The Haunted Museum’s “Dollhouse of the Damned”: 5 Episode Questions

To tantalize our binging tastebuds, discovery+ released two episodes of The Haunted Museum series on October 2. Episode 1, “Dollhouse of the Damned,” could’ve also been called either “The Demon Dollhouse” or “Curse of the Black-Eyed Dad.” (Because black-eyed children have to come from somewhere, right?)

Anyway, as I watched I couldn’t help but have some questions, like these five. Maybe you had some of the same ones? (Or might when you watch if you haven’t had a chance yet?) But first, let’s revisit what the episode is about.

The “Dollhouse of the Damned” Storyline

When a recently widowed father brings home an enormous dollhouse as a birthday gift for his teenage daughter, she quickly rejects the present, sensing there is something “not right” about it. But he quickly falls under its powerful spell. He loses himself within it, using the tiny rooms to stage meticulous recreations of the happiest moments of his life with his wife.

Yet all is not well within his own house, as his daughter begins to experience terrifying visions that she fears may be something incredibly evil. Following his discovery of a secret spell hidden within the dollhouse, the father embarks on his most dangerous course of action yet, using the spell and the power contained within the dollhouse in an attempt to raise the spirit of his dead wife. The ritual culminates in a terrifying night that finally reveals the dollhouse’s horrifying occupant and its true intentions.

“Dollhouse of the Damned” Episode Questions

1. Did they use Zak’s actual dollhouse or build a replica?

At first, I wasn’t sure. Zak doesn’t do a lot of interviews and the couple I found did not ask this question.

Then yesterday I noticed a video on Ghost Adventures’ Twitter account that started out with Zak asking what appeared to be a question others may have had. “Did anything ever happen while you were filming The Haunted Museum?”

Get the behind-the-scenes story on #TheHauntedMuseum from @Zak_Bagans ?#Ghostober pic.twitter.com/xhtt2TFJDn

— Ghost Adventures (@GhostAdventures) October 5, 2021

He said his crew did have a couple of things happen, but he didn’t say what. However, he ended up describing something that happened to him while watching a cut from one of the other upcoming episodes, “Helter Skelter Station.” Which we know from the Haunted Museum artifact reveal will be episode 4 and will start streaming on October 16.

Was it just a general behind-the-scenes sneak peek video Zak shared or did he make it based on fan questions?

In case it was the latter, I took a shot and Tweeted at @GhostAdventures, @discovery+, and @EliRoth asking if any of the objects that inspired the series were really used during filming. If I get an answer, I’ll be sure to share that update.

However, I may have answered my own question during my quest to find images from the episode to include in this post. I used to be able to screenshot scenes from discoveryplus.com, but they don’t allow that anymore so I had to find another way.

Then I remembered the trailer in the Ghostober 2021 programming guide. I can screenshot YouTube videos! That’s when I noticed the houses looked slightly different. Or is it just me?

2. Who was the psychic who gave Zak a reading on the house?

During Zak’s intro monologue at the start of the “Dollhouse of the Damned” episode, Zak explains how he came to possess the massive dollhouse. He was drawn to it when he was “struck by a powerful kind of energy” during a visit to an antique store. He explained how he felt like it was reaching out and calling to him.

After purchasing it, he felt “a strange compulsion to fill it with satanic symbols and images.” But why?

He didn’t say exactly when, but sometime after that he had the chance to investigate the Westerfeld House in San Francisco, which was used by Satanists like Anton LaVey and Kenneth Anger in the 1960s and 70s. It was during his investigation that he realized the dollhouse was an “exact replica of this dark fortress.”

Did the dark ceremonies conducted at the real house also open a parallel portal in the dollhouse? One that may still be open?

A psychic he consulted confirmed his suspicions. But she also added that “it’s one of the most dangerous and demonic objects that she has ever seen.”

Zak has no idea who owned the dollhouse before him, but the psychic believed the demonic forces dwelling inside it ripped a young family apart. (Which is what the “Dollhouse of the Damned” episode is about.)

I kept hoping he’d say who the psychic was, but he never did. He remained vague about it. All we know is it was a woman because he did say “she.”

Patti Negri, who he’s consulted on Ghost Adventures investigations, like the one at the Cecil Hotel, popped to mind, though.

Do you think Zak will ever reveal the psychic’s identity?

3. Did they use multiple dolls with different facial expressions?

In the “Dollhouse of the Damned” episode, the dad crafts dolls for each member of his family: himself, his dead wife, his daughter, and the baby boy. They’re super creepy, and their faces change, right? As in their expressions? Or was I just imagining that?

I’m pretty sure they did, so I was curious how many dolls they made for each character that they used during the episode. Or did they craft them in such a way that they could easily just change the faces? Like with either just makeup or did they create different heads they could easily pop on or off, etc.?

Something else to Tweet at Eli Roth…

4. What’s the story with the miniature ventriloquist doll

Speaking of creepy AF dolls, during Zak’s opening monologue the camera pans up and down and all around the dollhouse. One shot shows a miniature ventriloquist doll with his mouth agape staring out of the window.

He’s not in the scripted part of the episode, but what’s up with that guy? Surely he has a story of his own, right?

I have so many sub-questions about him. Who made him? Is he based on a real-life ventriloquist’s doll? Does he have a name? Has Zak or anyone else at the museum ever seen him move on his own? He looks like the type to get into mischief. Just sayin’…

5. Can parents be arrested for child abuse for summoning demons?

**WARNING** Spoiler ahead!!!

The dad starts off trying to be good in the “Dollhouse of the Damned” episode. That’s how the dollhouse comes into his family’s life. He’s hoping his daughter will like it.

However, once he falls under the dollhouse’s spell —or demonic forces— that’s the end. He gets possessed, black eyes and all.

Even if it hadn’t escalated to the point where he killed his kids, he still subjected them, especially his daughter, to mental and emotional abuse. The daughter sensed something wasn’t right with it. At least he moved it outnof her room when she asked, but it would’ve been better to get rid of it altogether.

Have any parents ever been arrested by a child who accused them of summoning demons and then tormenting the child with them?

That sounds like a great Haunting American True Crimes episode. If I come across any cases like that, I might have to do another season for the podcast! (Or at least a bonus episode?)

“Dollhouse of the Damned” Sneak Peek

Check-In

What differences do you see in the “Dollhouse of the Damned” dollhouse vs. the Westerfeld replica? Any?