‘Robert The Doll’ is an allegedly haunted doll exhibited at the East Martello Museum. Robert was once owned by Key West, Florida, painter, and author Robert Eugene Otto. Ostensibly a little boy in a sailor suit, his careworn face is only vaguely human. His nub of a nose looks like a pair of pinholes. He is covered in brown nicks, like scars. His eyes are beady and black.
He wears a malevolent smirk. Clasped in his lap he’s holding his own toy, a dog with garish, popping eyes and also a too-big tongue lolling crazily out of its mouth. Here are some other things that people also agree are true about Robert. He is definitely haunted and that he has caused car accidents, broken bones, job loss, divorce, and also a cornucopia of other misfortunes.
The doll was bought by the grandfather of Robert Eugene Otto as a gift from overseas and was promptly named after the little boy. The sailor outfit that makes Robert the Doll rather iconic in paranormal circles was not a Steiff product and was most probably an outfit worn by Otto in his youth, making the boy and the doll undeniably intertwined.
Robert was adored by Otto in his youth and was treated as though he were a living companion. Frequently, when Otto misbehaved, or something were to go missing or get broken in the household, the young boy would attribute it to the doll. The reoccurring theme of ‘Robert did it’ is inescapable within the doll legend.
Supposedly, the first recorded supernatural incident was in Otto’s early childhood, where he awoke to find Robert sitting at the end of his bed, his beady eyes staring back at him. Moments later, the rest of the house was woken by the sounds of furniture being thrown around the room. When Otto’s mother entered the room, she found everything in chaos, save for the young boy who had curled up in fear on his bed. Robert remained sat at the foot.
After a childhood of blaming his wrongdoings on the doll, Robert’s behavior was said to worsen. As Otto grew older, the doll took up his position propped up in the upstairs window of the family home. Schoolchildren who became aware of this legend said the doll would appear and disappear by the window, causing many local youngsters to give the house a wide berth.
When news of the children’s fears reached Otto, he went to investigate Robert’s attic spot, but actually found the doll on a rocking chair in an upstairs bedroom. The doll remained in Key West in the family home while Otto continued his art education in New York and Paris. Upon his return, Robert resumed his constant presence in the household.
After Otto married, his wife, Anne, soon expressed discomfort with Robert’s presence. The doll was not removed from the house, but rather confined to the attic. Robert was rather more unimpressed with his new quarters and Anne soon heard footsteps and malicious giggling from the attic space.
Two years after Otto’s death in 1974, his wife followed and their Eaton Street home, doll included, was sold to a Myrtle Reuter. Myrtle remained in the house with Robert for a further 20 years before selling the property which now operates as a guest house. However, during this period, the new owner’s daughter supposedly joyfully discovered Robert, only for this to quickly turn to fear. The child repeatedly screamed at night, convinced that Robert wanted to hurt her. She also told her parents that Robert was wandering around the room at night.
Sources: Ghost And Gravestones, Artist House Keywest.