Robert the Doll

Hello everyone! I hope you're having a great start to 2020. 😁

You may have watched a film or two over the years that were inspired by the particular doll I am writing about today. He was the inspiration for several films and characters, but the most famous is Chucky in Childs Play. Recently there was a series of movies made about Robert himself which started with the film called Robert in 2015. 

You may have heard some of the stories in this post before, but I am going to share what I have found with you, so I hope you enjoy. 😊

Who is Robert? Where did he come from?

Robert the Doll. Image credit: Cayobo @ Flickr

Robert stands at around 40 inches tall and is stuffed with wood wool. He wears a sailor suit that was said to have once been worn by Gene as a child and has beady black eyes. He now has his own stuffed dog toy that sits on his lap in his case at the Fort East Martello Museum.

Robert was a gift to a young boy called Robert Eugene Otto, but he went by Gene for short. Robert was an ordinary-looking doll made of out cloth, but when he arrived at their home strange things started to happen.

There are two stories about how Robert ended up the property of Gene, and the stories go as follows:

1. The spookier story of the two is that Robert was a gift to the young boy from a servant that worked for his parents. Allegedly they mistreated her pretty badly, and to get her revenge she cursed the doll using voodoo and black magic to punish them.
   
2. The realistic and less spooky version is that his grandfather got the doll as a gift for Gene when he visited Germany. It has also been proven that the doll was actually made by the Steiff Company in Germany.

So, what were the strange things that started to happen when Robert arrived?

Strange Events

"He brought it everywhere, he talked about it in the first person as if he weren't a doll, he was Robert. As in the doll is a living entity."

The strange things started happening when Gene was 10 years old. One night he woke up to find Robert sat at the end of his bed staring at him.  His mother awoke to screams from her son's bedroom and the sound of furniture being overturned.

When she managed to get inside the room she found Gene curled up on his bed absolutely petrified. His room was a mess and Robert was still sitting at the bottom of his bed.

Genes' parents also noticed that he would speak to the doll, but they would hear a different voice replying. They also reported seeing Robert's expression changing, hearing him giggle, and that they witnessed him running up the stairs.

People also said that Gene's other toys were being mutilated by Robert and that he would blame any strange behaviour on the doll. Some suspected that Gene may have been blaming his own bad behaviour on the doll.

Robert remained with Gene when his parents passed away, when he got married, and when his wife Anne moved into the house. That is when Gene decided to give Robert his own room overlooking the street.

Not long after Anne asked Gene to move Robert into the attic, but apparently, Robert was not impressed at all. Then the neighbourhood kids reported seeing Robert at the window upstairs and said that he was mocking them. Gene checked the room and discovered that he was at the window. This happened multiple times when he was meant to be in the attic.

When Gene passed away in 1974 a new family moved into the house and their daughter found Robert in the attic.

At first, she was delighted to find the doll, but that soon changed when she realised he was alive and trying to hurt her. She also recalled Robert moving around the room on his own. She started having night terrors and finding her toys mutilated, and said that on several occasions Robert tried to kill her and the family dog.  

Scared for their safety, Robert was donated to the Fort East Martello Museum in 1994, and that is where he resides to this day.

Recent Events at the Museum

Robert the Doll at Fort East Martello Museum. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Since being at the museum he has had many visitors, and allegedly Robert still scares and taunts people to this day.

He dislikes having his photo taken, and there is a notice that visitors must ask permission before they take one. Many people have reported their cameras would stop working when they tried to get a photo, and then start working as soon as they left.

In addition to cameras not working in his presence, people also believed Robert to be the cause of:

• Car accidents
• Broken bones
• Job loss
• Divorce

As a result, the museum has received thousands of letters addressed to Robert apologising for upsetting him and asking for his forgiveness. Some people have even sent in boxes of candy.

Final Thoughts

As much as I would love the first story full of magic and voodoo to be true because it would explain everything and be pretty cool, I do think the more believable of the two stories is that his grandfather bought him the doll.

