DOLLHOUSE
You know what I find
really creepy? Dolls. There’s just something about them that always sets me on
edge. Maybe it’s the fact that they look so realistic you are certain that they
are alive even though they’re not made living flesh. Maybe it’s the emptiness
in their eyes. They are painted and coloured in a manner that have a certain
glow to it that emphasises realism, but not. It’s not just the eyes that creeps
me out though. It’s the fact that no matter where you go, the eyes are always
directed at you.
There are some
freaky stories about dolls as well. You know, apparently they’re supposed to be
vessels for lost souls. Does that mean that in every single doll we buy, there
could be the ghost of a serial killer or a dead terrorist?
Dolls were the
reason I hated going to my Aunties house. She had this fixation with dolls
shown by the fact that on every single shelf she had in the house, even in the
kitchen, there were dolls lined up next to each other. And no matter where you
went, they would always be watching you.
It was like something out of a horror story, and I always had that feeling of
being watched whenever we went to visit.
My Auntie herself
was a lovely woman with a certain level of enthusiasm and cheerfulness that
always made you feel right at home. Even if that home was full of evil
possessed dolls. How she could bare living in that house, I never understood
and probably never will.
She rarely left her
home, though. Or if she did, she never let us know. I know that she worked from
home. I also know that she would order her groceries from the internet so she
wouldn’t have to go to the shops to buy anything. It was as though she was
afraid something horrible would happen if she was to leave her house.
I remember this one
time she bought a really strange doll that was almost my height with dark hair
and eyes so pale you would swear they were white. I think it was this doll that
started up my hatred for dolls.
You see, my Auntie
was never able to have children even when she was married. I think she bought
the dolls to make up for this, but this doll was completely different by her
standards. She loved it with a passion. She even named it Elliot.
When I was little,
she used to take Elliot over to the house and have me talk to him as though he
was a living, breathing person. At the time, I was unaware that Elliot was not
a human being, and I would talk and play with him for hours. I even heard him
speak back to me, although now that I look back on it that was probably my
imagination.
When I was old
enough to realise that I was talking to an inanimate object, my Auntie stopped
bringing Elliot over, and soon she stopped coming over herself.
Today was my weekly
visit. I always had to come over because no one was certain whether she was
alive since she never came out, and she didn’t have a phone either. I had
stuffed my bag with my phone, some spare clothes, my toothbrush, and whatever
else I thought I would need to maintain whatever sanity I had in me as I hiked
up the hill to my Auntie’s eerie little cottage.
I knocked on the door
and entered before she answered the door. Shutting the door behind me, I was
faced by the usual sensation of being watched by a number of hollow, blue eyes
from every corner of the room. I dumped my bag on the sofa and walked across
the room to call out to my Auntie who was undoubtedly in her tiny office.
“Auntie Linda, it’s
Lucy!” I called down the dark hallway. She always kept the light off for some
reason… Auntie Linda scuttled out of her office, her red hair in disarray and
her glasses squint on her face. She was always welcome for company, even if she
didn’t enjoy the idea of leaving the house.
“It’s been a while, Lucy! How have you been?”
“It’s only been a week, Auntie Linda. Mum’s headed off for a
little vacation away from home.”
“Oh, do tell me all about it. I’ll just go and get us some
tea.” I nodded in agreement as she left the room. I just stood there for a
moment, watching her leave. The entire time I was speaking to her, I felt the
intenseness of the stares getting stronger, and now that I was alone I was left
with no distractions to direct my attention away from the dolls that surrounded
me so. I resisted the urge to gulp as I
pushed my bag aside and sat down on the sofa. I would just have to endure it,
after all it’s not like it’s any better in the other rooms.
“So, tell me, how’s
your brother doing?” Auntie Linda asked me calmly as she lifted her tea. I
watched her quietly, cautious of the small blonde doll behind her.
“He’s been a little unwell since he came over last week, so
we’re giving him a few days to recover from whatever he’s got.”
“Hmm, it is winter,
so he’s probably gotten sickness from being out in the snow for too long.” It
sounded like something he would do, but he had been babbling about something
strange before he got sick… something here had clearly scared him, although no
one knew what it was.
“Yeah, I suppose so. He does tend to stay out with his
friends too long…” My Auntie sighed and mumbled something about kids today. I
also heard her say something about her child not doing such things… what child?
I had a nightmare
that night. It wasn’t the usual kind either. I was in the living room in my pyjamas and it was deathly quiet. Everything had a red tinge to it, as though
I was wearing red-tinted glasses. The dolls had come down from their shelves
and had surrounded me. Their usual placid expressions had been twisted into
that of malicious glee, as though relishing the fear I was clearly suffering
from.
