Robert the Doll
| Robert the Doll | |
| Abbreviation: | |
| Group Numbers: | Number will vary/change as members are added. |
| Leadership: | Robert the Doll |
| Goals: | To spread awareness of Robert in Malton. |
| Recruitment Policy: | Any |
| Contact: | Ask Robert. |
This is a group made up of people who wish to spread the legend of Robert the Doll in Malton.
Robert the Doll is an allegedly haunted doll that was exhibited at a museum in Key West, Florida.
History
The doll originally belonged to an artist described as "eccentric", who belonged to a prominent Key West family. The doll was reportedly manufactured by the Steiff Company of Germany, purchased by the artist's grandfather while on a trip to Germany in 1904, and given to the young artist as a birthday gift. The doll's sailor suit was likely an outfit that the artist wore as a child.
The doll remained stored in the family home in Key West while the artist studied art in New York and Paris. The artist married a woman in Paris on May 3, 1930. The couple returned to the family home in Key West to live there until the artist died in 1974. His wife died two years later.
In 1994, the doll was donated to the museum in Key West, Florida, where it became a popular tourist attraction. The doll has since come to the city of Malton.
Legend
According to legend, the doll has supernatural abilities that allow it to move, change its facial expressions, and make giggling sounds. Some versions of the legend claim that someone gave the artist the doll as a gift or as "retaliation for a wrongdoing". Other stories claim that the doll moved figurines around the room, and was "aware of what went on around him". Other legends claim that the doll "vanished" after the artist's house changed ownership a number of times after his death, or that the young artist triggered the doll's supernatural powers by blaming his childhood mishaps on the doll. According to local folklore, the doll has caused "car accidents, broken bones, job loss, divorce and a cornucopia of other misfortunes", and museum visitors supposedly experience "post-visit misfortunes" for "failing to respect Robert".