However, this doesn't explain why the young girl experienced almost the exact same things as Gene did when he was a boy. Is it purely coincidence or did she hear about Robert from other people that lived in the area when she moved in? 

What are your thoughts on Robert the Doll? Do you think he is cursed or this was all created by a mischevious young boy? Please share in the comments!

It's 2020!?

Happy New Year everyone!

First things first, where did 2019 go?! 

This year has had its fair share of ups and downs for me. At the start of the year, I created Frantasmagoria after months of debating the content I wanted to create. As a result, I’ve become part of an amazing community and have over 4,000 awesome followers on twitter! 💛

In September 2019 I married my best friend and love of my life. Everything was perfect! The sun was shining, everyone had a great time, and even though it flew by I had a fantastic day with my husband and loved ones. I don't think I have smiled so much in my life!

The confetti throw at our wedding!

For our honeymoon, we crossed Canada off of our bucket list! We visited Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Vancouver, and Whistler. We both loved seeing the epic mountains and National Parks, getting a rare glimpse of Canadian wildlife, and eating lots of food! After months of watching what I ate it was lovely just enjoy myself. (Maybe a bit too much mind you...)

This photo was taken by myself while we were traveling through Canada.

As happy as 2019 was for our family, we did have our fair share of bad news. My husband lost his uncle before our wedding day which shattered everyone. Then after our honeymoon, both my husband and I were told we were facing redundancy. It was overwhelming, to say the least.

Things got too overwhelming for me, which meant I had some time away from my blog to focus on organising my life.

Since then my husbands' job was saved, and I have found a new job in recruitment. So, each cloud has a silver lining. 😊I am still a little overwhelmed but 2020 is a new year, which means another year of opportunities!

My plan for 2020!

I told myself I was not going to give myself any resolutions going into 2020, as I never accomplish them! I put too much pressure on myself doing it, so I have a shortlist of things I want to achieve.

1. Start creating content again 
2. Try to read at least one book a month this year
3. Decorate our home
4. Become more active and go on more walks
5. Take more photographs
6. Learn to drive! (Already on it.)

I know I have been quiet for the last few months, but I am back now! I look forward to creating more content for you all this year! 

What do you hope to achieve this year? Do you have any specific goals or resolutions? Please share them with me in the comments! 😀

John Wayne Gacy AKA Pogo the Clown was an American serial killer and rapist that killed 33 teenage boys and young men in Illinois during the '70s.

Today we are going to look at his childhood, relationships, and the crimes he went o to commit later in life.

Childhood

John Wayne Gacy was born on the 17th of March 1942 in Chicago. He had two sisters, Joanne was the older sister, and Karen was the youngest of the family. His mother was called Marion Elaine Robinson and his father John Stanley Gacy, and they were of Polish and Danish descent. 

He and his siblings were subjected to regular beatings from their alcoholic and violent father whenever they did something wrong. As the only boy, Gacy was bullied by his father and when his mother protected him he would be called a sissy. 

As a child, Gacy was bullied at school because he couldn't play due to a heart condition and he suffered from seizures. This made him feel alienated further and when he was molested at 9 years old he was too scared of his father's reaction he never told him.

His Career and Relationships

After he had an argument with his father he fled to Vegas and worked in a Mortuary for a few months. It did not last long when he was caught sleeping in the embalming room with the corpses. He even admitted that he had slept underneath the body of a young boy whose cause of death had aroused him.

John Wayne Gacy in 1978. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Gacy studied at business college and graduated in 1964. He became a manager at a fast-food chain in the '60s, but he was reportedly molesting male employees and getting them drunk in his basement. He then went on to become a building contractor in the '70s and used this as another way to get close to young men.

Regardless of this, he was still respected and well-liked in the community. However, his relationships with his wives did not go well. He got married and divorced twice, and was the father to 2 children.

