Yeah , I mean that's pretty intense , like I mean that's pretty , pretty wild . People would also experience things on more of a smaller scale , like getting a flat tire , their car battery dying . A lot of people would also experience like their equipment malfunctioning , draining . I was like watching videos upon , like just upon videos about this whole thing . I mean there's a lot of history obviously here , right ? So I mean you can imagine that this doll has a lot of power .

Speaker 2 16:56

They say if you take a photo of him and you don't like . If you're at the museum and you take a photo of him but you don't ask him or ask for his permission first or you say anything disrespectful , he will curse you Like pretty much your bun voyage , like you're done . There has been a lot of people who've experienced either not asking him for his photo first and taking photos of him and then experiencing bad things after . And then there was people who started doing this thing where they would apologize to him , like they would actually write a letter to the museum , like apologizing to Robert , saying like I'm so sorry for blank , blank , blank , and you know , would experience not then more bad stuff happening Again . That's all alleged , you know , but there is , there is people who actually do this , like I mean they had . They say they have letters upon letters of people doing this .

Speaker 2 17:46

Do I know or do I think it's true ? Listen , when it comes to people , even if it's like made up , like if that whole , like if you go there nothing really happens , I don't believe . I don't believe it's made up , but I'm just saying like , even if you were to think it was made up , I'm not even trying to risk it . You know what I'm saying . And there has been people who have risked it . They didn't believe in it , that had said nasty shit in front of him and then had experience like really bad stuff afterwards , putting myself in that position Because I don't mess with that , I don't mess with evil , I don't mess with anything of the sort .

Speaker 2 18:29

I'm not messing with Robert , okay , I'm not even like when they say in , like the YouTube videos , that if you do make eye contact with the doll it can actually have effect on you . I don't even look at the doll , like I will have my head down , I won't even , I'll just listen . I won't even look at the doll because that's how petrified I am . Like I don't mess with that stuff , so I'm not even willing to risk my health or whatever just to figure out if it is real or not . But however , I do believe it is real . I do believe people experience bad things and I mean , yes , it could be coincidental , but I mean , like there's been so many claims people hadn't made .

Speaker 2 19:11

Like I said , you base your opinions around whatever you believe in , but again , when it comes to possessed artifacts , dolls and like , again doesn't come . They don't just come in dolls , I mean there's other artifacts that are highly possessed as well touch . It has a Bad it's bad omen bad Energy , negative energy , and I do believe that energy can transcend to somebody else and their life . I mean , I'm not messing with Robert . I'm not messing with him . You know what I'm saying . I'm not doing that .

Speaker 2 19:41

There is many other dolls like . There's the Annabelle doll and there's like her whole story , and her whole story is actually Pretty weird as well , and I want to do that maybe in another podcast , because I'm not sure exactly how long this one will be . A Robert needed his own podcast because or his own , his own episode Robert needed his own episode because , I mean , he's Robert , like I'm not messing with him . But yeah , I thought his story was really interesting . Like I mentioned , you can go visit him in Key West and I thought it was also cool now before , as I'm looking this up , I thought it was also cool because in that video that exploring Josh did with Robert the doll , he actually went to Eugene's house , which was it's not too far from the museum , and you can I do believe you can stay there . I'm not sure like you can , I think , book some nights there .

Speaker 2 20:30

So , yeah , like I mentioned , his grandfather bought this , bought him this doll but Eugene the style as a birthday present and it was from Germany . Yeah , so this doll is actually pretty creepy . By the way , too , it's like distressed and it's like in a sailor suit and has like the sailor hat they said , standing 40 inches tall and stuffed with wood wool . Yeah , he's pretty , he's actually pretty creepy looking . Yeah , so he's at the East Martello Museum in Key West . Yes , he was donated to the Key West Art and Historical Society , so he is on display along with his teddy bear . So , yeah , I mean you can go visit him .

