Robert, the haunted doll

Robert is an early 20th-century doll with a sinister story, now kept in a museum in Key West, Florida. He is said to have helped inspire the character of Chucky in Child’s Play, and since 2015 he has also starred in a horror film series of his own.

The beginning

Robert Eugene Otto belonged to a prominent Key West family. According to the most reliable accounts, the doll was made in Germany by the Steiff company, famous for its teddy bears, and was bought by his grandfather on a trip to Germany in 1904 as a birthday present for his grandson. The sailor suit was probably one that Robert himself wore as a child.

The legend, however, tells a different story. In the best-known version the Otto family treated their servants badly, and one day Robert’s mother accused a maid, originally from Haiti or the Bahamas, of practising black magic in the garden, and had her dismissed. Before leaving, the woman gave the boy a doll about a metre tall, dressed as a sailor, with hair that was said to be little Robert’s own. Other versions speak of a girl of Bahamian descent who gave it to him as revenge for a wrong she had suffered.

The first strange episodes

The boy loved his present so much that he gave it his own name. Robert and his toy became inseparable, but his parents began to worry when their son started behaving strangely. According to legend he wanted to be called by his middle name, Eugene, because Robert was the doll’s name. And he began blaming the doll for all his mischief: whenever something got broken or out of place, he would always say

Robert did it!

He was heard talking to himself and answering in a slightly different little voice, and many swore that giggling could sometimes be heard in the house. Neighbours too said they heard laughter coming from the Otto home, and some claimed they had seen the doll moving at the window while the owners were out.

Robert and the painter

Robert Eugene Otto grew up and studied art in New York and Paris, while the doll stayed in the family home at 534 Eaton Street. On 3 May 1930 he married Annette Parker in Paris, and the couple returned to live in the Key West house, where they stayed until his death in 1974. According to legend Otto rediscovered his childhood toy and grew attached to it again, even keeping it in his studio, which his wife did not like at all. Annette died two years after her husband.

Robert’s return

After the Ottos died, the Eaton Street house was bought by Myrtle Reuter, who owned it for twenty years, doll included. Today the house is a guest house. In those years more stories were born: the doll that vanished, that changed position or expression, that moved the voodoo figurines around the room. In 1994 Robert was donated to the Fort East Martello Museum in Key West, where he has become one of the town’s most visited attractions.

Robert today

Robert is still there, in a glass case, in his sailor suit and with his little stuffed dog. According to local folklore he has caused car accidents, broken bones, lost jobs, divorces and every kind of misfortune. It is said you must ask his permission before photographing him: those who don’t end up with blurry photos and are struck by a curse, and the same goes for anyone who mocks him. That is why some visitors write to him afterwards to apologise.

In 2008 Robert left Key West for the first time, for a paranormal convention in Clearwater, and in 2015 he was taken to Las Vegas for a Travel Channel programme with Zak Bagans. Since 2015 he has starred in a horror film series, starting with Robert and followed by four sequels, and a new film, Robert Returns, is scheduled for 2027.

Is it an evil spirit living in the doll, or the spirit of a child? It would not be the first time a doll hosted a child’s spirit, as in the case of the Joliet doll. If you want to try your luck, Robert is still there waiting for you. Just remember to ask his permission.

Sources

• Wikipedia – Robert (doll)