Welcome to a new Scary Tuesday, Tiktakers.
You probably all know Chucky, the terrifying protagonist of the Child’s Play movies saga.
But you probably Dont know Robert, the sinister doll that actually existed and was the inspiration
for the character.
This is his story.
At the end of the 19th century, the Ottos, a wealthy american family, moved to a new
mansion in Key West, Florida.
People knew they were hard on their servants, sometimes they even harmed them.
It was, precisely, one of them, a haitian gipsy woman in charge of taking care of the
little one in the family, Robert Eugene, the one that unleashed all this.
One day, Mrs Otto, supposedly, found this servant in their backyard practising a ceremony
she thought was vudu - black magic typical from caribbean communities, and she immediately
fired her.
Before she left, the woman gave the little one a doll that looked like a kid.
It was 1 meter tall, stuffed with straw and sewed with wire- Two buttons as eyes and human
hair, which the say belonged to the kid himself.
He named him with his own name, and would usually dress him up with his own clothes.
Robert the doll became his most trustworthy friend.
He would always take him when he went shopping into town and he always saved a seat for him
at the table, where he would feed him without his parents noticing.
They even slept together.
But soon, this innocent relationship would become … a bit strange.
The little boy started to say he’d rather be called by his second name, Gene, since
Robert was the doll’s name.
They would usually hear him talking to the doll inside his room, and a lower voice would
answer as if there was somebody else in there with him.
Sometimes Gene made lots of noise, and when his mom went to see how he was doing, she
would find him scared in a corner while Robert looked at him, sitting on a chair or on the
bed, staring at him.
Even neighbors said, when the family wasnt at home, they’d see the doll looking out
of the windows.
Gene started to have terrible nightmares, and he ‘d tell his parents that Robert could
move on his own.
His toys appeared mutilated and he’d hear weird laughs.
One day, while the kid was sleeping, they heard a loud noise in his room.
When they went in there to see what was happening, they found most of the furniture turned over,
and the doll laying next to the bed.
When his parents asked Gene why he was doing such things, he’d defend himself, crying,
and saying it was Robert who had done it all.
Scared, all servants started to leave the family, until the Ottos decided to interfere.
Gene’s parents took Robert away and they put it in a box in the attic, where it was
hidden for many years.
Some time after that, Gene (an adult already), inherited the family mansion after his dad
died, and he moved there with his wife.
He had become a painter, and he felt that house was the perfect place for him to work.
Soon after they moved, he found Robert in the attic, and he decided to take him back,
even tho his wife didnt really like the doll… not at all.
Gene reconnected with his childhood toy, and he’d take him everywhere, he’d even sit
him down on his favorite chair while his wife and himself were sleeping.
And then, the strange events started to take place again.
Gene’s wife said the doll’s facial expression changed sometimes, as if he had feelings.
Some neighbors said they had seen Robert moving around the house and kids from nearby schools
avoided to get close to the house.
The Otto family stopped having visits, nobody wanted to face that chilling toy, so Gene
was forced to hide it in the attic again.
But those who did go to their house would say they still heard inexplicable steps and
laughs coming from upstairs.
Gene Otto died in 1972 and his wife sold the house soon after.
For some time, Robert was alone in the empty mansion until a new family bought it and restored
it.
The doll was discovered by their daughter, a 10 year old girl, who grew fond of him and
added him to her toys collection.
But it seems like he didnt really like his new owner, because since then, the little
girl would yell, frightened, every night, saying her doll was trying to kill her.
Finally, Robert was taken to the Martello Gallery-Key West Art and Historical Museum
in Key West, Florida, where it’s still exposed, sitting in a glass cabinet.
Both visitors and staff working there say they’ve seen it moving and, at nights, they
can hear it hitting the cabinet.
One of them says he once cleaned Robert before turning the lights off and locking the museum.
The next day, he found the lights on and Robert sitting in a different position, with dust
on its shoes.
They also say when people take pictures or videos of him, cameras stop working or pictures
turn out blurry.
If you wanna take a picture of him, you must ask him for it politely.
If he’s OK with it, he’ll nod.
But if he doesnt and you still take it, a curse will fall on you and whoever is with
you.
Same thing if you tease him.
Actually, on the walls of the room he is in, there are lots of letters from people begging
him to take the curse back.
Nowadays, Robert is still in his museum cabinet, wearing his sailor suit and holding his lion
stuffed animal, with only a thin glass keeping him away from
the outside.