MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

Legends could be generated from fictional stories with some truth level and can spread through word of mouth or shared across the internet with a variation from the original version. A contemporary legend is a type of discourse presented in multiple forms that can exist in several versions and might be bizarre (Mould, 2016). Dolls have existed since ancient times, and there’s reason to believe that some are connected to the supernatural (Harker, 2015). Haunted dolls are more than just horror movies about a possessed doll terrorizing a family or committing crimes, as seen in popular culture films. Still, some stories are passed down across multiple platforms. The common theme of the haunted doll has been disseminated in film, books, and stories. Movies such as Child’s Play (1988), Dolly Dearest (1992), Annabelle (2014), and Robert (2015) continues this legend of the creepy doll by adding a twist to the original story to create a more sinister aurora through the alteration of the image of the doll to create fear. Dolls that are based on true stories influence fans to take a trip to the actual location for a peak of the icon in person. McNeil and Tucker (2018) reference that digital legend tripping is a growing method for contemporary legends as the internet is a way for fans to break the fictional and real-world barrier. This paper aims to explore the origin and influence of Robert the Doll, a form of creepypasta and contemporary legend that has influenced the story of the haunted dolls across several platforms while examining a digital legend tripping experience.