‘HAUNTED’ dolls have been fodder for horror films for decades.
Many haunting stories are often based on real-life experiences.
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This week Jonathan Lewis, 32, found creepy rag doll Emily clutching a chilling note after knocking through a boarded-up wall cavity at his new home in Walton, Liverpool.
The letter, allegedly penned by Emily, claimed the original owners in 1961 “had to go” because “all they did was sing and be merry”.
According to the Liverpool Echo, the note read: “It was sickening. Stabbing was my choice of death for them so I hope you have knives. Hope you sleep well.”
Lewis, a primary school teacher, said he found the letter “hilarious” and doubted its authenticity – but concerned pals have urged him to put the house back on the market.
And TV paranormal investigator Jayne Harris told Central Recorder that haunted dolls are no laughing matter, adding that she has “encountered four truly inexplicable cases”.
The “most convincing” was Peggy – who was allegedly behind one lady “suffering a heart attack” and another having a stroke aged 27, while several others experienced “chest pains, dizziness and nausea” just from looking at a photo of her.
Harris isn’t the only one to support claims about supposedly possessed items – there are countless other shocking stories. We share some of the most disturbing examples.
Leaking blood
One of the most famous “haunted dolls” was Annabelle, a red-haired Raggedy Ann doll that inspired The Conjuring film franchise.
The cuddly doll, which was first sold in shops in 1915, was said to have been imbued by the spirit of a seven year-old girl with the same name who had died.
The doll was gifted to an unnamed nurse in 1970 who said it moved around her bed without explanation and leaked blood, according to Mental Floss.
It was also claimed that Annabelle left handwritten notes saying “help me” and “help us”.
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren determined that the doll was being controlled by an “inhuman demonic spirit” looking for a human host.
These are prayers that bind the evil, much like an electric fence for a dog
Lorraine Warren
Annabelle is now stored inside a sealed glass box, which is regularly blessed by a priest, in Warrens’ Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut.
Speaking to USA Today in 2017, Lorraine Warren said: “These are prayers that bind the evil, much like an electric fence for a dog.”
She also claimed Annabelle was behind a fatal motorcycle accident after a man taunted the creepy doll and later “crashed head-on into a tree”.
‘Doll caused mystery pain’
Harris, 38, owned Peggy the doll for three years from 2014 after “an urgent call for help” from a lady who bought it from a fayre.
According to the individual, he heard footsteps at night and saw shadows in his hallway. He also claimed that he could see lights flickering around without any explanation.
Harris, the founder of HD Paranormal and a master herbalist, told Central Recorder: “These are all classic signs of a haunting.
Just looking at her photo, they would become dizzy, nauseous, light-headed and in some extreme cases have chest pains and panic attacks
Jayne Harris
“People claimed that by just looking at her photo, they would become dizzy, nauseous, light-headed and in some extreme cases have chest pains and panic attacks.
“One lady, Katrin Reedik, suffered a heart attack and another, Olivia Taylor, had a stroke while alone with the doll overnight. She was only 27.”
Harris was also told dogs barked while Peggy was on TV and the doll “regularly seemed to produce flies”.
‘Burn your eyes’ threat
Paranormal investigator Danny Moss filmed an eerie doll named Grace as she allegedly threatened him with physical violence.
The toy was believed to be possessed by the spirit from a 1600s witch. He recorded the chilling encounters with the ghost hunter in 2019.
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Moss, who spoke to North Wales Live, was seen clutching a crucifix as he asked the doll: “What do you want to burn?”
Shortly after a “voice” was heard replying “your eyes”, which the ghost hunter said was “terrifying at the time”.
Grace, who was kept inside a sealed glass box, was also claimed to have said “release” and three knocking sounds were heard on a paranormal recording device.
Moss added: “I’ll admit even I was never a big believer but this item is just amazing… I’ve never seen anything like it.”
‘Nasty spirit’
Ian Griffiths, a psychic medium with 23 years of experience, claims to own a possessed doll named Margaret and a haunted mirror.
The 54-year-old, from Derbyshire, said he has “felt and seen the doll walking around” his house, in addition to other creepy experiences.
He told Central Recorder: “This spirit seems to make small banging noises, I’ve had to keep her in the spare room but even there, the lights keep turning on and off.”
Griffiths also believes there are “negative spirits” that have attached themselves to a mirror that he owns.
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In video footage, which he shared online in February, an eerie voice can be heard saying: “You help me. You help me.”
Griffiths also said there was “a nasty male spirit”, whom he claimed was short with grey hair and in his forties, that he could detect a “dark feeling from”.
Ozzy’s ‘health curse’
Ozzy Osbourne claims to have been affected by the paranormal world after he bought a replica of a haunted straw-stuffed doll named Robert in Florida.
The Black Sabbath star was warned that some people who purchased the doll had posted it back to the Fort East Martello Museum after being “haunted”.
In 2020, Osbourne blamed the doll for his troubling health conditions – including a spinal injury following a fall and his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
He said: “You think it’s a f***ing joke… Just look at what has gone on with me. You think it’s a joke. Look, look at me. It ain’t bad luck?”
The original doll’s owner, Robert Eugene Otto, claimed the object’s facial expression began to change after his grandfather’s passing in 1974.
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Since being moved to the museum, people have claimed anyone who “disrespects” the doll, “makes fun of it” or even “takes a picture without asking” suffers bad luck.
In the show The Osbournes Want To Believe, the rockstar’s son Jack noted that offenders would “be cursed and terrible things will begin to happen in your life”.
Discarded doll ‘returned twice’
Last year mum Emily Madonia claimed a “haunted” Elsa doll, from the Disney film Frozen, wouldn’t leave her family alone.
The toy was first given to her daughter by Madonia in 2013. She said that it has been returned to Texas twice since then.
She shared the story on Facebook that her husband had abandoned the doll after it began speaking and singing Spanish. It was later found on a nearby wooden bench.
Madonia believed it to be the same doll, as it had stains from when her daughter accidentally colored it with a felt pen.
After they tried to get rid of the toy for a second time – only for it to reappear again – she wrote online: “Help us get rid of this haunted doll!”
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Madonia has since posted the doll to a man who lives “on the other side of the country” and claims the doll laughed for 30 seconds as she put it in a post box.
Doll ‘cried real tears’
Creepy toy ‘Annie’ gave paranormal investigator Matt Tillett quite the fright after “fresh water” started to trickle down her cheeks.
He was trying to communicate with the spiritual world at Hideout bar, in Wrexham, last year, when he noticed the ‘weird reaction’ from the doll.
Tillett said the phenomenon was “unexplainable” and it had even stained the paintwork on the toy’s face.
Tillett claimed that he also heard chilling sounds like screaming and children running and the voice of an 170-year-old cobbler.
But Tillett was most spooked out by the doll’s tears – which he claimed had never happened before he moved her into a sealed enclosure.
He told the Daily Post: “Recently, Annie has started crying for no reason, she has real tears…
“I’ve sent it to demonologists and they’ve suggested it could be one of the demons crying because they’re trapped in the box and they can’t get out.
“It’s unexplainable. It can’t be condensation because there’s a big hole in the top. Nobody can come up with an answer”
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