Robert The Doll Reviewed

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting Key West, Florida, you’ll know it’s what many consider a tropical paradise and vacation hotspot.  You may also have noticed that it’s a very strange place.  Filled with ghost stories and bizarre tales, one of the most famous residents of the Keys isn’t a person, but a haunted doll.

Robert the Doll is one of the world’s most well-known haunted objects.  Currently housed in the Fort Martello Museum in Key West, Florida, Robert has a long and fascinating history.

For years, there have been numerous stories about Robert’s origins and tales of the doll’s creation by a voodoo priestess.  Does the doll indeed have some kind of occult origins or is the truth much more mundane?

The creepy stories that compromise the mythology of Robert include his destructive tendencies, his control over the young boy who owned him and his ability to run about on his own.  Imagine walking by a house and seeing this doll staring at you from a second story window.

Fortunately, author David Sloan, who has written about other legends of Key West, has turned his attention to a definitive study of Robert and the tales that surround him.

Robert the Doll, covers all aspects of this strange creation, including details about both the doll itself, and its possible true origin.  Sloan weaves the history of the doll together with that of the Otto family, Robert’s original owners.  The author has even gone so far as to research the sailor outfit that Robert has long worn.

The book is peppered throughout with letters sent to Robert at the museum.  You see, one of the quirky things about Robert is that you must ask his permission to take his photo.  The letters are petitions for forgiveness from people who suffered misfortune after taking Robert’s picture without permission or other perceived transgressions.  The fear of being cursed by Robert runs deep.

Sloan doesn’t dispel the fascinating side of the doll either.  In fact, the things that he has dug up make it all the more intriguing and maybe even creepier than it already was.

Rare photographs and newspaper clippings round the book out quite nicely and this is certainly one of the few books to focus so intently on a specific paranormal object. 

If you’re interested in the weird history of the Keys, the paranormal in general or haunted objects in particular, this is a must read.

Robert also has an official website and his own Facebook page, check them out at the link below.

Oh, and Robert, I hope you like the review! 

http://www.robertthedoll.org/