Buzz
For countless children, a doll transcends being a mere toy—it becomes a cherished companion, a sibling figure, or even a trusted confidant. Yet, there are chilling tales of dolls that seem to come alive, often believed to be inhabited by the spirits of the deceased or malevolent entities. Some dolls, however, are simply bizarre, with unsettling backstories that make them unfit for children's rooms.
10. Patty Reed’s Doll
A doll doesn’t have to be cursed or haunted to evoke fear. Sometimes, it’s the unsettling facial features, missing limbs from years of wear, or a dark history—like witnessing acts of cannibalism—that makes it eerie.
This is precisely the story behind Patty Reed’s doll. Patty, an eight-year-old, was part of the 1846 Donner Party, a group of pioneers traveling to California. As history recounts, the group became trapped in snow and resorted to extreme measures to survive, including cannibalism.
During the journey, Patty was asked to discard her toys to lighten the wagon. However, she secretly hid her cherished doll under her dress. Miraculously, both Patty and her doll survived the harrowing ordeal, and the doll is now exhibited at Sutter’s Fort State Historical Park Museum in Sacramento, California.
Though not haunted, this doll holds a grim place in history. Its presence inevitably brings to mind the tragic events Patty endured. The story is so captivating that a children’s historical fiction book was published in 1956, continuing to educate young readers about this dark chapter.
9. Voodoo Zombie Doll
This voodoo zombie doll, which looks like something you’d find clogging a drain, hails from New Orleans. It was purchased on eBay by a woman in Galveston, Texas. The seller provided strict guidelines for handling the doll, including keeping it in its silver casing—a rule the buyer ignored immediately upon receipt, a decision she later regretted.
The woman reported that the doll invaded her dreams and repeatedly attacked her. Despite multiple attempts to sell it on eBay, the doll mysteriously returned to her each time, even after buyers claimed to receive an empty package.
Whether haunted or not, the doll, crafted from string and cloth, resembles a cleaning tool more than a toy. It is currently owned by a self-proclaimed ghost hunter who aims to uncover its secrets.
8. Joliet
Imagine inheriting a haunted baby doll as part of your family’s history. This is the reality for Anna, the current caretaker of a doll named Joliet. For four generations, the women in her family have been bound by a tragic tradition: each daughter bears two children, a boy and a girl, but the son always dies mysteriously on his third day of life.
Anna learned that Joliet was gifted to her pregnant great-grandmother by a spiteful friend. Shortly after, her great-grandmother’s newborn son passed away on his third day, marking the beginning of the family’s eerie curse.
At night, the doll emits eerie giggles and unearthly screams. The family insists that the cries of various infants can be heard, suggesting the doll serves as a vessel for the lost souls of the baby boys who perished over the years.
7. The Devil Baby Doll
New Orleans is steeped in folklore and voodoo traditions. One legend from the 1800s tells of a wealthy family’s daughter who married a Scotsman. A scorned former lover, consumed by jealousy, sought revenge by enlisting the help of Marie Laveau, the Queen of Voodoo.
Laveau placed a curse on the bride, which took effect during her first childbirth. The young mother died, but not before giving birth to a monstrous creature believed to be the offspring of Satan. Laveau took the baby in and cared for it until her death. Legend says the baby was buried with her in Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1.
The Devil Baby became a source of terror in New Orleans. It was said to lurk in shadows and alleys, causing chaos wherever it went. To ward it off, locals carved fake devil baby dolls from gourds and hung them outside their homes. Some of these dolls are rumored to still exist today, though they are rare and highly sought after.
In the early 1900s, new Devil Baby dolls began appearing in New Orleans. These replicas were said to resemble the original Devil Baby so closely that they were believed to be haunted.
Artist Ricardo Pustiano claims to have acquired remnants of the last surviving doll from that era and now recreates them for sale. Many buyers report eerie experiences, such as the dolls’ glass eyes following them or the figures moving on their own. These dolls come with warnings, as the spirit of the Devil Baby seems to live on.
6. The Pulau Ubin Barbie
Barbie is arguably the world’s most iconic doll. So iconic, in fact, that a deceased girl allegedly requested one from beyond the grave.
