![]() On TV, there is, of course, The Twilight Zone, which used both the evil dummy trope and the living doll trope. If you consider that to be a separate genre, Trilogy of Terror (1975) is often cited to be an early doll horror film. In terms of horror movies, however, it’s a little easier to date, depending on what you consider a “doll movie.” If you consider ventriloquist dummy movies about the same as killer doll movies, then the earliest I can find is The Great Gabbo (1929). In the sixteenth century, trade with Africa introduced Europeans to African fetish dolls, which Christians also believed to be witchcraft. In Europe, this seems to be the result of two things: the rise of Christianity resulting in the opposition to the use of poppets, which were thought to be witchcraft. It exists in many horror novels, obviously, but also in tons of fairy tales. Īs you can imagine, the living doll trope has been around in literature for centuries. However, I can give a little context to the trope in horror. It’s such a fascinating topic that ranges through so many cultures, I couldn’t possibly do it justice. It’s impossible to do a complete history of the living doll mythos in a single article. ![]() and Europe has led to a resurgence in the popularity of rituals involving dolls in the West. Today, the popularity of Wicca and neo-Paganism in the U.S. Anglo history had poppets, which also had a variety of usages. ![]() In African fetish religions, which is arguably where a lot of this trope comes from, dolls have a number of religious uses, ranging from protective, aggressive, or simply practical. Often, dolls were used in religious rituals. Dolls have a long history of religious significance in a lot of cultures, including Roman, Egyptian, African, Celtic, Native American… You name the country, and there’s probably some mythology or religious practice involving dolls. The concept of dolls having some sort of power certainly dates back further than their popularity in horror. There are a few explanations for doll phobias, but the one that seems the most consistent with how people with them describe their feelings as falling into the “uncanny valley,” which is the idea that something that looks similar to a human, but clearly isn’t, can be unnerving. I personally know several people who have intense pediophobia who will definitely not be reading this article. I’ve alluded to the concept of doll phobias, also known as pediophobia, in a previous article.
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