If you've seen James Wan's hit shocker The Conjuring, you're probably still having nightmares about the terrifying possessed doll Annabelle from the prologue of that film... especially if you read our story about that doll's real-life inspiration. (She's even getting her own movie!) But Annabelle's not the only haunted toy with a movie-worthy backstory: seems there's a little guy out there named “Robert” whose own history may be even more disturbing... so much, in fact, that he actually became the inspiration for Chucky and the recently-rekindled Child's Play film franchise.
FEARNET's own John Squires recently wrote a chilling piece for iHorror.com detailing Robert's strange legacy: the chilling story begins over a century ago, when the doll was presented as a childhood gift to painter Robert Eugene Otto, allegedly as an act of revenge by his parents' voodoo-practicing servant. Accounts of the cursed doll's paranormal skills include the ability to speak, laugh and walk around the house, and it's also claimed to have caused several nasty accidents. As an adult, when Eugene inherited the house from his parents, he discovered Robert waiting for him in the attic... and the disturbing events began anew.
When Eugene himself passed away in 1974, Robert's sinister shenanigans didn't end. Instead, the doll started to torment the next family who moved into the house – particularly their 10-year-old daughter, who claims the doll tried several times to attack her.
Robert now resides at the Martello Museum in Key West, Florida, where he draws the same kind of anxious interest that surrounds haunted artifacts like Annabelle... and according to the museum's employees, the little guy is still up to his old tricks.
Find out more about Robert the Haunted Doll at iHorror, and be sure to read our special feature on even more horror movies inspired by actual events.