During World War I, the British grew suspicious of foreigners in their colonies. In 1914, they investigated a German couple in Singapore as potential spies. While the couple was captured, their young daughter escaped but tragically fell off a cliff to her death. Locals in Pulau Ubin built a shrine in her honor, featuring a porcelain altar said to hold a lock of her hair and her crucifix.
The Barbie doll appeared at the shrine around 2007. A man from Pulau Ubin had a recurring dream of a white girl guiding him to a toy store and pointing out a specific Barbie. After the third dream, he visited the store, found the doll, and placed it at the shrine, replacing an urn. Visitors now bring offerings like lipstick and perfume, hoping the girl’s spirit will grant them luck or healing.
If you can’t visit Singapore, you can purchase Mattel’s “Haunted Beauty” collector’s doll. However, this doll is merely dressed in a ghostly style and lacks any supernatural traits.
5. Elmo
Since 1996, Elmo dolls have been a favorite on children’s holiday wish lists. This lovable monster seems harmless—until he allegedly threatens to kill you.
This happened to the Bowman family in 2008. Their two-year-old son, James, owned an Elmo Knows Your Name doll, designed to say its owner’s name and other personalized phrases. However, this doll didn’t just say James’s name—it added the word “kill” before it, repeatedly chanting “Kill James!” until James’s mother, Melissa, removed it from her toddler’s reach.
The doll began making these threats after its batteries were replaced. Fisher-Price, the manufacturer, offered the Bowmans a voucher for a replacement doll, though it’s unclear if they accepted the offer.
4. Mandy
Mandy, a porcelain baby doll crafted in England or Germany between 1910 and 1920, was donated to the Quesnel Museum in British Columbia in 1991. The donor claimed to hear crying sounds from the basement at night, which stopped only after she gave Mandy away.
While the crying ceased for the donor, strange events followed Mandy to the museum. Staff report missing lunches that later reappear in odd places, unexplained footsteps, and office supplies like pencils and books mysteriously moving from their original spots.
The museum struggled to find a suitable display for Mandy. She couldn’t be placed with other dolls because she allegedly harmed them. Visitors claim her eyes blink or follow them, and she interferes with cameras when anyone attempts to photograph or film her.
3. Chrystal, True, Monika, Sharla, Isaac, Lilly, Ashley, and Cameron
These names don’t belong to multiple spirits in a single doll. Rather, they represent a collection of haunted dolls owned by a family of five in rural Pennsylvania. The family knowingly purchased each doll, aware of their haunted nature. As paranormal investigators, they aimed to study the dolls while providing them a caring environment. For public viewing, a live camera streams the dolls’ activities 24/7. While some prefer watching puppies or kittens, others find fascination in observing these porcelain figures. To each their own.
The camera occasionally captures unusual occurrences. In 2009, it recorded an apparition believed to be a young boy appearing at the foot of the stairs.
2. Letta The Gypsy Doll
In 1972, Kerry Walton returned to his Australian hometown for his grandmother’s funeral. Determined to confront a childhood fear, he visited an abandoned building that had haunted him for years. Beneath the porch, he found an old marionette. Feeling an inexplicable connection, Kerry took it home, and the two have remained inseparable ever since.
Psychics claim the doll was crafted 200 years ago by a Romanian gypsy for his son, who had drowned. Gypsies believed in spirit transference, using dolls as vessels for the deceased. The doll features real human hair, and beneath its scalp lies a structure resembling a human brain. Named Letta (or Ledda) due to its gypsy origins, it’s also said to occasionally scream, “Letta me out!”
No recent reports suggest Letta is evil. In fact, after finding the doll, Walton’s fortunes improved, and his collectibles business flourished. However, Letta has peculiar traits: rain falls when taken outside, pictures drop from walls in its presence, dogs bark and attack it, and people feel sudden fear or sadness around it. Letta is also said to move independently, shift positions, and emit a pulse when held.
1. Pupa
Pupa (Latin for “doll”) was crafted in the 1920s to mirror its Italian owner. This practice, similar to today’s American Girl “Just Like You” dolls, often involved using the owner’s hair for authenticity.
Pupa’s owner insisted the doll communicated with her. After her death in 2005, the family placed Pupa in a glass case. Reports suggest the doll shifts positions, alters her facial expressions, taps on the glass as if trying to escape, and rearranges items within her display.
