​Robert the doll is widely believed to be cursed;  once owned by Key West painter and author Robert Eugene Otto. 

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Allegedly, Otto was given the doll in 1906 by a Bahamian voodoo practitioner family servant. Otto's parents often heard him talking to the doll and at first they assumed that Otto was being playful, simply answering himself in a changed voice but later believed the doll was actually speaking. Neighbors shared that they had seen the doll moving from window to window when the family was not home.

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Otto grew up, married and tales surfaced of his wife’s disdain for Robert arose; some alleging that she suffered from insanity after locking Robert in the attic and others report that Otto died with Robert by his side.

 

Today, Otto’s residence operates as a beautiful bed and breakfast called the Artist House, and visitors can even stay in the old turret bedroom where the legend took root.
 

Robert now lives at the Fort East Martello Museum in Key West, Florida.

Visit with caution and respect; the walls near his case are covered in hundreds of letters from previous visitors begging for forgiveness and asking Robert to remove any hex.

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