Hi friends! Happy Fri-yay! How's your week been going? I hope it's been going fan-bloody-tastic and you've got some awesome plans for the weekend. We are going to take Benji to the dog park with Frankie tomorrow and I think Luke has cricket on Sunday so maybe I can have a self care day.
I feel like I haven't done a Freaky Friday Files in quite some time BUT I think it's only been about two weeks - it just feels like it's been sooo long for some reason, I think time is getting away from me as I don't really have a proper proper routine. Maybe I should get back into having a routine but then again sometimes the slower pace is better for my health. I don't know.
But anyway, in today's Freaky Friday Files I thought we'd explore 5 of the scariest "allegedly" cursed items in the world! SPOOKY.
I also didn't actually want to write about these because these things scare me a lot and I don't know why. The idea of a doll being haunted is just soooo scary - like I remember I had these really beautiful porcelain dolls in my bedroom when I was little and then friends at school started telling us stories about how they were haunted and would come alive at night (like I think it was just a myth) BUT I made my mum take those dolls away from my room. I actually have no idea whether they're still in her garage or if she sold them LOL. She also had this scary AF Chucky Doll like one that was similar to the ones in the movie that I just couldn't stand - dolls are creepy man.
Here's the list of the 5 items we're going to explore today:
Annabelle (the doll from The Conjuring)
The Anguished Man (painting)
James Dean's car (following his death)
Number 1: Annabelle from The Conjuring.
Now, I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with these movies. On the one hand, when I want to feel scared, these movies absolutely terrify me but I feel like they have capitalised on these things WAYYYY too much like I don't actually know if the "true" events were true or if it's been enhanced or if Ed and Lorraine Warren were just scam artists. I don't know. But I do know these movies provide great entertainment value. I remember going to see The Nun at the movies and not being able to sleep that night because all the jump scares really got to me. BTW Ed and Lorraine Warren were two self-taught demonologists and ghost hunters who were prominent around the 1970s era.
So what's this Annabelle doll?
So Annabelle is one of the Raggedy Ann dolls. Raggedy Ann is a character who was created by the late American writer Johnny Gruelle who appeared in one of his series of books written for children. She is a ragdoll with red yarn for hair and a distinctive triangle nose. She was created in 1915 and first appeared in a 1918 book titled Raggedy Ann Stories.
You can check out the synopsis for the film Annabelle "here".
According to Wikipedia and the Warrens, Annabelle (the Raggedy Ann doll) was given to a student nurse sometime in the year 1970 and it was said that this particular doll would behave in peculiar ways. The student nurse happened to take her Raggedy Ann doll to a psychic medium (I am not sure when) and I need to say that it wasn't called anything before this time. The psychic told the student nurse that the doll was inhabited by the spirit of a deceased girl named Annabelle, hence the name. The student nurse and one of her roommates attempted to keep the doll but found it too difficult as they were presented with frightening behaviour. Although there are some really scary scenes in the movies with this doll, they aren't actually what happened. I don't know if we will ever know the "true story" of what this doll was doing to the poor student nurse and her roommates BUT they did contact the Warrens who took Annabelle under their wing. The Warrans put Annabelle in their museum and claimed she was demonically possessed. I believe it is now in a locked glass case and people can go see it.
Number 2: The Anguished Man (painting)
Ahh, just looking at this painting gives me the heebie jeepies, ugh. It's creepy for sure. But I don't know if I personally believe it's haunted. Although, stranger things have happened. Allegedly, this painting is a self-portrait of an unknown artist who mixed his own blood in with his paint and unsubscribed from life soon after the painting was finished. The current owner of the painting Sean Robinson has said that he has head crying/moaning noises in his house and allegedly the figure of a man. He has even uploaded a YT video of the painting "here". I believe also that there has been talks since 2016 that some movie folk want to make this into a movie but the only thing I've found out about that is "here".