He would cheat on his first wife, attend swinging parties, take drugs and use pornography. During his second marriage, he came out as bisexual and started bringing young boys back to their garage and using gay pornography. 

Pogo the Clown

Gacy joined a clown club in Chicago called The Jolly Joker and began performing at children's parties. He would organise parties for the neighbourhood and dress up as Pogo the Clown to entertain the kids.

Pogo the Clown costume. Image credit: Steve Terrell @ Flickr

When he was performing he used the names Pogo the Clown or Patches the Clown. He painted his face white, his mouth red and his eyes blue. He wore a hat with colourful pom poms with his red and white suit.

He would also dress as his clown alter egos when he committed some of his crimes. Guests at his parties could smell something strange at his home, but they never suspected it was caused by anything sinister.

His Crimes

He lured his victims in with offers of construction jobs and captured them. Once he had them where he wanted them he would torture and kill them. His usual method of killing his victims was strangulation.

Gacy was first charged and convicted for sexually assaulting 2 boys and received a sentence of 10 years. However, he was released on parole after only 2 years in the Summer of 1970.

He was arrested for the assault of another boy a year later, but this time the charges were dropped as the boy failed to appear for the trial.

By the mid-'70s he would be accused several times of rape and be questioned by the police over disappearances in the area. He later went on to call these years his 'cruising years', as this was when he committed most of his crimes. 

His downfall began in December 1978 when a boy called Robert Piest went missing, and the police were told he was last seen going to see Gacy about a construction job.

The police searched his home and discovered evidence of murder. They also found bodies hidden in the crawl space under his house and in trenches.

Gacy confessed to approximately 30 murders. His first murder was of a boy called Timothy McCoy in 1972. He offered McCoy a bed for the night and paid him for sex, but the following morning when McCoy woke him up he thought he was trying to kill him. He stabbed McCoy in the chest repeatedly and hid him in the crawl space.

The 33 Victims

25 victims were identified and their names are listed below. Unfortunately, 8 of the bodies could not be identified due to the level of decomposition.

• Timothy McCoy, 18, disappeared January 1972.
• John Butkovitch, 17, disappeared July 1975.
• Darrell Sampson, 18, disappeared April 1976.
• Randall Reffett, 15, disappeared May 1976.
• Sam Stapleton, 14, disappeared May 1976.
• Michael Bonnin, 17, disappeared June 1976.
• William Carroll, 16, disappeared June 1976.
• Rick Johnston, 17, disappeared August 1976.
• Kenneth Parker, 16, disappeared October 1976.
• Michael Marino, 14, disappeared October 1976.
• Gregory Godzik, 17, disappeared December 1976.
• John Szyc, 19, disappeared January 1977.
• Jon Prestidge, 20, disappeared March 1977.
• Matthew Bowman, 19, disappeared July 1977.
• Robert Gilroy, 18, disappeared September 1977.
• John Mowery, 19, disappeared September 1977.
• Russell Nelson, 21, disappeared October 1977.
• Robert Winch, 16, disappeared November 1977.
• Tommy Boling, 20, disappeared November 1977.
• David Talsma, 19, disappeared December 1977.
• William Kindred, 19, disappeared February 1978.
• Timothy O’Rourke, 20, disappeared June 1978.
• Frank Landingin, 19, disappeared November 1978.
• James Mazzara, 21, disappeared November 1978.
• Robert Piest, 15, disappeared December 1978.

The Trial

His trial started on the 6th of February 1980, and he had already confessed to committing the crimes. However, the trial focused mainly on whether or not Gacy was insane when he committed them.

Gacy said the murders were committed by an alternate personality of his and mental health specialists testified for both sides of the insanity argument. 

Eventually, Gacy was found guilty of murdering 33 people and sentenced to serve 12 death sentences and 21 natural life sentences. 