But alike my other
dreams, they did not move. They just stood there. If it had been real life, I
would have ran up the stairs or out of the house. But I had no control of my
limbs. I turned my head to the hallway door and began walking down the hallway
to my Auntie’s office.
I stopped directly
in front of the door and stared at the closed door. Except I didn’t. In my
dream, the door was see-through, so I could see directly into the room where my
Auntie was sitting. And what I saw sent shivers down my spine.
You know how I said
my Auntie always had this doll that she treated like she would her own son?
That exact same doll sat on her lap with its head rested on her chest as she
spoke quite cheerfully to it. But that wasn’t what scared me the most. What
scared me the most was the fact that the doll spoke back. I could hear its whispery voice as it mumbled replies to
whatever my Auntie had to say to it. And all I could do was stand there and
watch it.
“Lucy came over
today. You know Lucy; you used to play with her all the time when you were
little.” They were talking about me? I heard a childish giggle emerge from its
mouth. From what I could see, it was parted ever so slightly in a manner that
would appear seductive had it been on a human being, but on this… thing I
couldn’t help but feel frightened.
“I remember Lucy! She’s the one with the funny eyes!” It almost sang out in its
ghostly voice. “I miss her… can we go talk to her?” I could do nothing to stop
her from saying yes as she lifted herself off the bed, carrying the doll with
her.
“I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you!” She unlocked the door
and entered the hallway, walking right past me and towards my room.
It was then that I
woke up. I could tell because it was now pitch dark and I was lying in my bed.
I could wriggle my fingers, although the rest of my body was so exhausted I
could hardly stand to move it.
As my ears adjusted
to the supposed silence, I could hear the stairs creaking as someone passed up
them. That someone was my Auntie, and I knew it. My breathing hitched as I
realised what I would soon be faced with.
I knew that getting
up and moving would be the worst thing to do. I pulled the covers over my head,
like I would if I was five, and squeezed my eyes shut. Maybe I thought that if
I curled up tight enough, I would disappear completely.
I heard the door
open as my Auntie entered the room. I didn’t move, afraid of doing so. Her feet
gently scuffed the floorboards, as though she was afraid she’d wake me up. She
sat down next to the bed. I could feel the icy coldness of the room as the covers
were removed from my grip. I could hear her lifting the doll up onto the bed
and placing in the gap between me and the edge of the bed. I could hardly
breathe knowing that thing was right
in front of me. The arm was placed over my shoulder and the covers put back in
place.
“Have sweet dreams, guys. Mummy will be downstairs if you
need anything.”
I didn’t sleep after
that. How could I? The doll said nothing, moved nothing, and did nothing. Nor
did I want it to. It was while I was trying to avoid accepting the fact that
this doll was sleeping right in front of me that I summarised that the voice I
heard from the doll came from my Auntie. They never spoke over each other, and
I heard my Auntie using that voice during a small pantomime she was in when she
used to go out.
It wasn’t until
early morning when my Auntie came in again and removed the doll from my
presence.
“We don’t want to startle Lucy, she’s always one to get
surprised easily.” She said to the doll, leaving the room and closing the door
behind her. I waited until I could no longer hear the footsteps before I let
out a sigh of relief.
I climbed out of the
bed and ran to the drawer. I grabbed everything in my hands and shoved them
into my bag in a careless heap. I didn’t have time to think of making it neat
and tidy. All I wanted was to get out of here.
I combed back my
hair and tried to conceal the bags under my eyes with make-up. Holding back the
fear I was suffering from, I walked down the stairs ready to leave. My Auntie
was sitting in the living room, all signs of her previous madness gone.
I held up my mobile,
briefly showing all of my fear.
“M-mum says something bad has happened to Lucas.” I
stuttered out the lie, resisting the urge to scream in terror as I spoke. A
concerned expression appeared on my Aunties face. “I really need to get home to
see how everything is going.”
“It’s okay, dear, I understand. Go right ahead, I’ll see you
next week.”
As I walked down the
pathway, I noticed how grey everything seemed. How empty this household was. Clouds
were rolling in, certain to result in snow or rain. I blew air into my hands as
I tried to warm them in vain. I glanced back at the house for a moment, and saw
my Auntie waving me goodbye. I lifted my hand to wave back, but I cut myself short.
Behind
my Auntie I could see the doll standing there. And it was waving. It was waving
at me. And it was smiling. It was smiling… at me.
