Robert the Living Doll

It is not that unusual for a young child to have an imaginary friend or two. Often times, we as parents think it cute? A mischievous little friend afoot to take the blame for some minor wrong doing.



But what happens when the child begins to be torment by the imaginary friend? To the point that the child cannot sleep the night through without the friend awaking them to play? What happens when the play becomes ruff, and frightening to the child?

So it goes -- for Mr. And Mrs. Thomas Otto, and there son Robert Eugene... The year 1896. It was well known the Otto's mistreated there servants, and were not the kindest of people one would want to associate with. One servant, that aided in the care of the couples son, Robert Eugene Gene,(Gene) was said to be versed in the ways of voodoo. She for one reason or the other became very displeased with the Otto family, and decided to do something about it! As the story goes the servant gave Gene a doll. A doll she had made herself. The doll standing three feet tall, and stuffed with straw. With life like features, that were at first very endearing to Gene. He decided to name the doll "Robert," after himself.





The doll was a constant companion to Gene. Gene could be heard frequently talking to the doll. This in it self might not have been so bad? The Otto's were puzzled to hear the boy answering himself, in an entirely different voice than his own?

Strange things began to occur in the Otto household. Neighbors claimed to see Robert move about from window to window, when the family were not at home. The citizens of Key West heard about Robert, and his evil doings. Many people walking by the home reported that the doll watched from the turret room, and mocked them as they passed... School children feared walking by the Otto home, in fear of Robert's mean glare. Gene began to blame Robert for mishaps that would occur. The Otto's themselves claimed to hear the doll giggle, and swear they caught glimpses of the doll running about the house. Gene had frequent nightmares and scream out in the night, when his parents would enter the room, they would find furniture over turned, their child in a fright, and Robert at the foot of the bed, with his glaring gaze! "Robert Did It."... The doll was eventually put up into the attic. Where he resided for many years.

When Gene's parents died, and the Otto home came to Gene. Robert was rediscovered and welcomed back into the lower rooms of the home. Robert's influence could be quickly felt again. Well, Gene's wife found Robert unsettling. One day she decided she had enough of Robert's glare...and returned him to his attic sanctuary. Gene was displeased, and demanding that Robert needed a room of his own where he could see out of the window. He put Robert in the turret room, by a window. It wasn't long after that Gene's sanity was questioned?
Gene, began to visit the turret room more frequently, he claimed he would find Robert rocking in his chair by the turret room window, displeased with his accommodations. Finally Gene himself had enough! Robert was returned to the attic...

Robert went on to reck havoc in the attic. Visitors that entered the house could hear Robert walking back and forth in the attic, and giggling profusely. Guests no longer wanted to visit the Toto home.

Gene Toto died in 1972. The home was sold to a new family, and the tale of Robert had died down...

But Robert waited patiently up in the attic to be discovered, once again. Eventually new owners arrived, and Robert was quick to be discovered by their 10 year old daughter. It was not long before Robert unleashed his displeasure on the child... The little girl claiming that the doll tortured her, and made her life a living hell. Even after more than thirty years later, she steadfastly claims that "the doll was alive and wanted to kill her."

Robert, know resides in Martello Museum in Key West Florida, still dressed in his white sailor's suit and clutching his stuffed lion, he lives quite comfortably, though well guarded, at the museum. Employs at the museum continue to give accounts of Robert being up to his old tricks still today...

Robert does not seem to be able to curtail his pranks, and many visitors that come that contact with Robert The Doll have claim to have been deeply affected by Robert. Having their own sometimes terrifying stories to tell...

I hope to present my readers with some of the paranormal events that continue to occurred to some of Robert's visitors.



Paranormal Encounter With Robert

This haunting is about a mother, and daughter that had a close encounter with Robert the Doll...
"Several years ago while visiting Key West, my daughter and I went on aGhost tour, which included the Museum that housed "Robert The Doll." While looking and listening to the narrator at the museum, near Robert's Case, I felt this distinct heat sensation on my right arm. So much so that it made me look around to see if I could determine where this heat was being generated from? I could not find any logical source where the heat might have been coming from.
The following day we actually went back in broad daylight to see if we could come up with some form of explanation? We could find none?

That evening we took a flight home and returned around 10:30 p.m.The minute we were off the airplane odd things began to occur?We were to pick up our vehicle left in the parking lot, but for some reason we couldn't find! After almost 3 hours of frantically we located the car.
We finally pulled up to our home, upon entering the house, we both noticed it was unbearably cold. I thought "oh no I must have turned thethermostat down instead of up before we left for our trip? So I proceeded to check the thermostat, expecting the worst.... a broken air conditioning unit...

As I proceeded into the area where the thermostat was, I heard music coming from my daughter's bathroom? Instead of checking out the thermostat closet, I headed for the bathroom. Fully intending to find my daughter had carelessly left the radio on.I was shocked as I entered the bathroom the music was playing, yet I found the radio was not even plugged in, and without batteries! I call my daughter in to ask if she could heard the music?She claimed she also heard music, and she also assessed the radio?

Shocked that it was unplugged, yet able to give off music.By this time we were both grappling for answers?We decide quickly to check the air conditioning closet to see why it wasso cold in the house. The air conditioning closet was next to the bathroom.
The door handle turns in my hand, it would not open, as if it were being held leaned up against at the other side?I take a deep breath, and I try again, telling myself "that did not just happen!" It happened again and my daughter saw it this time.

I quickly decide we should leave the house, and go to my mom's house in the next town, even though by now It's nearly 2 a.m. We pick up a few item's that would be needed for our overnight stay,and started towards the front door only to hear odd sounds coming from the other side of the door?

It sounded as if the door was being hit into by thousand of bugs...As if the outside light had been on and attracted an over abundance of frantic bugs. I took a deep breath, and shouted out "in the name of God leave us alone!The horrible bombardment sound stopped dead... My daughter screamed "Mom, you made them go away." More afraid of what was beyond our door than on this side of it.

I sit down to think about what had just occured? Thinking, "we had stopped what ever was happening in the house."At the same instance my daughter turned on the television set. There was only a green line to be seen, right in the middle of the screen. Great, now it appears our TV is not working. While she's trying to fix it, I notice some form of reflection on the screen? I thought it my daughters, I got closer, only to see the leering face of that odd, spooky doll, Robert...