In 1991, a woman donated an old doll to the Quesnel and District Museum in British Columbia, Canada. She told the museum’s curator the doll was old, and she didn’t want her daughter to play with it. It’s believed the doll is at least a century old.
The doll’s name is Mandy.
For a doll, Mandy is creepy looking. Her eyes are made of glass and her right one was cracked. Her clothing also needed a good cleaning. Mandy wasn’t ready for an audience and needed mending before her public unveiling.
Museum staff placed Mandy inside a plastic bag to make sure any insects that might be inside the doll would die. Although no insects were inside the bag, employees claimed the doll changed positions and the bag rustled by itself. Staff members felt uncomfortable with the doll from the moment it arrived.
Before museum staff placed Mandy into her display, she was left in a room alone. When staff returned the next morning, the entire room was in disarray. It appeared as if someone had tossed the lighter items around and pushed the larger items onto the floor.
And since no one had been in the room, the only reasonable explanation was Mandy had thrown a tantrum and destroyed the room. But that made no sense.
Dolls aren’t alive.
The museum brought in a psychic to examine Mandy. The psychic claimed the spirit of a deceased little girl possessed the porcelain doll.
According to legend, the girl who occupies Mandy got trapped and died in her basement. She died holding Mandy. Somehow, the child’s spirit transferred into the doll where it remains today. Obviously, the psychic’s comments stirred up much curiosity in the curator.
She visited the doll’s donor to find out more about Mandy. The curator soon learned the truth. The woman didn’t get rid of the doll because of her daughter as she had originally claimed.
What she told the curator next was downright terrifying.
The woman claimed she heard a baby crying in her basement. She then went into the basement to investigate—nothing. It was just Mandy and an open window with a breeze blowing on the curtains. But who opened the window? Apparently this happened regularly. The donor decided to find a new home for Mandy.
Once she donated Mandy to the museum, the crying stopped. Museum visitors claim they feel an uneasiness whenever they see Mandy. Employees claim she has tapped on her glass enclosure. At one time a toy lamb was placed inside Mandy’s case, which didn’t thrill Mandy because the lamb was found outside the case.
The doll hasn’t ever harmed anyone. Supposedly, she is childlike and just throws temper tantrums whenever she is unhappy. Mandy is also known as a prankster and enjoys playing pranks on museum employees and volunteers.
Employee lunches, pens, pictures, and personal items have disappeared. Some items show up while others are still missing.
Many claims about Mandy seem absurd. But it would be impossible to discount every story about Mandy. It’s also been said her eyes and fingers can move. Supposedly, the uneasiness created by her has to do with her eyes following your every step.
She also has a fascination with electrical items. People have tried to record her with a video camera only to have the camera stop working.
Mandy has many likenesses to another famous scary doll named Robert. Both are creepy looking and enjoy disrupting electronic devices. Mandy’s story is fascinating. In 1999, a book titled Supernatural Stories Around British Columbia profiled Mandy and the museum.
Is it possible for a spirit to possess an inanimate toy or a doll? It depends on who you ask. I am sure many skeptics will scoff at anything considered unnatural. But for those who believe in the supernatural, it’s not unreasonable to give some credence to those who have dealt with mysterious anomalies like Robert the doll or even Mandy.
Marc is a longtime resident of Clermont County and avid reader. He can be contacted through his website at www.themarcabe.com, through Facebook: www.facebook.com/themarcabe or his Twitter account @themarcabe. And be sure to listen to his podcast at www.spreaker.com/show/the-marcabe.