Child’s Play and Chucky are names synonymous with horror movies today. But is the world’s creepiest doll based on a true story?
The concept of creepy dolls in horror movies has been a staple in the genre since its fears appeared back in 1929 when the first ever doll was featured in a horror film. Now, with horror movies like Annabelle which is based on a real story of a demon-possessed doll that had been locked away by demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren in their Occult Museum (which has been closed since their passing), and the doll killer king himself, Chucky (Child’s Play), reigning over a 7-film-long franchise, killer dolls are more prevalent than ever.
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Where It All Started
Before there was Child’s Play and Chucky, there was Robert the Doll.
It is reported that the first instance of a haunted doll traces back to 1906, to the Otto family in Key West, Florida. It was there that a young boy by the name of Robert Eugene Otto was gifted a doll, who also came to be known as Robert. The stories of how the doll became haunted in the first place of course have varying myths, but what is known is that the boy loved his doll very much, keeping the doll until the day he died.
Many myths and legends float around the doll regarding its connection to the beyond, but the stories first started in the Otto family home. MamaM!a cited that the family started to hear strange giggles and footsteps in the middle of the night. People passing by the family home would report seeing the doll moving in and out of the window frame. Atlas Obscura reports that Robert the Doll is claimed to be Key West’s most cursed object.
After Robert Otto’s passing, the doll was donated to the Fort East Martello Museum in Key West, where it resides to this day. According to the museum’s curator Cori Convertito, lovers of the occult and strange flock to the museum to see the doll, and he even receives plenty of fan mail. Supposedly those who don’t ask permission before taking a photo with the doll or are outwardly rude to him tend to experience a string of bad luck, to the point where some of the mail they have received are apology letters to Robert the Doll.
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Charles Lee Ray
Chucky has been toying with his victims for the last 34 years, in 7 Child’s Play franchise films, a spin-off and most recently a TV series (which is about to get its second season on the 5th of October 2022). The 1988 original film saw Chucky created in a voodoo ritual performed by a serial killer, Charles Lee Ray (portrayed by Brad Dourif in the movie). While the plot of the movie is entirely fictional and has nothing to do with Robert the Doll from 1906, some features of the first film were created to seemingly pay homage to the first haunted doll.
In the film, there are footsteps left in powder, running through the halls and Alex Vincent’s Andy has whispered conversations with an entity before Chucky is revealed. If you think that these show an eerie resemblance to some of the activity reported about Robert the Doll, that would be because that’s where the inspiration dawned from.
It seems that some legends will never die, and that could not be truer for the horror genre than it is for any other. With many horror legends surviving the test of time such as Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Ghostface, and even Leatherface, creating a villain like Chucky keeps them alive and loved for decades in the fear and nightmares of audiences.
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Cool I think that chucky is wayyy more creepy then Robert but I mean everyone has they’re own choice y’know
I think Robert is creepy too by th_e way