Robertina the haunted doll is a hand-sewn 1920s textile doll with a spooky backstory. Named after one the world's most notorious haunted dolls, Robert the Haunted Doll, Robertina is one of many legendary creepy haunted toys.
History of Robertina the Haunted Doll
Stories of Robertina the haunted doll surfaced in 2017 and were all based on the anecdotal reports of YouTuber Grav3yardgirl (Rachel Marie Meyer - a.k.a. Bunny). Meyer, whose has more than 8.5 million subscribers, is a dedicated antiquer who loves old dolls from the turn of the century and frequents an Austin, Texas antique store called Uncommon Objects, where she purchased Robertina in the summer of 2017.
An Obsession With the Doll
Meyers noticed the doll long before she purchased it. Robertina was held up by a doll stand on the top shelf in a booth Meyers frequented at Uncommon Objects, and she described it as being an extremely detailed cloth doll the size of a toddler. Upon closer inspection, Meyers noted many unusually detailed features to the doll, such as eyelashes made from feathers and lifelike fingernails made from what appeared to be leather. She found such details both fascinating and creepy. According to Meyers, after first seeing the doll, she developed a strong draw to it and returned to the store many times to see Robertina. In spite of something inside her telling her to leave the doll, Meyers became driven to purchase her.
Purchasing Robertina
Meyers first attempted to purchase the doll on her birthday in 2016, but after she got Robertina down from the top shelf and sent it to the front counter, she became extremely ill and had to leave the store. Leaving Robertina behind, Meyers returned home but couldn't stop thinking about her. She returned to the store in late summer of 2016 and bought Robertina.
Creepy Events Surrounding Robertina
Almost from the moment she brought the doll into her home, Meyers began to regret her decision. The doll was not only creepy to look at, but she brought a deep feeling of negativity into Meyers's home. Meyers notes the doll never failed to startle her, and it felt dark and cold near where the doll was located. She even felt that the doll changed positions and moved on its own sometimes. At the same time, Meyers began experiencing a spate of negative activity in her life including the freak flooding of her car in a Texas rainstorm, a continuous dark mood, and numerous arguments with people in her life with whom she'd never argued with before. Filled with misgivings, Meyers contacted the store where she'd purchased the doll and asked about returning it. However, she was also concerned that if she did return Robertina, the doll could fall into the wrong hands and bring even more misfortune onto the unwitting new owners. Instead, Meyers moved Robertina to her storage unit where it would no longer be in her home.
Robertina's Origins
Meyers searched for a few months, asking people at the antique store about Robertina's origins, but nobody seemed to know. Finally, one night the antique store had an anniversary celebration, and Meyers was able to meet with the couple who owned the stall where she'd found Robertina. They told her they'd found the doll when they were picking antiques in the south. The doll was from around the 1920s and had been in the same family for generations, passed down through the years. During that time, family members would place Robertina in the car when teenagers were learning to drive to encourage them to be safe while driving the car and to discourage them from misbehaving when they drove.
Haunted Doll Sent Packing
Finally, after several months of darkness and misfortune, Meyers decided to return the doll to the antique store. However, she didn't want to transport Robertina herself, so a friend took the doll back to the store. Meyers couldn't wait to get rid of everything related to the doll. She deleted all the photos from her camera, discarded videos with Robertina in them, and even replaced the phone she'd used to photograph Robertina. Even with all of that, Meyers didn't share her story with her YouTube followers until more than a year after getting rid of it.
Update on Robertina
The antique store owners told Meyers Robertina had been purchased by a couple from Australia. After sharing her story on YouTube, followers started researching the doll and discovered she was now housed in Alberta, Canada in the Museum of Fear and Wonder. Robertina remains there to this day, creeping out visitors to the museum.
