An old lady allows a young couple with their two young children, a boy and a girl, to take residence in her house. The old three storey house has been owned by the old lady and has been in her family for many generations. She has decided to lease out the house while she stays in a granny flat located at the far end of the estate. She tells the young family they may furnish the place however they like, but warns them not to go into the attic. As this is where she has stored her old possessions that are not to be touched.
That weekend the children are left on their own at the house for the day. Curiosity prevails as the young brother and sister decide to enter the attic. Taking no heed to the old ladies previous warning, they rummage through the dusty contents stored in the poorly lit attic. They discover antique paintings, furniture and clothes, all riddled with dust. Buried in the centre they find a large suite case that appears to be locked. Determined to see what is in the case, the boy gets a knife from the kitchen and manages to force open the lock. He lifts the lid ajar which releases an odd smell which soon passes. Slowly he continues to lifts the lid to reveal what appears to be a kid size doll, it is folded awkwardly with its blank eyes looking right at them. As the girl gently begins to lift the doll out, they are startled by a distant thud! Their parents have returned home. The children quickly and quietly as possible remove themselves from the attic to greet their parents. The girl realises she is still holding the doll, so she quickly places it under her bed on the way pass their room.
That night after the family have retired to bed, the mother is awakened by faint running noises throughout the house. She wakes her husband who goes to check on the kids and finds them sound asleep. He notices an odd doll sticking out from under the girl's bed, thinking nothing of it he returns back to bed. Soon afterwards the kids discreetly get out of bed after fooling their father they were asleep. They sit and watch the doll, the doll begins to become animated before them. Over the next few nights the doll plays mischievous games with the children. Over a short time the doll begins to play rougher and the children begin to resent the doll to the point of being afraid of it. Items began to go missing or become broken and the children would place blame on the doll when scolded by their parents. One night the old lady overhears the children's argument with their parents. The old lady barges in scolding the children for going into the attic, claims the doll and stashes it back into the suitcase in the attic. But she fails to realise the case does not lock properly anymore.
The next morning the children were playing in the yard and notice something stashed in the bushes, to their horror they discover the old lady's twisted body amongst the branches. They run in terror to tell their parents who contact the police. The old lady's body is collected and the police tell the parents that the only evidence they find are kid size footprints around and on the body. The confused parents stare in disbelief at the children, who in return cry out blaming the doll!
Adrian Shaw's inspired story of Robert the Doll.
Published 20th Sept 2009.
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