Buzz
Today’s children’s toys are marvels of modern technology. Soft plush toys are adorable and comforting, robotic toys showcase exceptional precision, and dolls are crafted to look like charming infants or miniature adults. However, in earlier times, kids weren’t as fortunate. Toys that could potentially traumatize were widespread, and eerie, lifelike dolls were incredibly popular.
10. Miniature Guillotine
In the era of the French Revolution, miniature guillotines standing 0.6 meters (2 feet) tall became a trendy plaything for children. Kids would use them to behead dolls, birds, and even mice. Surprisingly, these toys also served as entertainment in salons, where hostesses would fill small “enemy” dolls with perfume (simulating blood) and execute them for their guests’ amusement.
When the mother of renowned German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was requested to purchase such a brutal toy for her grandson, she responded with outrage:
Purchase such a disgraceful tool of death? I wouldn’t do so for any amount of money. If I had the power, the creators of these devices would face public humiliation in the pillory. I would have the machines destroyed by the executioner in a public display. How could anyone let children play with such a horrifying object? Turning murder and bloodshed into a game? No, nothing good can come from that.
During the 1970s, American stores brought back this gruesome toy. However, after widespread protests from parents, the horrifying toy guillotine was permanently banned from the market.
9. Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab
In 1951, the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab was introduced as a sophisticated nuclear science kit for children. Priced at $50 (equivalent to around $350 today), it featured three “low-level” radioactive sources, a Geiger-Muller counter, a Wilson cloud chamber (to visualize alpha particle trails), a spinthariscope, four uranium ore samples, and an electroscope for measuring radioactivity.
Alfred Carlton Gilbert, the creator of the kit, assured that the radioactive materials included were completely harmless. However, modern science reveals that exposure to the U-238 isotope is associated with cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, Gulf War syndrome, and other severe health conditions. Thankfully, this alarming educational kit was only available from 1951 to 1952 before being discontinued.
8. Creeping Baby Doll
Introduced in 1871, the “creeping baby doll” was a bizarre Victorian-era toy designed to mimic a crawling infant. Despite being the first doll capable of crawling, it failed to charm young girls due to its frightening appearance, heavy weight, and lack of interactivity.
Adding to its unsettling nature, crawling was referred to as “creeping” before the mid-1800s and was associated with animals and the mentally unstable. (Children were often encouraged to stand and walk early using standing tools.) However, by the mid-1800s, crawling became normalized, and clockwork dolls gained popularity.
7. Baby’s First Butcher Shop
During the Victorian era, miniature butcher shops, with their macabre appearance, became a popular alternative to traditional dollhouses. Despite their unsettling look, they were a hit among children who weren’t easily disturbed.
These doll-sized shops were meticulously detailed replicas of real butcher shops, complete with wooden figures of butchers and assistants in striped aprons, strings of sausages, tiny animal carcasses hanging from iron hooks, and floors strewn with sawdust and fake blood.
A doll-sized butcher shop may appear disturbing to modern sensibilities. However, in the Victorian era, it served a similar purpose to today’s supermarket playsets, teaching children about commerce and food.
6. Frozen Charlotte
Small, unglazed porcelain dolls with fixed limbs were first produced in Germany in 1850 and marketed as bath-time companions for infants. These dolls later became linked to a popular poem titled “Young Charlotte” by Seba Smith, which told the tragic tale of a young woman who froze to death in a sleigh on New Year’s Eve. As a result, the dolls were nicknamed “frozen Charlotte” in America.
These dolls were sold for just a penny each. Beyond their eerie association with a frozen woman, they often included miniature coffins and blankets. In Britain, frozen Charlottes were sometimes hidden in Christmas cakes and puddings as a chilling surprise for children.
5. Hugo, Man of a Thousand Faces
In 1975, Kenner, a US toy company, launched Hugo, Man of a Thousand Faces, targeting children aged 5 to 11. Hugo was a unique figure—bald, faceless, and only half a man, with his body ending at the sleeves of his blue shirt. His head was crafted from soft rubber, and his arms were cotton-stuffed. By pulling a string, children could animate his arms.
Hugo included disguises that could be attached using a special adhesive (or even applied to yourself). However, his popularity faded after the 1970s. This might have been due to the short lifespan of the glue sticks required for the disguises (regular glue didn’t work), or perhaps it was simply because he was too terrifying for most children.
4. Furby
Furby debuted in US toy stores in 1998 and immediately sparked a frenzy. Over 40 million units were sold within just three years.
Furbies were compact, robotic, owl-like toys with large ears and a furry exterior. They could communicate, occasionally activating on their own. Their sounds included a mix of their unique language, screeches, and grunts, along with some English. Allegedly, the more you interacted with them, the more words and phrases they learned.
Rumors suggest Furbies would speak at night when presumed to be off. Some even reportedly uttered phrases long after their batteries had been removed.
The internet is rife with unsettling tales about these seemingly harmless toys. Even without batteries, they allegedly woke children at night with eerie phrases like “Do you want to play?” Today, adults nostalgic for their 1990s childhood can celebrate, as Furbies have made a comeback.
3. Little Miss No-Name
Little Miss No-Name, a doll released by Hasbro in 1965, was designed to evoke sympathy. She wore a tattered burlap sack, had oversized, unblinking eyes, and a small, tight-lipped mouth. One of her hands was positioned to make her appear as though she was pleading, and a single plastic tear adorned her cheek.
While the doll was intended to appeal to children’s emotions, it had the opposite effect. Many young girls found her appearance so unsettling that they wanted to flee at the sight of her.
Hasbro ceased production of the doll after just one year, despite a final effort to promote her alongside Borden’s Dutch hot chocolate. Unfortunately, children failed to see any connection between the comforting beverage and the eerie doll.
2. Baby Secret
Baby Secret, a doll produced by Mattel in 1966, was both unsettling and unique. Standing 45 centimeters (18 inches) tall, it featured a soft body and a vinyl head, dressed in a red outfit with a white bib. Its mouth moved when it spoke, and its whisper function activated with a pull string. The doll’s voice was eerily realistic, adding to its unnerving charm.
The doll’s commercial was as chilling as the toy itself. It showcased the doll whispering spine-tingling phrases like “I want to tell you something” and “I like to sleep with you,” further amplifying its creepy appeal.
1. Live Bird Automata
In the 18th century, German toys often leaned toward the macabre. One such example was the live bird automata featured in the Nuremberg catalog. These toys were designed as whimsical figures with a hollow interior to house a live bird. As the bird fluttered inside the automaton, it created various movements in the toy.
The catalog claimed that “no one would suspect a live bird was hidden inside, believing instead that clockwork mechanisms powered the bird’s head, eyes, and beak.” What happened to the bird once the toy was discarded remains unknown. It’s possible the stench of decay was the only clue that a new “clockwork” bird was required.
