Child’s Play and Chucky are names synonymous with horror movies today. But is the world’s creepiest doll, Chucky, based on a true story?
The Doll Killer King
The idea of creepy dolls in horror movies has been a staple of the genre ever since the first doll made its eerie appearance in a horror film back in 1929. Now, with horror movies like Annabelle, which is based on a real story of a demon-possessed doll that had been locked away by demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren in their Occult Museum (which has been closed since their passing), and the doll killer king himself, Chucky (Child’s Play), reigning over a 7-film-long franchise, killer dolls are more prevalent than ever.
Where It All Started
Before there was Child’s Play and Chucky, there was Robert the Doll.
It is reported that the first instance of a haunted doll dates back to 1906, to the Otto family in Key West, Florida. It was there that a young boy named Robert Eugene Otto was gifted a doll, who also came to be known as Robert. Of course, the stories of how the doll became haunted in the first place have varying myths, but what is known is that the boy loved his doll very much, keeping it until the day he died.
Many myths and legends surround the doll and its connection to the beyond, but the stories first started in the Otto family home. MamaMia cited that the family started to hear strange giggles and footsteps in the middle of the night. People passing by the family home would report seeing the doll moving in and out of the window frame. Atlas Obscura reports that Robert the Doll is claimed to be Key West’s most cursed object.
After Robert Otto’s passing, the doll was donated to the Fort East Martello Museum in Key West, where it resides to this day. According to the museum’s curator, Cori Convertito, lovers of the occult and strange flock to the museum to see the doll, and he even receives plenty of fan mail. Supposedly, those who don’t ask permission before taking a photo with the doll or are outwardly rude to him tend to experience a string of bad luck, to the point where some of the mail they have received are apology letters to Robert the Doll.
Charles Lee Ray
Chucky has been toying with his victims for the last 36 years in several Child’s Play franchise films, a spin-off and, most recently, a TV series. The 1988 original film saw Chucky created in a voodoo ritual performed by a serial killer, Charles Lee Ray (portrayed by Brad Dourif in the movie). While the plot of the movie is entirely fictional and has nothing to do with Robert the Doll from 1906, some features of the first film were created to seemingly pay homage to the first haunted doll.
In the film, footsteps left in powder run through the halls, and Alex Vincent’s Andy whispers conversations with an entity before Chucky is revealed. If you think that these show an eerie resemblance to some of the activity reported about Robert the Doll, that would be because that’s where the inspiration dawned.
It seems that some legends will never die, and that could not be truer for the horror genre than it is for any other. With many horror legends surviving the test of time, such as Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Ghostface, and even Leatherface, creating a villain like Chucky keeps them alive and loved for decades in the fear and nightmares of audiences.
What do you think? Is the true story of Robert the Doll the inspiration behind Chucky and Child’s Play?
Child's Play |
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A struggling single mother unknowingly gifts her son a doll imbued with a serial killer's consciousness. |
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| Studio: United Artists |
| Running Time: 87 minutes |
| Release Date: November 9, 1988 |
| Cast: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent |
| Director: Tom Holland |
| Writers: Don Mancini, John Lafia, Tom Holland |
| Genre: Horror, Thriller |
| Box Office: $44.2 million |
