The World's Most Haunted Doll: Meet Robert The Doll

Dolls¡ªthey're probably one of the first friends kids have. They had names, we dressed them up and took them everywhere. They¡¯re probably the least intimidating things on the planet, right?

Wrong. Thanks to horror movies like Annabelle and The Conjuring, we know how scary inanimate dolls can be. However, dolls aren't just scary in movies, they are quite spooky in real life too. A lot can happen, there have been a number of cases in the past of dolls that became evil! Many people have fallen victim to dolls possessed by evil spirits, the horror tales might just give you sleepless nights.

Robert the Doll at Fort East Martello Museum | Instagram

Most of us hear about Annabelle's possessed doll, whose story began with the Conjuring movie. But very few know about the real-life possessed doll, Robert the Doll, which is known to be the world¡¯s most haunted doll. The doll is known to have caused several incidents, ranging from car accidents to divorces.

Story of Robert the Doll

Robert the Doll at Fort East Martello Museum | Instagram

According to the reports, in 1904, a boy named Robert Eugene Otto was gifted. After a few days, he said that the toy would knock furniture over during the night. A 116-year-old straw doll is haunted by a malevolent spirit to this day. When Eugene grew up, he moved out of the house and left Robert behind.

But even today, Robert the doll allegedly breaks people¡¯s bones to cause their cars to crash, and the doll remains a terrifying figure for all who encounter him.

Rumor has it that the staff routinely receives letters of apology written to Robert by those who acted rudely around him.

Origins of Robert The Doll

There are many stories surrounding the origins of one of the most haunted dolls, Robert the Doll. Some claim that the doll was a gift from Gene's grandfather, who bought the life-size toy during a trip to Germany.

Robert the Doll at Fort East Martello Museum | Instagram/@atlasobscura

But some locals believe in another backstory. They claim that the straw-filled haunted doll was given to young Otto by one of the family¡¯s maids.

World's most terrifying haunted doll

The haunted doll Robert is well-known for being more than a little spooky, but in the beginning, it seemed a little bit more innocent like any other childhood friendship between a boy and his toy.

It's believed that Gene took Robert everywhere with him, even though the Robert doll was probably a little bit large and unwieldy for a boy of his age.

But after a few years, the Robert the doll story gets stranger and more haunting. Gene¡¯s life and people from outside the home started to notice that something about the doll wasn¡¯t right. Many stories claim that servants of the Otto household heard Gene talking in two distinct voices in his room, alone. Some nights, Gene would wake up screaming. Also, inside the home, the doll reportedly moved by itself around the house. People also claim that the facial expressions of the doll would change while listening to conversations in the room.

Robert the Doll at Fort East Martello Museum | Instagram

Despite having a bad experience with the doll during his childhood, the Robert doll was a part of Gene¡¯s life even after he got married, and Gene¡¯s wife hated the doll. Even after the deaths of Gene and his wife, the story of the Robert doll doesn¡¯t end. The Otto home was purchased by Myrtle Reuter, and she was the caretaker of Robert. Several locals have claimed that they heard footsteps and giggling while Reuter owned the doll.

Where is the world¡¯s most haunted doll, Robert now?

Robert the Doll at Fort East Martello Museum | Warner Bros

Robert's new caretaker, Reuter, lived with Robert for 20 years. Later, she donated, and today, he and his teddy bear are housed in a glass case at the Fort East Martello Museum, Key West, on the other side of the island from the Otto home.

The Fort East Martello Museum accepted the Robert doll by just assuming that all claims regarding this haunted doll were nonsense. But surprisingly, museum employees reported their own inexplicable happenings with the doll.

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