Oct 29, 2014

Hello Halloween 2014: Robert the Doll

Postingan sampai tanggal 31 Oktober 2014 nanti didedikasikan untuk 'hari besar' kesukaan saya – Halloween. Enjoy.

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In the late 1800s, Thomas Otto and his family moved in to a mansion in Key West, Florida. 

The Ottos were known to be stern with their servants, sometimes even mistreating them. One day, Mrs. Otto supposedly witnessed her Haitian servant practicing black magic in their backyard and fired her. This woman was the nanny of their son, Robert.

Before she left, the Haitian servant gave Robert a lifelike doll which stood 3 feet tall.


Robert named the doll after himself. Robert the doll became his trustworthy companion. He took it with him on shopping trips into town. The doll had a seat at the dinner table where Robert would sneak it bites of food when his parents weren't looking. Robert would even be tucked into bed with the boy at night.

Soon this innocent relationship took on a strange nature.

Soon after, Robert chose to be referred to by his middle name, Eugene, after being scolded by his mother. He told her that Robert was the doll's name, not his. Eugene's parents often heard him talking to the doll and supposed that the doll spoke back. Although at first they assumed that Eugene was simply answering himself in a changed voice, they claimed to have later realized that the doll was actually speaking. She would, on occasion, burst in to find her son cowering in a corner while Robert sat perched in a chair or on the bed, glaring at him.

This was only the beginning.

Neighbors claimed to have seen the doll moving from window to window when the family was out. Sometimes the doll would emit a terrifying giggle, and the Otto family caught glimpses of it running from room to room.

In the night, Eugene would scream, and when his parents ran to the room, they would find furniture knocked over and Eugene in bed, looking incredibly scared, telling them that "Robert did it!". The boy took the punishment but always insisted that the blame was Robert's.

In addition, guests claim to have seen Robert's expression change before their eyes and he often blinked.

As the mischief grew, more and more servants took their leave as new ones were hired. The Ottos' relatives felt it was time to do something. Eugene parents removed Robert from his care and placed him in a box in the attic. This is where he resided for many years.

After the death of his father, Eugene was willed his boyhood home. He decided to live in the Victorian mansion with his new wife. Eugene had become an artist, and felt the house was spacious and would provide a place for him to paint. He went to the attic and dusted off his childhood toy. He became attached to the doll despite his wife's displeasure. Eugene would take the doll along with them everywhere they went. He even sat in his favorite little chair while Gene and his wife slept nearby. The Turret Room became Robert's domain after Mrs. Otto moved him back to the attic. Their marriage slowly became sour until Mrs. Otto died of unknown reasons. Gene followed soon behind.

People who passed by claimed to hear evil laughter coming from the Turret Room.

For some time, Robert remained in the empty house by himself until a new family purchased the mansion and restored it.

When Eugene died in 1974, the doll was left in the attic until the house was bought again. The new family included a ten-year old girl, who became Robert's new owner. It was not long before the girl began screaming out in the night, claiming that Robert moved about the room and even attempted to attack her on multiple occasions.

On one certain night, Robert was found at the foot of the owners' bed giggling with a kitchen knife in hand. This was enough to send them fleeing from the home.

More than thirty years later, she still tells interviewers that the doll was alive and wanted to kill her.

Robert was later moved to the East Martello Museum in Key West, where he sits perched in a glass box. Despite his new living quarters, the doll is believed to not have given up his menacing ways.

If you want to take a picture of him, you must ask politely. If you take the picture anyways, a curse will befall upon you and anyone who accompanied you to the museum. Most of the times, your camera will be broken. The same will happen if you make fun of him.

To this day, Robert the doll remains at the East Martello Museum, Florida, in his sailor suit, clutching his stuffed lion.

1 comment:

Sarah Puspita said...

Baca siang-siang begini aja langsung merinding disko T___T

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