The Execution

He was held at Menard Correctional Centre for a decade and a half, and he claimed he was innocent even though he had already confessed.

John Wayne Gacy was executed by lethal injection on May 10th 1994 at Stateville Correctional Centre.

Artwork by Gacy. Image credit: Pauk @ Wikimedia Commons

While he was in prison he started to paint and a few of them were auctioned off and made up to £4000. Many of his paintings were of his alter ego Pogo the Clown.

Final Thoughts

I think most people have heard of John Wayne Gacy and/or Pogo the Clown. He has probably been the biggest inspiration for most horror clowns, such as IT and Twisty the Clown in American Horror Story. 

Now, clowns do not scare me very much (except the weird clown ornaments), but what John Wayne Gacy did was and still is horrifying. The fact he used his jobs as a way to lure young men into his traps is disgusting, and the fact he got away with it for so long is shocking!

With his previous conviction, you would think the police would speak to him a lot sooner than they did when boys started to go missing. Especially when the parents of the missing children told the police to do so. So frustrating!

What are your thoughts on John Wayne Gacy and the crimes he committed? Let me know in the comments.

Hello guys. Today is another post that is a bit different from my usual content. I have been nominated by the lovely Maritime Mama for the Sunshine Blogger Award! Please check out her blog because she is so awesome and creates great content!

Rules

• Thank the blogger who nominated you in a blog post and provide a link back to their blog.
• Answer 11 questions the blogger gave you.
• Nominate at least 11 bloggers to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
• List the rules and display The Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

The Questions

1. What are the top 3 things you cherish most in your life?
My friends, family and fiance. I cherish them because they make me happy.

2. If you could trade places with any animal for one day, which would you choose?

My cat because I witness them sleep all day and eat a ton, and I wish I could have that!

3. What are two things that have made you happy recently!?

Being noticed at work for my performance and given a new opportunity. Oh, and getting my wedding dress! 

4. Do you blog for fun or are you hoping to make a career with it?

I blog for fun and because what I write about is interesting. 

5. What are your top 5, hands down, favourite Disney films?

Fox and the Hound, The Little Mermaid, Bambi, Alice in Wonderland, and Pinocchio. 

6. Do you have any pets? What are their names?
We have two house cats called Willow and Enzo. 

7. What would be your "perfect" day?

My perfect day would be waking up without an alarm, having breakfast and getting dressed to go for a walk with Ryan. Then we would have food together and then go watch a movie together.

8. Do people in your everyday life know about your blog?
Only a few people do, but I don't really talk about it because they are not interested at all.

9. If you could choose an age to re-visit for however long you wanted, what age would you choose?
I would choose when I was very small and I was on holiday dancing to Whigfield's Saturday Night at a disco haha.

10. If money were no object, what would you buy?

I would make sure all of my family were set for life and they had no worries every again. So, mortgages and bills because they have done so much for me. I know this is not what people would expect, but I am not a very materialistic person.

11. What's your go-to meal when you have to make dinner?
I love me a jacket potato with cheese and beans!

My Nominations

I would love to get everyone involved! You are all amazing and the support you give me is so lovely. So if you read this post, please answer the questions and let's learn more about one another! 💛

My Questions

1. What is your biggest pet peeve?
2. If you could have one superpower, which one would you choose?
3. If you could meet one person dead or alive, which person would you choose to spend a day with?
4. Peanut butter question! Do you prefer it crunchy, smooth or not interested at all?
5. What is your biggest fear?
6. Time to big yourself up. What do you like most about yourself?
7. If you could only wear one outfit forever, what would you pick? 
8. What is your favourite song of all time?
9. What would be your ideal holiday if money was no object? Tell us what you would do!
10. What is your favourite season and why?
11. Name one thing you could not live without! 

I am terrible at thinking of questions, but I hope you enjoy answering the ones I have created! If you complete this please share your links in the comments or tag me on Twitter! I can't wait to read your posts and get to know you. 😊