Most of us know about Child’s Play, the movies with the Chucky doll, the red-haired doll that has been terrorizing viewers for almost 30 years. This evil toy has returned in several films since Child’s Play (1989) to decimate entire families with a sharp knife. But Chucky is not just a horror film. Did you know that the story of this evil doll was inspired by a true story? That of Robert the doll and Robert Eugène Otto. This is their story.
In the 20th century, Mr. and Mrs. Otto, an affluent couple, lived in a beautiful house with many servants, including a young woman of Haitian origin who took care of their son. But the young woman practiced black magic, which prompted Mrs. Otto to dismiss her. Before leaving, the young Haitian girl gave a funny doll to little Robert. The doll was made of fabric, wool and whose eyes were two large black buttons. Some people said that its hair was actual human hair.
Robert Doll!! pic.twitter.com/yPFyuY5g6T
Very quickly, the little boy fell in love with the doll. He did not go anywhere without it, slept with it, ate with it. Robert’s parents were amused by this situation. But one day, the little boy asked his parents to call him Eugene, he was no longer Robert, that name now belonged to the doll. One evening, Eugène’s mother heard a conversation coming from her son’s bedroom. Eugene spoke to his doll in his child’s voice and another much lower voice answered him. At first, Mrs. Otto saw it as child’s play, thinking that her son was changing his voice. But then she realized that the voice was that of an adult, and seemed to come from the doll itself.
Then, the behavior of young Eugene changed completely. His room was often turned upside down, mutilated toys were found all over the house. Whenever his parents asked him about it, he replied, “It’s Robert.” Then, rumors circulated: neighbors had seen the doll move after dark, they heard the devilish laughter of the doll. Many servants of the house left, terrified by what they saw. Otto’s guests reported that the doll was blinking, so Eugene’s parents decided to react. They put Robert the doll in an attic box. Time passed and the strange phenomena stopped. Eugène also calmed down and forgot about his doll.
After years, Eugene returned to live in the family home with his wife. He rediscovered his doll, prepared a room for it, and his behavior began to change more and more each day. He was violent with his wife, got angry often, and each time he was questioned about his behavior he said, “It’s Robert.” The strange phenomena linked to the doll resumed. One day, Eugene fell ill and locked himself up with Robert. However, the story does not end there. A new family moved into the Otto house. A 10-year-old girl found Robert and put it in her doll collection. However, the little girl said that she saw Robert move and that one night, the doll climbed on her bed to attack her. The parents decided to get rid of it as soon as possible.
2. TEROR of ROBERT DOLL pic.twitter.com/it4dyHwNau
— hyow (@hyomeenx) March 8, 2013
Since then, Robert the doll has been at the Fort East Martello Museum. Some visitors at this museum say that the doll blinks, follows them, and those who have laughed at it or not to asked permission before taking pictures are cursed. The museum receives thousands of letters of apology begging Robert to forgive them, and to withdraw the curse.
The intriguing story of this doll has inspired Don Mancini to create the exceptionally famous doll named Chucky in the film Child’s Play. The film has frightened many viewers and turned some of them into horror movie fans.