Number 3: James Dean's Car
Personally, I don't actually get the allure of James Dean but I think that's because he was way before my time - maybe if I was a housewife in the 1950s or a teen, I would be fawning over him, but I just don't see how so many straight women found him attractive. But anyway, we don't want to talk ill of the dead, that is definitely not my intention, literally just stating my opinion haha. Anyway, James Dean was an American actor most known for his roles in East of Eden 1955 and Rebel Without A Cause 1955. According to Wiki, "His roles typified teenage disillusionment and social estrangement of his time." That's probably what made his appeal to the ladies tbh (but that's my sociology opinion coming out). AND I think something to do with the white v-neck t-shirt? Anyway, Dean, unfortunately, passed away in a car crash on the 30th September 1955. Dean was driving to a sports car racing competition in his Porsche 550 in Cholame, California on Route 466 now State Route 46. Dean was a bit of a bogan and had competed in many race car events previously.
So why is this car "cursed" or "haunted? Well, apparently it's become part of America's cultural mythology (I knew he had passed away in a car crash but I didn't know until now, this story). The curse of this particular car starts before James Dean even drove this car - scary! And even before the car had been involved in any crashes whatsoever. According to British actor Sir Alec Guinness (now I want some Guninnes lol), he wrote in his 1985 autobiography that he and one of his friends ended up getting dinner with James Dean at a restaurant that was full - Dean invited them to sit with him (I think). James Dean showed the two his silver Porsche and said it had just been delivered. Guinness warned Dean to never ever get in the car saying "Please, never get in it. It is now ten o'clock, Friday the 23rd of September, 1955. If you get in that car you will be found dead in it by this time next week." And by the 30th of September, his prediction had come true.
Following the unfortunate passing, a James Dean archivist and author by the name of Warren Beath somewhat "blamed" the curse of this car on its next owner George Barris who says he was the first person to ever purchase this particular Porsche following the death. Barris was a car designer bogan dude. Apparently Barris "promoted" the car's curse by putting it on public display in 1956. Barris said that from the years 1956 to 1960s, there were a series of mysterious accidents involving this car also known as "little bastard" and one including a truck driver's fatality. Is this car haunted or not? You tell me in the comments below.
Number 4: Robert the Doll
Robert the doll is probably one of the more scarier objects in this list (well in my opinion anyway). Even just putting the image into this blog post, it's stuck buffering on 99% and maybe that's just a coincidence but it does freak me out a little. I don't know why but it's just major creepy vibes.
Robert the doll is an allegedly haunted doll that is now on display at a museum in Florida. Robert was once owned by Robert Eugene Otto. The doll was given to him as a gift from his grandfather in 1904 and was manufactured by the Steiff Company in Germany. The grandfather purchased it in Germany. It is believed the sailor suit is one of Robert's outfits he wore as a child.
According to legend, Robert the doll has some interesting supernatural abilities where the doll can move, make giggling sounds, and even change its facial expressions. Other legends have claimed that the doll can move other objects with its mind. People also believe that this doll has caused car crashes, job losses, broken bones, divorce, and other misfortunes.
I don't know if I believe it but then again, it would not surprise me if this doll did move. YouTubers and self-proclaimed Ghost Hunters Sam and Colby went to visit Robert the doll. You can check out their video below:
I actually was pretty scared after watching this and I don't think a lot of stuff really goes on in their videos.
Number 5: Busby's Stoop Chair
A haunted chair? No way! Yes, way. This stoop chair (also sometimes known as the Dead Man's Chair) is an oak chair that was said to be cursed by murdered Thomas Busby (not to be confused with all the other Thomas Busby's). Busby allegedly cursed this chair before his e*ecution in 1702 in the UK.
The chair remained in use at a local pub the Busby Stoop Inn in Thirsk, North Yorkshire. Many deaths were attributed to those who sat in this chair at this pub so the landlord donated to the local Thirsk museum in 1978.
Thomas Busby murdered his father-in-law in 1702 because they argued about their counterfeit business together. Some people say that Busby cursed the chair on the way to his e*ecuton and other people say that Busby was drunk in the chair at the time of his arrest and cursed it then.
Thirsk locals claim that following WWII, Canadian airmen went to the pub and sat in this chair and never returned from their b*mbing missions over mainland Europe.
What do you think? Cursed or coincidence?
On that note, that's the end of this week's Freaky Friday Files. I hope you enjoyed learning about these cursed objects Which one scared you the most? Let em know in the comments below.
I also think we're ready for some Benji tax
Stay safe!
Much love,
Ash xoxo
Exiting post. Thank you.