This handsome fellow is Robert
Robert has a long and storied history going back 100 years and is the star attraction at the haunted East Martello Museum in Key West Florida. You say you never heard of Robert? I believe you have, you see, Robert and his story are the inspiration behind the haunted doll movies such as Childs Play and Annabell, a real life Pinnochio, but with evil intent.
Robert's origins are innocent enough, he was created as a window display for a handmade doll shop in Germany but found his way to Key West and was gifted to a young boy named Eugene Robert Otto by a servant of the Otto family. Eugene took to the doll almost immediately and a lifelong companionship was forged, Eugene even dressed him in his signature sailor suit which was an old outfit of his.
The relationship between Eugene and Robert seemed innocent enough to the Otto family , but took a sinister turn when allegedly the servant was mistreated and fired from the Otto home. That's when Robert came to life. One night the Ottos woke to Eugene screaming for help, they tried to enter Eugenes room and as he screamed they could hear furniture being tossed about on the other side of the unmoveable door. When they were finally able to open the door, they saw Robert sitting in a rocking chair in a ransacked room with Eugene crouched on the bed in terror where he uttered the now famous phrase “Robert did it”
Things just got weirder after that, Eugene would often wake to Robert sitting at the edge of his bed having moved by himself in the night. The Ottos would also report hearing Eugene talk to Robert and him responding in a low gravelly voice. When no one was home, Mrs. Otto would often hear Robert moving about and giggling in a childlike voice upstairs. When things went missing or broke in the house Eugene would tell his parents Robert did it.
When Eugenes parents died, he locked Robert in an upstairs bedroom as boys often grow out of their toys, and Eugene got married and moved his wife Anne into the house. But his story does not end there, Anne felt uneasy knowing Robert was in the house. She reported hearing Robert move around the room and heard childlike giggling as she passed the locked room. She told Eugene to put him in the attic, but Robert was not pleased. Anne saw his expression change as she looked up at the attic window from outside, even though Robert was supposed to be in a locked trunk. Children on their way to school reported Robert at the same attic window mocking them as they walked past the house on their way to school.
Eugene died in 1974 and one would think Robert's story would die as well, but when the Ottto house was sold the new owner's 10 year old daughter was delighted to find Robert in the attic. But her delight turned to terror when she would wake to find Robert having moved from his chair to the edge of her bed overnight. The familiar phrase of “Robert did it” was often uttered as things were mysteriously lost or broken once again.
It wasn’t long before Robert was gifted to the East Martello Museum in Key West Florida, where he now sits behind a glass case. I had the pleasure to meet Robert and his caretaker Susan Parpana, who was kind enough to give me the backstory on Robert's legend and the rules to be in Robert's presence. 1. He is never to be disrespected 2. Ask his permission before you take his picture. Those who fail to follow these simple rules have met with misfortune after leaving the museum. The staff at the museum report that they get bundles of letters daily addressed to Robert, some asking forgiveness for disrespecting him.
I took no chances in Robert's presence as I approached his glass case, I asked his permission silently, and felt an immediate mental tug and sensed Robert turn away from me, I felt he did not want me there. Needless to say, I walked around his case and felt his gaze as his head turned away from me. I went on to explore the rest of the haunted museum. Perhaps it’s Robert's supernatural presence that has awakened the more than 20 ghosts that now reside in the museum, but yes the legend of Robert the Doll is real. If you ever find yourself in Key West be sure to visit the East Martello Museum and say hi to Robert, just be sure to ask his permission, after all, it’s his house now.