The Haunted Doll Next Door

We all know of the famous possessed or haunted dolls that have inundated our lives with their disturbing stories plastered throughout the Internet. They have not only had movies based on their havoc-causing days but have their own occult following. Annabelle, the seemingly innocent-looking Raggedy Anne doll, is the first that would come to anyone's mind. Annabelle, a doll purchased in the 1970s, was given to a young lady named Donna. Soon after, the doll started to exhibit possessed characteristics, like moving around the place by itself and leaving childlike letters written in crayon. When the doll left scratch marks on a friend after spending the evening, they contacted the Warrens to assess the situation. They concluded that the doll was not possessed but instead was used as a conduit for a demon who would eventually inhabit one of the apartment occupants. The idea was to use the doll to take control of a person finally. The Warrens spoiled this plan by locking away this raggedy Anne doll in a glass case to prevent the demon that possesses the doll from escaping and rendering devastation on any other unsuspecting soul.

Robert Eugene Otto, referred to as Gene, was gifted a doll that some say had a voodoo curse linked to it. Gene, throughout his childhood, would consistently blame the doll, who was now referred to as Robert due to his eery similarity to the Gene saying, "Robert did it," when anything was amiss in the house. However, it was not until Gene died that the future owners would experience haunting behaviours from the doll. The doll would be move throughout the house, but some owners claimed that a laughing child's sound would be heard and sometimes even footsteps running throughout the house. Robert was eventually donated to the Fort East Martello Museum. Disrespecting him will render the participants with lousy luck until a letter of apology is sent to Robert directly. Whether cursed by voodoo or just a playful spirit attached to it, Robert the doll has been the sole inspiration of the Chucky movies we enjoy today.

What is the difference between a haunted, possessed and cursed item? Most items out there are solely haunted; a spirit is attached to the said item going with it wherever it may be. These spirits have the same mobility as most able to interact with not only the object they are attached to but anything else in the vicinity of that object. Next, there are the cursed items; these items do not necessarily have a ghost attached to them but rather bad karma, luck or mojo. If you acquire an object that is cursed, you will continue to have bad luck until such an item is returned to its rightful place or owner or until it is destroyed. Finally, you have the objects that a possessed. Like the Annabelle doll, this is something you do not want to mess with or have in your possession. Whatever is linked to this object is using it as a tool to possess you eventually.

Though there is a lot of buzz around the dolls that I have just mentioned, you would be interested to know that we have a haunted doll within our own backyard in Ontario, and this one has captured footage of it moving on its own. Andy is the haunted item of Jayme's White. Jaymes, a collector of haunted and cursed things, has a plethora of over 280 items he has acquired in the last 18years. His first item was a 1944 William Fuld Ouija board, eventually building up his collection to a whopping 90 boards. Three years ago, Jaymes received Andy, the seemingly innocent antique doll with an exciting past. From his understanding, the kids of the last two owners have had an imaginary friend named Andy; hence the doll adopted the name Andy which seemed fitting as the paranormal activity linked to the doll, and the imaginary friend seemed to go hand in hand. Though Andy resided with his previous family for 20 years, he was eventually gifted to the enigmatic Jaymes White with their knowledge of his love for all things cursed and haunted. ( Please note though the doll's physical attributes are female, it's a male entity that haunts it. So not to confuse, I will refer to Andy as a "he" throughout the article.)

Andy made his first appearance at the Beverly street seances and was quickly a hit. With not only giving people the feeling of uneasiness as most porcelain antique dolls do with their lifelike features and eyes that seem to follow your every move. Andy's natural reddish hair, the colour that was considered a bad omen amongst the German doll makers since the 1800s, added another sombre essence to his apparent haunted nature. Andy provided scares to more than 50 individuals. These personal experiences included one such incident that was attributed after carrying Andy around for the evening; when put down, the doll apparently jumped out at them.

Knowing how the mind works, Jaymes believes that the people's imagination at the seances attributes to a large number of experiences had with Andy. It is a subjective haunting, brought on by the thought of an object being haunted to individuals believing that something haunted happened. The fact, however, remains that Andy is haunted, and though he may be particular on who and when he shows his true colours, he made this a reality when apparent footage was captured of him moving.

Having had two occasions at the seances, I had the privilege of seeing Andy in person, and though I did not have an aversion to him at first, playing with his hair and gently touching his delicate hands, I did see a boy, not of this time, playing within the house. During my first seance, I sensed a little boy hiding under the table as if playing hide and seek. He was around six, wearing short pants with a white cotton shirt and a Shelby hat, a famous hat worn by boys in the 1920s. Was this Andy showing himself to me? Or perhaps one of the children that their mother had murdered in this house? I will never know, but a great experience regardless.

Though Jayme's White is a mind-reader basing his talents on the science of the mind, when asked if he believed in the paranormal, he said, "like the x files states, I want to believe."

Perhaps this is why he can reside with over 280 presumably haunted articles under his roof; his skeptical personification has kept him safe from the false hauntings that would typically plague others.

Andy did make himself known to Jayme's on the final days before retiring him from show business; Jaymes believes he saw Andy turn his head as if to give him a final nod of acknowledgment. Perhaps a thank you from a spirit.

Though I do not know what item Jaymes will grace us with during his future seances, I am pretty sure we will not be disappointed. The articles are picked based on location and what seems to stand out to him at the time, perhaps by sixth sense or maybe the essence of the object calls out to him. However, the right item always seems to make its presence at just the right time. It's almost as if the article speaks to him when the time is right.

Though Jaymes has retired Andy from future appearance, his days in the sun may not be quite finished. There may be a grand finale for him just yet.

If you would like to experience your own spine-chilling Jaymes White seance or perhaps book a corporate mind-reading event, then please click below.