Speaker 2 21:13

The house that this all took place in was 1 , 3 , 5 . Eatin was at Eaton Street and the house was built in the 1890s . So I mean that house itself is pretty old Eugene grew up at and when his parents passed he moved back there , and that's where you can go up to the attic , and the attic is where his Artist house was located and this is where he spent hours upon hours painting , and you can go . You can go there . I actually let me see something real quick .

Speaker 2 21:43

I guys this property is beautiful too , like . It's like a Victorian home . It's in it's in the Key West a balcony Like the , the wrap around it goes all the way around it's . It's so pretty like . I mean I'll insert a picture here if I can . Obviously , if you guys are Listening to this on audio , you're not gonna see it , but if you see it on my YouTube channel , you can see it also . You can Google it as well if you just do the address . It is so it is really cool .

Speaker 2 22:10

I would totally go to this house and it's crazy because the side of it has this big , I don't know how , what would you call it like ? I guess that was his attic , that's the attic where he spent hours in and it's it's just really cool looking . It has like this big arch , it's just , and it almost looks like a lighthouse off to the side , but it's not . It's obviously just an extension . So , guys , I just noticed that the actual house , the artist house it's called you can go book a bed is a bed and breakfast . So you can definitely like book a night there or whatever and see if you maybe encounter anything . But I think it would be cool just to like actually like do a paranormal investigation there , like just alter myself . Well , you know , with , obviously , family , I ain't doing that shit completely by myself . But you know what I mean like private investigation . I don't know if they offer that though I don't know I was for , maybe I don't know . I mean I didn't see it on their website . It's not advertised on their website , but maybe like on the side . Maybe I don't know if they're willing to shut down like one night for me , which probably is very costly , but you know what I'm saying . Like I think that'd be interesting to see , like if we catch anything you know there , cause I do believe that you know , I would think is . I mean , obviously his spirit is in with the doll , but maybe some of it is also there at the house too . He spent so many hours in that fricking attic . I don't know . You know what I mean . But yeah , so that's gonna wrap it up for today's episode . I hope you guys enjoyed . If you guys have any more information about Robert the Doll and want to comment below , let me know . You can go down in the comments and , you know , say your thoughts . Whatever it is . I hope you guys enjoyed this episode . This was a really interesting episode and I do want to do , of course , obviously more of this topic . It does freak me out and , like I said , I don't have any personal experiences with Robert so I can't speak on like anything bad happening to me , but I do believe in energy and , like I said , I'm not willing to put myself even in that predicament . So that wraps it up for today's episode .

Speaker 2 23:59

Also , if you guys want to follow me on all social media , I'm on TikTok , instagram , at PhillyHorrorGal , and you can also if you want . If you want to email me your creepy paranormal stories , whatever it is , you can email me . I mentioned in my last podcast it was the wrong email which you know , great , great , we're off to a great start . It's at PhillyHorrorGal , at yahoocom , I think I said Gmail , and I say Gmail because I do have a couple Gmail emails and I don't know why I said Gmail . It's definitely at

Request for Paranormal Stories

Speaker 2 24:32

yahoo .

Speaker 2 24:32

So , yeah , if you guys want to just like email me some stories that you've encountered or like been through or whatever , or if there's any like spots you particularly like , like I said , have investigated that had like a crazy occurrence , just let me know , cause I want to do like a segment on the podcast where I kind of just talk about , you know , creepy , paranormal stories and , you know , maybe just like a little segment . I don't know , we shall see , but definitely like send them my way . You know I'm here and thank you guys so much for listening , watching who . If , however , you're getting , however , you're getting to this podcast , whether you're watching me on YouTube or if you're listening whatever . I appreciate all of you guys . Thank you so much and until next time I will see you then Bye 🎵Rivers run dry , dust spreads in the air .

Speaker 1 25:26

🎵to dark days . Do you have a peer to spare🎵 . 🎵make a pro🎵 .