A couple weeks back I spotted a story in my Google Alerts from Willamette Week: “Got a Creepy Old Toy You Need Exorcised From Your House? This Portland Business Will Take It off Your Hands—and Find It a More Loving Home.”
Unsettling Toys mostly started as a goof. But it didn’t take long for the public to take it seriously.
The second I saw that I felt like it was the Universe answering a prayer.
You see, I knew National Doll Day was coming. If I’ve done its listing right on the Weird Holidays & Observances page, it’s observed on the first Sunday in August, which falls on Sunday, August 2 this year.
I initially thought I might like to do a Facebook Live Terror Tryst with someone. Maybe with my friend Kevin Cain, who is a haunted doll collector. I was on the brink of asking him when I saw the article about Brian and Sara and their Unsettling Toy Removal and Rehoming.
I instantly went in search of contact info and zapped them an email to ask not only if they’d like to chat about Unsettling Toys with me for Haunt Jaunts, but also if they’d like to do a show with my A Haunt Mess co-hosts and myself.
They said yes to both! (We’ll record for A Haunt Mess on August 17, so their episode should drop on August 25.)
For now, here are some of the weird things that happened –or seemed to from these snapshots– during our chat.
Doll Photo Bomb
I’m not saying a doll did photobomb the recording –but I’m not saying one didn’t either.
Oh, okay, I’ll come clean. These snapshots only make it appear that way. Creepy fun though, right?
Winston the Leather Lion
“What is that thing?” was my first thought when they introduced me to Winston. Then I realized it’s a lion and they informed me it was crafted out of leather. (Which, if I was vegan, may explain that second face.)
Side Eye Sally
Okay, this doll’s name really isn’t Side Eye Sally. I’m just calling her that, because during the chat Sara pointed out the doll had some serious “side eye” going on.
That cracked me up, because (a) I’ve never heard that term before, and (b) it added some levity because of all the toys they shared with me, this one unsettled me the most. (Don’t let my Winston the Leather Lion face fool you.)
But also, she reminded me of a girl from one of my favorite Gifs. See if you see any resemblance too:
Do you see it?
The Sweet Doll
Not all of their toys or dolls are creepy. Some have good energy too. Some people are specifically looking for those toys too, and some find goodness and happiness unsettling so…Sara and Brian deal with all sides of the spectrum!
Why’s That One in a Garbage Bag?
I didn’t know what to think when they pulled out a doll wrapped in a garbage bag. Well, except for, “This must be some hideously creepy doll.”
Was it? I’m not telling. To find out, you’ll have to listen to or watch the episode.
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Visit: https://unsettlingtoys.com/
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Have you ever owned a creepy toy? What did you do with it?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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Interesting video. I didn’t know there was a doll disease! Happy National Doll Day!
Hi – thought I’d share a ‘scary toy’ story. In the first decade of the 2000s, when my son was a toddler and when the movie ‘Cars’ was popular, we had a little mini “Cars” movie Fisher Price spiral race track (You can see what it looked like here https://www.buybuybaby.com/store/product/disney-pixar-cars-spiral-speedway/1015139048). It included batteries. A red car (Lightening McQueen) and a blue car (Sally) would race down their own track when the lever was pressed manually. When the cars were released, there was a ‘trigger’ of some kind somewhere on the track in which you would hear Lightening McQueen say “Speed. I am Speed” or another saying (can’t remember what it was.) My son played endlessly with it and and it sat in next to a toy box (or sometimes in the toy box) in our TV room.
A few years after he got the toy, we noticed that the toy started going off on its own – completely randomly, when no one was near the toy box and when nothing could possibly jostle or move the track to make it talk. For example, I’d be in the TV room watching TV late at night, long after my son was in bed and suddenly I’d hear the toy say “Speed. I am Speed.” My initial reaction was “well – there must be a loose wire or something in the toy that is making it go off.” But, I couldn’t figure was was triggering it, since the toy might be sitting on the floor undisturbed, with no movement in the area whatsoever. Now, this is when the original Ghost Hunters show was first airing and I loved to watch it. And, I remember that during investigations they would often experience flashlights going on or off seemingly on their own, and you’d often hear Jason or Grant say: “If that was you, can you do that again?” (e.g. make the flashlight go on and off.) So one night I decided to try this with the Lightening McQueen race track. It was late and I was sitting in the TV room (which was on the bottom level or our townhome. The kids and my husband were asleep on the 3rd level). I heard the track start to go off. So I said to it “If someone else is here with me, can you make that toy go off again.” And, suddenly I heard – right on queue “Speed. I am Speed.” Well, needless to say, I was sufficiently scared. I think I said “thank you” and hightailed it upstairs to bed!
We don’t have the track anymore. We got rid of it during a toy purge as our youngest son grew older. But it was a strange enough experience that I do seriously wonder if something ‘unknown’ was manipulating or playing with that race track!
Hey! Thanks for watching! (I didn’t know there was a doll disease either. Crazy!)
Oh wow! Maybe it was the ghost of a race car driver or something? That is crazy. Loved your story. Thanks for taking the time to share it!