User:Caranlee/sandbox

Origins

Lomé Fetish Market

West African Fetish Magic

Fetishism is described as worshipping an object believed to have magical power to protect or aid its owner. In West African culture, they used dolls placed inside or around homes, and for every wish or harm inflicted on another, a nail was driven into the doll's body. Additionally, chicken blood and other various liquids were often poured on the doll's body, and are described to have a malevolent ambience. Due to the alienness of African culture, Europeans in the 16th and 17th centuries grew to be wary of these objects and believed they were evidence of sorcery.

Psychology

Research around why people perceive dolls as "creepy" has been conducted with some varying conclusions. In 2013, Frank McAndrew, a psychologist at Knox College, believes that feeling "creeped out" stems from the mere uncertainty of a situation, and the accompanying anxiety that surrounds not knowing how to react. Dolls, for example, are made to physically look like humans, but they embody no emotion or any other aspect of what makes a real person a human. Therefore, McAndrew argues, people often feel wary in the way that their brains do not know whether or not the doll should be classified as a danger.

Additionally, other researchers believe that the lack of mimicry that is crucial to normal human interactions is absent in the presence of a doll. In a study conducted in the Netherlands, too much or too little of mimicry during a conversation led to feelings of "physical coldness" and creepiness. Since the doll lacks ability to mimic, human brains at the most basic evolutionary tactic remain suspicious of whether or not it is human since they may expect the doll to mimic their own actions. This leads to feelings of physical coldness when the doll does not act the way one thinks it should.

Famous haunted dolls

Okiku

In 1918, a teenager named Eikichi Suzuki purchased a large doll from Hokkaido for his younger sister, Okiku. Okiku loved the doll very much, and carried it everywhere with her, even giving the doll her name. Unfortunately, Okiku passed away soon after due to an illness, and her family placed the doll in their family altar. A few months after she passed away, the family believed that the hair on the doll started getting longer. Under the impression that Okiku's spirit was inhabiting the doll she loved, the family was torn as to what to do when they decided to move to another city. Eventually, they decided to bring Okiku to Mannenji Temple in Hokkaido, where the head priest regularly trims Okiku's hair. Even with the regular haircuts, the hair apparently still grows, even a decade later. Okiku still resides in the temple today, where people can go see the doll in person.