Ghosts of the Past: Police burn 'GHOST' doll

19th February 2023. Reading Time: 1 minute General, Ghosts Of The Past. 1773 page views. 0 comments.

In this series, I take a look at some historical accounts of ghostly encounters. In this article, we look at a supposedly haunted doll in NSW Australia that had to be burnt by police after it kept coming back after numerous attempts to dispose of it.

Haunted Dolls are one of the talking points of the paranormal field. Some people believe dolls are haunted by spirits, while others believe they simply retain their surrounding energy. Of course in history there are dolls famous for supposedly terrorising the general public. Annabelle and Robert the doll come to mind. You only have to search on eBay for 'Haunted Doll' to see just how popular this area of the paranormal is.

* Not a haunted doll, I think? Image Source: Me

Not everyone wants a haunted doll in their collection of course which brings us to the topic of today's Ghost of the past.

On the 4th of September 1954, the following article was published in Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/249059769

POLICE BURN "GHOST" DOLL
A man yesterday asked police to burn a ventriloquist's doll ''at the stake." The man, Bill Rowe, 25, of Elizabeth Bay, said the doll had been
haunting him. Police burned the doll on top of a pile of rubbish. Mr. Rowe later said he gave up amateur ventriloquism to study medicine.
He added that: He had tried three times to get rid of the doll. The last time he had thrown the doll in the Harbor. Police on Thursday recovered the doll from Rushcutters Bay.
They had received a report that a "body" was floating in the Harbor. Mr. Rowe said: "That was the third time I tried to get rid of the doll.
For little boy
"The first time I gave it to a woman for her little boy. "She brought the doll back because she said it frightened the boy. "Soon after, I dumped the doll in a paddock. "The postman, who knew 1 practised ventriloquism, found it next day and returned it to me.
"Until yesterday I had the doll locked in a cupboard. "I threw the doll from my waterfront home into the Harbor.
"'When the water police tried to return the doll. I told them to burn it good and properly. "They tell me they did so.
"But I wouldn't be surprised if the doll turned up again."
Mr. Rowe will sit for his final medical examination next week.

Of course one has to wonder, did Police really dispose of the doll? Did it find its way back?

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