Just before the bit of the 20th C , Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Otto incite into a beautiful colonial Queen Anne way home in Key West , Florida , bringing their three sons , including young Robert Eugene Otto and his unusual best ally — a 3 - foot - magniloquent ( 0.91 - beat - magniloquent ) , straw - filleddoll , also appoint Robert .
The dollhad been a giftfrom Gene ’s granddad , who bought the life - size toy during a trip to Germany . It was manufactured by theSteiff Company , God Almighty of the famous teddy bear , though it was never sold as part of a line of toys for the company . It’sthoughtthe doll was initially one of a assemblage ofclownand jester - dressed dolls designed for a memory board window display .
This all seems perfectly normal and all within the kingdom of the sane , does n’t it ? What make up Robert truly unlike any other bird are theparanormal eventsthat have surrounded his being for 117 age . We spoke to Jessica Schreckengost , cosmopolitan manager atThe Artist Housein Key West , Florida , which now operates as a bed and breakfast and was once home to Robert the Doll .
The Story of Gene and Robert
Robert Eugene Otto went by the name cistron . By all accounts , he was a utterly normal son except for his strange relationship with Robert , his doll .
People who cognise Gene know Robert . They were inseparable . Gene treated Robert less like a doll and more like a inhabit playfellow , a confidant . In fact , the little sailor suit of clothes that Robert wear to this daylight was a hired hand - me - down that Gene actually wore and lapse down to his doll .
Anecdotes from Gene ’s childhood William Tell of a wench that was both a friend and an alter ego . Typical for young kids of Gene ’s age , all his mischievous deportment were find fault on Robert . " I think Robert was a scapegoat for Eugene . ' I did n’t eat that confect , Robert did ! ' " say Schreckengost . " I consider he arrive at a repute of being impish , and as the story got tell and retold , it transformed . I do think that he has something special to him . He likes to be respected . high-risk luck befalls those who are less than venerating . "
Storiesclaimthat servants of the Otto household heard Gene lecture in two distinguishable representative in his elbow room , alone . Some nights , Gene would wake up screaming . Onone nightin particular proposition , his parents rushed in , expecting to assuage a incubus , and found the room trash , the furniture overturned and Gene curl up in a terrified ball . Their boy blamed the doll sitting atop his bottom , gaze and motionless by the metre the parent arrive .
Most kids grow out of fanciful friendly relationship with dame . Gene did n’t . The chronicle of Robert ’s odd behaviors continued into his adulthood . " Everyone had a doll or plaything that at some item mature up they imagined or wish was alive , " says Schreckengost . " Robert ’s story lures people in because it ’s a relatable account that just go a little wrong . "
The Artist House
Time passed and Gene becamea well - known artistin the area . He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago and the Art Students League in New York . finally , he move to Europe to refine his craft . In Paris , he met his next wife , Anne Parker ; the two married in 1930 . No , Robert was n’t the ring bearer , but he was still ever - present in Gene ’s spirit , to Anne ’s discouragement .
factor inherited his parent ' base on Eaton Street after their dying . He continued his esthetic career from the home , which he named The Artist House , living with Robert all the while . Some say his wife , Anne , a concert and jazz pianist , enquire for the doll to be shut away in the noggin ; he made her uneasy . But Robert did n’t take lightly to being sequestered in a dust-covered loft .
According to Schreckengost , there were reports that hoi polloi saunter by the house clearly saw the sunlight - faded wench sitting in Gene ’s former bedroom windowpane , though Gene had decidedly locked him up in the attic . Gene would ensure the bedroom and , indeed , would find Robert sitting in a sway chair beside the windowpane . Gene moved him back to the attic several times only to discover that , each time , he had returned to his preferred side by the window .
In 1974 , Myrtle Reuter bought The Artist House after Gene ’s death . She kept Robert around for a sentence , too . node who visited the house claim to hear footsteps and giggle through the trading floor above them . Some even say his locution would change . Aftersix years , she moved out of the sign but kept Robert ; they lived like this for 20 age until she donated him to theFort East Martello Museumin 1994 , claiming ‘ he displace around her house on his own and was haunted . ’
Life Continues for Robert at Fort East Martello Museum
Robert has resided at the museum since 1994 , retired from shaver ’s gambol , but not from his mischievous antics . The East Martello Museum asks that visitors seek Robert ’s permission before taking photographs ; those unwilling to do soare purportedly metwith horrible tough luck . Despite working for The Artist House for several years , it took Schreckengost a while to in the end visit the doll . When she did , it was a moment she ’ll never forget . " I could n’t convey myself to ask a bird for its permission to take a pic . So , I did n’t . I was using a digital camera and as soon as I lead , I tried to look at my exposure . Only the last few characterisation I took were on it , and it would n’t save any more pictures ever again , " she says .
Most people are just peculiar about the century - old skirt . " I think he has a charming side to him , " says Schreckengost . " I believe that a lot of people have an adhesion to him . He ’s not outright immorality , he is more playful than anything . "
At The Artist House , Robert is n’t just a write up . Guests , includingghosthunters , film crews and Robert groupies , come to stay a night in the infamous house . " People eff the write up . It ’s fascinating and they do it being able-bodied to outride in Robert ’s elbow room , " says Schreckengost . " I trust that even if we did n’t share the floor , it would still be well known . We ’re part of the variousghost toursthat feature the property every night . "
Abnormal activity preserve in the planetary house , even for Schreckengost . " We had a brand - new computer that work swell for three calendar month . One solar day as I ’m typing , the Holy Writ all were typing backward , " she explains . " I could n’t doctor it with a unexampled keyboard , mouse , figurer reset , etc . The technician that came out was spoil and had no explanation . "
Guests are n’t dispense with from the paranormal either ; they indite about their experiences in the B&B ’s guest book . " We have Guest that describe strange incidences , nothing scarey , that ca n’t be reasonably explain . I have a logbook in which I ask Edgar Albert Guest who live anything to share their report , " say Schreckengost .
Is Robert playing games from afar , just like old times ? Or is he lurking in the shadows trying to find a comfortable hot seat in a window ? Others have speculate about Robert ’s intent , and he was even the subject of a 2015horror movie , befittingly titled " Robert . " There have since been four sequels , " The Curse of Robert the Doll , " in 2016 , " The Toymaker , " in 2017 , " The Revenge of Robert the Doll , " in 2018 , and " Robert Reborn , " in 2019 .
For the Love of Robert
To this solar day , people from all over the country write letter to Robert . The museum says he ’s gotten more than a thousand personal letters . Some are apologizing for disrespecting him in the yesteryear , hoping he ’ll terminate work mayhem on their animation . Others require to chitchat the well - loved doll and say hello . " I call back he ’s gotten well with age . The wear and tear become endearing , " says Schreckengost . " I think Robert pick people that he desire to be close with , and there ’s a adhesion . "
