Published 14:14 IST, October 25th 2019
Minnesota museum holds 'Creepiest Doll Contest' ahead of Halloween
Minnesota museum holds 'Creepiest Doll Contest' ahead Halloween. History Center of Olmsted County's collection announced an online contest starting on Thursday.
History Center of Olmsted County's collection in Rochester, Minnesota launched an online contest for choosing the creepiest doll in Olmsted County on October 24. The doll museum posted photos and videos of its miniature "terrors" on social media, asking users to choose the scariest of them all. The contest winner and runner-up both are said to be displayed by the museum on Halloween. The curator of the collection, Dan Nowakowski told Minnesota Public Radio that the dolls seem scary mainly because of the eyes. Amongst the dolls are ones that have movable eyelids that snap open when you lift the dolls up. There are others with faces chipped off giving it the appearance of a mummified baby.
The curator said that the dolls were old and damaged and it is the damage that made them look scary.
Read: 'It Is Creepy': Forget Annabelle, This Antique Doll Abigail Is Scaring The Hell Out Of Netizens
Dolls with human hair sign that the owner was wealthy: Curator
Nowakowski added that he disdains to handle dolls with human hair. Most dolls from the 1800s have human hair which was a sign that the buyer had money, the curator said. The others in the "creepy" collection are homemade and old like the one which was made with cloth for the head and limbs and a facial tone colour on the head which chipped away, he explained. The faceless doll is also seen with one arm and a mummified face.
Dolls wear off with the passage of time
Nowakowski said the collection comes from multiple sources, including several large donations of memorabilia but many couldn't be well preserved. The curator said that over time, paint cracks and peels if you don't manage it properly. Moreover, playing with the dolls also damages them. That is the reason why they have limbless dolls which seem scary now, he said. The contest's voting reportedly continues through Thursday.
Updated 14:37 IST, October 25th 2019