Kate Dowling
Ms. Barbara Barklow
Monsters & Misfits
18 December 2017
Creative: Short Story
A woman came into the museum on Friday. She looked restless and almost a little scared. She must've been crazy because she gave us a doll and told us it was haunted. Said said the doll had been crying in the night for weeks. I didn't believe this nonsense, so I threw the doll, Mandy, into a near broom closet. I continued on with my work for the day.
Over the next couple of months there were irregular things happening in the museum. Nothing dangerous, but definitely not normal. Most of the tour guides lunches were disappointing, any pictures taken by visitors were simply just black screens, and in addition, many of our displayed dolls in our museums have been being messed with. The displayed dolls in our museums have all been brought in with reported problems, but, again, I don't believe in them. As a tour guide, I explain to visitors that dolls may be creepy to us for two reasons: their unpredictability or the “Uncanny Valley” effect they have on us.
Their unpredictability makes people nervous about what might happen next. The “Uncanny Valley” effect is applied when something begins to resemble human characteristics which therefore makes them creepy or unpredictable. After discussing with a coworker the current events in the museum, she believes and uncased doll is making these things happen. I can't help but think of the distraught woman from months earlier with the “crying” doll. I started towards the broom closet in the hunt for Mandy. When I arrived, she was gone. It's been a year since she has gone missing and I have never again doubted the doll stories I hear.
Endnotes:
This short story idea came from an article I read online (Angelo) about the “Mandy” doll. I added a lot of my own touches to it like the skeptical tour guide and the distraught doll owner. My facts about why dolls are creepy came from two website: (Warner) (Weinberg).
Ms. Barbara Barklow
Monsters & Misfits
18 December 2017
Creative: Short Story
A woman came into the museum on Friday. She looked restless and almost a little scared. She must've been crazy because she gave us a doll and told us it was haunted. Said said the doll had been crying in the night for weeks. I didn't believe this nonsense, so I threw the doll, Mandy, into a near broom closet. I continued on with my work for the day.
Over the next couple of months there were irregular things happening in the museum. Nothing dangerous, but definitely not normal. Most of the tour guides lunches were disappointing, any pictures taken by visitors were simply just black screens, and in addition, many of our displayed dolls in our museums have been being messed with. The displayed dolls in our museums have all been brought in with reported problems, but, again, I don't believe in them. As a tour guide, I explain to visitors that dolls may be creepy to us for two reasons: their unpredictability or the “Uncanny Valley” effect they have on us.
Their unpredictability makes people nervous about what might happen next. The “Uncanny Valley” effect is applied when something begins to resemble human characteristics which therefore makes them creepy or unpredictable. After discussing with a coworker the current events in the museum, she believes and uncased doll is making these things happen. I can't help but think of the distraught woman from months earlier with the “crying” doll. I started towards the broom closet in the hunt for Mandy. When I arrived, she was gone. It's been a year since she has gone missing and I have never again doubted the doll stories I hear.
Endnotes:
This short story idea came from an article I read online (Angelo) about the “Mandy” doll. I added a lot of my own touches to it like the skeptical tour guide and the distraught doll owner. My facts about why dolls are creepy came from two website: (Warner) (Weinberg).