CHILD'S PLAY
WITH his wide blue eyes and evil smile, demonic doll Chucky has been terrifying horror fans since the first Child’s Play movie was released in 1988.
Amazingly, the killer doll - who returns to the big screen on June 21 in a reboot of the original film – was inspired by the story of a real “voodoo” doll that traumatised a Florida family over 100 years ago.
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Robert the Doll was gifted to Robert Eugene Otto in 1906 by his family’s Bahamian maid, who is believed to have practised black magic and voodoo.
The sailor-suited toy stands at 40-inches tall, is stuffed with wood chippings and once bore painted features not unlike those of a jester.
Legend has it that Robert – who went by the name ‘Gene’ – told his parents the doll mutilated his other toys and would knock furniture over during the night.
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In the original 1988 movie, which spawned six sequels, the notorious serial killer's spirit inhabits a 'good guy' doll and goes on a murder spree to avenge his own death.
Robert 'attacked' 10-year-old and tried to kill her
When Gene died in 1974, the house was bought by a new family and converted into a bed and breakfast.
Robert was found in the attic and given to the family's 10-year-old daughter.
But she soon began to suffer from night terrors, her other dolls were mutilated and she claimed that Robert moved about her bedroom and tried to attack her.
She claimed Robert the doll tried to kill her on more than one occasion and when the family dog was found, with a cord tied tightly round its neck, Robert was put in a trunk in the attic.
Frightened guests to the B&B then reported unexplained footsteps and laughter coming from the loft.
In 1994, Robert was donated to the East Martello Museum in Key West, Florida – but the controversy around him has not ended.
Cameras and electronic devices are said to malfunction in his presence and staff have reported shifts in his position and a change of expression.
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'Giggling' doll destroyed toys and terrified neighbours
Robert the Doll was one-of-a-kind toy made by the Steiff Company of Germany around the turn of the century.
The servant who gave it to the six-year-old Gene was said to have put a voodoo curse on it, using a lock of Gene's hair sewn into the clothing.
The boy's parents often heard him talking to the doll.
At first, they assumed their son was simply answering himself in a changed voice but later claimed to believe the "Robert the doll" was actually speaking.
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They also said they heard the doll "giggle" and visitors reported seeing the doll’s facial expressions change.
Neighbours claimed to have seen Robert moving from window to window when the family were out.
Gene grew up to become a prominent artist and, after his parents died, moved back into the home with his wife Anne and was reunited with Robert.
Anne was freaked out by the doll, claiming she saw its expression change, and he was confined to the attic.
But the ‘haunting’ didn’t stop there. Visitors to the house heard footsteps and laughter upstairs and, on more than one occasion, Gene was said to have found Robert sitting in a rocking chair in the main house having "escaped" from the attic.
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In the following years visitors to the house blamed their post-visit misfortune – everything from car accidents to job losses and divorce – on failing to respect the doll.
Staff say Robert gets one to three letters a day from visitors apologising for acting rudely around him and asking to lift evil voodoo curses.
Child's Play is released in UK cinemas on June 21 2019
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