Phantoms & Specters. Lisa Yorio
haunted objects is the belief that a doll can be possessed by a spirit. Porcelain dolls are probably considered the most disturbing. I think this is because dolls with jointed arms and legs seem to be the most life- like and often have been reported to have a presence that resembles a human being. There have been many cases reporting spirits attaching themselves to certain dolls. Some theories suggest a doll can be possessed due to a traumatic event that happened near the doll, or a child's emotional attachment to the doll as being comforting and inviting to a nearby spirit. The energy focused on the doll may result in the summoning of a spirit, which may attach to the doll. Some of the phenomenon that is reported with possessed dolls include: cold spots, laughter, sadness, crying, and feelings of being watched. Sometimes, there is unexplainable movement of the doll or furniture and objects near the doll. The dolls personality has been described as ranging from comforting to evil. I guess this depends on what type of spirit may be possessing the doll. In life, there are good people as well as bad people. The same holds true for death, there are good spirits as well as evil spirits. It is hard to determine what type of spirits may possess a certain object. I feel I have sensed this phenomenon.
Movies and television programs play a big role in shaping today's popular belief that haunted objects exist.
I remember in the 1970's when I was a little girl; I saw two Twilight Zone episodes pertaining to this. One was about a ventriloquist and his doll that took on his own personality and terrorizes its owner titled "The Dummy". This was first aired in 1964. The ventriloquist is convinced that his dummy is alive and evil so he plans on creating a new act with a new dummy. The original dummy named Willie doesn't like this so he takes his revenge by driving his owner crazy. In the shocking ending the owner takes on the same characteristics as the dummy and the doll becomes more human like resembling the owner. The other was called "The Living Doll" which was first aired in 1963. This was a very famous episode about a possessed doll. A man is displeased when his wife buys an expensive doll named "Talking Tina" home for his step daughter to play with. A battle begins with the man and the doll. It taunts and says evil things to him eventually driving him to madness and death.
In the 1980's, the movie "Child's Play" was very popular. It was about an evil villain that was killed and reincarnated into a psychotic, murdering doll.
In the 1990's, the movies "Puppet Master" and "Demonic Toys" portray toys getting possessed, coming to life and going on a murderous rampages.
"Puppet Master" is about psychics who are plotted against by a former colleague, using puppets animated by an Egyptian Spell "Demonic Toys" is about two cops chasing some criminals into a warehouse. One is shot and his blood somehow awakens an ancient demon that possesses a bunch of electronic toys.
In 2008, a new reality show called Paranormal State became very popular. In the episode "The Haunted Piano", antiques collectors bring a certain piano into their home and they experience bad feelings and infestation of mice. Lorraine Warren, a famous "demonologist" is called in to lend her expertise to dismantle and destroy the instrument.
In 2010, a new paranormal documentary show called "My Ghost Story" featured an episode on a haunted ceramic giraffe statute. The figure was about 25-30 lbs, about 2 ft. tall, and it came from Africa. A man brought it home one day for his son and nephew. They placed it on a sofa table in the living room. The two cousins claimed that strange occurrences started happening shortly after the statue arrived. They heard footsteps in the living room, they felt cold spots, and saw shadows in the hallway. They sensed a strong presence in the area where the statue was located. The object would seem to move around at night. The next morning it would appear somewhere else then its original location. The boys decided to set up a video camera in the living room to see if they could capture the movement. Sure enough, they caught on tape something move behind the TV and then dart away very quickly. Then they could see the figure of the giraffe peek around the corner, near the hallway. This figure was on the floor on the other side of the room from where it was originally placed on the sofa table. It was amazing.
There was some other strange phenomenon going on in the father’s bedroom. The owner’s son started hearing noises and a female voice in the bedroom. He decided to video tape the occurrences. He claimed to have sensed a weird energy or spirit every time he entered the room. He also felt a squeezing sensation on his chest and it was hard to breathe. In the mirror, he caught a reflection of an older man looking at him, which scared him. He ran out of the room after seeing this. He was afraid to go back into that room again. Later that night, he set up a camera in the living room. He fell asleep on the couch near the recorder. He was sleeping peacefully until he heard a loud banging sound. He abruptly woke up and walked around the living room. He inspected the room thoroughly but could not find anything unusual. The next morning he reviewed the tape. He was shocked and frightened when he saw the footage. The tape revealed as he was getting up from the couch, a transparent grey arm swooped out of nowhere and tried to grab him. It just missed him by a few inches.
A few days later when the boys returned home from work they noticed the giraffe was missing. They found it broken in several pieces all over the floor near the hallway. After this incident, everything in the house went back to normal. No-more paranormal activity occurred.
In May of 2011, a new reality paranormal TV show aired called "The Haunted Collector". John Zaffis, a famous "demonologist" heads the team of paranormal investigators. John has worked on both the "Amityville Horror" and "The Haunting in Connecticut" cases. John's team investigates hauntings pertaining to objects that may be haunted or possessed and are causing paranormal activity to occur. He then removes the objects from the location that is experiencing the haunting and re locates them to his museum in Connecticut. The museum contains hundreds of possessed possessions that he has collected over 30 years.
In one episode, John and his team go the Backside Ale House in Albuquerque, New Mexico. When he arrives, he asks the owner about some of the Native American artifacts he notices displayed around the restaurant. She claims that she purchased an authentic tomahawk and an old whiskey jig from an antique store in Albuquerque. She has also found an arrowhead on the property. His team finds a wooden box that contains a detonator in the attic.
The Backside Ale House claims some unusual occurrences: such as a fireplace that ignited itself, beer taps that open on their own, footsteps and shadows. The gas on the stove turns on by itself.
The team did a daytime sweep and discovered voice responses on the EVP. Also one of the team members experienced hearing footsteps, and seeing shadows outside the bathroom door. All of the team members experienced something burning but there was no fire anywhere.
At night the building seems very hot and the attic has very high EMF readings. John brings the detonator to a coal mining expert the next day. The expert tells John that the old mining box was used for dynamite. He says in the 1920's, there was a mine explosion where several workers were killed. The bodies of these men were never recovered because the mine is still on fire today.
Could this be what is causing the haunting at the "Backside Ale House" The owner asks John if he can take the detonator with him and add it to his museum. He gladly accepts it in hoping to put the haunting to rest.
I went to the Backside Ale House in August 2011. I took photos inside the restaurant and outside on the property. I saw an orb appear next to the hanging fireplace near the bar. I also went into the ladies bathroom and I felt a little uneasy. It felt like someone was in there with me. I snapped a photo near the wall next to the toilet. A huge orb appeared hovering next to me. Could this be one of the spirits of the miners? It seemed to be just as curious about me as I was about it.
When I was seven years old before I was influenced by any of these TV programs, I was convinced that my life sized baby doll was alive and possessed by an evil spirit. It was actually my height at the time. I don’t remember where it came from or even asking for something like that. I remember the doll had blue eyes that seemed to stare at me and watch my every move. At night time it would take on a different mood and almost look real and life like in the shadows. It would be sitting in the chair at the edge of the bed and then suddenly appear in a different part of the room. I don’t ever remember moving it because I didn’t want to touch it. There was something creepy about it and I was afraid to even go near it. There were some other weird occurrences going on in the