News
5 True Life Cases of Haunted Dolls
With the movie “Annabelle” being released this week, everyone is curious about the creepy dolls with the creepier history. Annabelle isn’t the only haunted doll in history; tales also tell of other dolls that take on a life of their own. Here are five dolls who terrorized their owners, and will go down in history as toys you definitely don’t want to play with.
Image courtesy of Haunted America Tours
Voodoo Zombie Doll
This particular doll originated in New Orleans, and was sold through eBay to a woman in Galveston, Texas. The doll came with rules of care, including instructions to not remove it from its silver casing; a rule the woman broke as soon as the doll arrived.
The Texas woman claimed it haunted her dreams, and would attack her repeatedly. She re-listed the doll on eBay and promptly sold it. However, the new buyer claimed to have received an empty box, and the Texas woman claimed the doll kept reappearing at her doorstep.
The doll is now in the possession of a self-proclaimed ghost hunter, who hopes to figure out the mystery behind the traveling doll.
Image courtesy of Haunted America Tours
Joliet
The current “mother” to the little baby doll named Joliet, is Anna. For four generations of Anna’s family, the women in Anna’s family have been cursed to keep up a cruel tradition. Each daughter gives birth to two children, one boy and one girl. In each case, Anna claims that the son mysteriously dies on the third day of life.
They attribute the curse continuation to Joliet, who was given to Anna’s then-pregnant great-grandmother by a vengeful friend.
The family claims they can hear giggles and inhuman screams in the night, coming from the doll. They also claim that the cries are of different infants, making the doll appear to be a vessel for all the baby boys who have been lost over the years.
Image courtesy of Fisher-Price
Elmo
While not considered an entirely “haunted” case, the case of the Bowman family’s Elmo doll is admittedly funny.
In 2008, 2-year-old James Bowman was given an Elmo Knows Your Name Doll by his parents. The doll was programmed to say your name, along with various personalized phrases.
This Elmo doll, however, liked to say “kill” before saying James’ name. Elmo would sing “Kill James!” repeatedly, until James’ distraught mother Melissa decided to put it out of the toddler’s sight.
The malfunction started right after the batteries to the doll had been changed. Fisher-Price, creator of the doll, offered to replace the Elmo doll. It’s not know whether or not the Bowman family accepted the offer.
Image courtesy of Quesnel Museum
Mandy
Mandy is a porcelain baby doll reportedly made in either England or Germany between 1910 and 1920, and was donated to the Quesnel Museum in British Columbia in 1991.
The donor said she would hear crying in the middle of the night coming from the basement, and it wasn’t until she gave Mandy away, that the crying stopped.
Museum employees claim that since Mandy’s arrival, strange occurrences have taken place. They say lunches go missing, and turn up elsewhere in the building; the same with office supplies. Employees claim to hear footsteps when no one is around, and that Mandy makes visitors feel very uneasy. Mandy is no longer kept with other dolls, because employees claimed she has “harmed other dolls”. She has even been known to cause cameras and other electronic equipment to malfunction.
Robert
When it comes to haunted dolls, Robert is arguably America’s most famous. The Key West doll is a fixture on local ghost tours and even served as an inspiration for Chucky in Child’s Play.
Robert belonged to Key West painter and author Robert Eugene Otto. In 1906, a Bahamian maid reportedly gave the doll to Robert and then cursed the toy after Robert’s parents displeased her. Soon after, strange events began plaguing the Otto household.
Young Robert enjoyed talking to his namesake, and servants insisted the doll talked back. They also claimed the plaything could change expressions at will and move about the house on his own. Neighbors reportedly saw the doll move from window to window when the family was away, and members of the Otto household heard maniacal giggles emanating from the toy.
Robert the Doll spooked plenty of folks during the day, but at night he focused on young Robert Otto. The boy would wake in the middle of the night, screaming in fear, as the heavy furniture in his room crashed to the floor. When his parents demanded to know what happened, Otto’s response was always the same: “Robert did it! It was Robert.”
Robert Otto died in 1974, and his notorious doll now sits on display at the Fort East Martello Museum in Key West. Legend has it the doll will curse anyone who takes a photo without permission, which Robert grants by slightly tilting his head. Visitors who forget can always beg for forgiveness which is what cameramen from the Travel Channel did after their HD camera mysteriously stopped working.
Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'
News
Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role
Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.
Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.
“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”
Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.
While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?
The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.
Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'
Editorial
7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch
The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.
The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.
We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.
Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?
Scream Live (2023)
Ghostface (2021)
Ghost Face (2023)
Don’t Scream (2022)
Scream: A Fan Film (2023)
The Scream (2023)
A Scream Fan Film (2023)
Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'
Movies
Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month
Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.
Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.
According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.
Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.
Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.
Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.
While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.
According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”
The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.
Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'
-
News3 days ago
This Horror Film Just Derailed a Record Held by ‘Train to Busan’
-
Movies3 days ago
Watch ‘Immaculate’ At Home Right Now
-
News4 days ago
Read Reviews For ‘Abigail’ The Latest From Radio Silence
-
News2 days ago
Home Depot’s 12-Foot Skeleton Returns with a New Friend, Plus New Life-Size Prop from Spirit Halloween
-
News4 days ago
Melissa Barrera Says Her ‘Scream’ Contract Never Included a Third Movie
-
Editorial5 days ago
Rob Zombie’s Directorial Debut Was Almost ‘The Crow 3’
-
News1 day ago
Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers
-
News3 days ago
A24 Joins Blockbuster Movie Club With Their Biggest Opening Ever
You must be logged in to post a comment Login