Crawly's Dolly

A short horror story hoped to be included in the creepypasta featuring a possessed doll.

There once was a man named Mr. Crawly, he dedicated his life to making dolls for his granddaughter, Sally. After a few years this hobby of his grew into a passion and not long after a career. He owned a small shop that was no more than a simple hole in the wall. If you were in a hurry you could easily miss it and walk right past the store and never even known it was there. It was such an odd place for a doll store, but it was the only place the sweet old man could afford. Despite the small size of the store there was one more off setting factor of the poor old man's doll store, it was next to a grave yard.

Many of his family members urged him to find a new location for his store but the old man was set in his ways and simply argued that he found his calling in that very shop. This shop was the very beginning of his career in doll making. It was his passion, his bliss, his everything. He didn't care for anything fancy, he knew it wasn't the shop that was important, it was the dolls within it. Whenever a member of his family would suggest he relocated to a new setting the old man simply replied with, "I'd rather spend the money on making my dolls" and he did exactly that. For the first two years business was rather slow, he sighed and tried various methods to advertise his store. He did everything from flyers, crazy signs, sale offers and all the other tricks in the book. Despite his efforts the shop was still as slow and quiet as ever. However, the old man was so passionate and hopeful in his work he vowed to never give up on his beloved dream.

One day, while Mr. Crawly was working on his newest doll a woman entered the store. "Hello? Is anyone here? The door was unlocked and I assumed...", the voice said as she trailed off in mid sentence staring at the doll on the stand that Mr. Crawly was working on. "She's perfect....", the stranger said. The old man jumped slightly startled and turned before rubbing his eyes. "Ah! Forgive me young lady! My ears don't work as well as they use to, I didn't hear you come in.", Mr. Crawly said as he gave the customer a warm and pleasant smile. The woman had wavy hair that was as white as snow with soft pale skin that was almost like the porcelain of the doll he was working on. Her eyes were hazel but they looked purely gold in the lighting. The old man could see the stranger had an interest in his current project. "Ah, I am sorry I should have been working on this one in the back room, she isn't quite ready yet, as you can see from the lack of hair and clothes", he said with an embarrassed chuckle. "No, she's beautiful....have you any idea what your plans for her were?", the woman asked, not taking her eyes off the doll.

The old man chuckled once more a bit embarrassed to admit he was not yet sure of what his exact plans for the new doll was quite yet. "Do you make custom dolls upon request? I'd be more than happy to give you whatever your price is" the ghostly white haired woman said finally directing her gaze over to the old man. Mr. Crawly smiled warmly, "But of course! I use to make custom dolls for granddaughter, Sally. It's one of my favorites!", he boasted unable to contain his excitement. The woman smiled in return and tucked her wavy hair over her shoulder. "I very much like what you've done with her facial features....do you think you could make her have my hair and lips? If it isn't too much trouble!", the woman asked. Without a moment of hesitation the old man gladly agreed and shook the young lady's hand. After further discussion on how exactly he'd design this new doll. The old man had accepted the payment from the woman and went straight back to working on the doll.

It usually took three days for Mr. Crawly to finish one of his pieces, but this time his motivation was at it's peak. He was excited to have someone so interested in his work, it had been years since Mr. Crawly had last made a custom doll for someone. As he informed the white haired woman, he use to make custom dolls for his granddaughter,. Sally. However, that all stopped after sweet little Sally had passed away in an unfortunate accident. Although the memory of it all pained him, making a doll for this stranger brought ease to the pain and filled his heart with pure nostalgia. He had almost forgotten what it felt like to make a doll specifically after someone. He was driven to make sure every single detail was flawless. Nothing was going to distract him from perfecting every last detail of the doll.

The old man hadn't slept for six hours straight, it wasn't like him to skip breaks but never the less he couldn't bring himself to stop working on his newest masterpiece, not even for a single moment. He was growing more and more obsessed every minute he spent tending to the doll. His eyes were bloodshot and his hands were feebly shaking from the endless amount of work he put into the doll. His fingers were numb and growing sore from the work but the poor old man couldn't stop until it was perfect. Every single detail had to be flawless and exactly as he had envisioned it to be.

Eight sleepless hours the old man's work had finally paid off. He dropped his tools in exhaustion and coughed a laugh of victory as he gazed upon the finished product. In front of him was by far the best doll he had ever made in his entire career. The doll had the most enchantingly white hair and delicate ruby lips that brought out the golden amber eyes. The doll was dressed in a scarlet colored gown that was lined with black lace. Upon her neck was a small silver chain, instead of the usual pearls. Her slippers were black with dainty little black roses. Crowning her beautiful white hair was a big black bow. She was stunning in every way, a true beauty to admire and behold. This was no doubt his most beloved work.

Just as Mr.Crawly was fixing to go to sleep he heard the front door slam shut. He jumped and rubbed his exhausted eyes. "I must've forgotten to lock the doors and put the close sign up", he said to himself as he got up to shut the door. The floors groaned with each step he took towards the door. "Anyone there?", the old man asked just before shutting the door and being sure to lock it this time. As he turned away from the door he went to go put the finished doll in a glass case before going to bed. To his horror the doll wasn't on the working table anymore. "How strange....I could've sworn I left it right here...", he thought to himself with a puzzled look on his tired face. This project had completely thrown off his sleep schedule and he could feel himself mentally cursing himself. "I probably just put it way already before checking the door" he told himself as he went to the glass cases. Once again, there was nothing there. The old man's face twisted in confusion as he tried to recall where he had left the doll. "I'm more tired than I thought", he thought to himself as he desperately searched the shop for the doll.

"Perhaps you should lay down, Mr. Crawly.", a familiar voice said from behind him. The old man turned quickly and started in utter disbelief as the doll was standing behind him smiling exactly as the woman from earlier had smiled at him before leaving. "This is a dream....I'm just dreaming.", Mr. Crawly said to himself trying to rationalize what he was seeing. The doll laughed and approached the old man. "Of course, just a dream....perhaps you should close your eyes and rest, Mr. Crawly.", the doll said still wearing her gentle smile upon her face. "I look beautiful....thank you so much for doing this for me", the doll added as she offered her dainty porcelain hand out to the man to show her appraisals. The old man stared in disbelief shaking at the sight before him. "It's just a dream..." he whispered to himself once more unable to look away from the living doll before him. Once more the doll laughed at his attempt to reason with himself on what he was witnessing. "I must be asleep...", he whispered once more.

Crawly's Dolly laughed once more, "I can only imagine how confused you must be right now, perhaps I can help put your mind at ease", the doll offered as she sat down on a tin box and crossed her legs and folded her arms. The ball joints within her rolled and allowed her to sit almost like a human would. Poor Mr. Crawly was too tired to even question the advise of a talking doll and simply nodded. To this, Crawly's Dolly explained, "It has been so long since I've had a body....today was my birthday... I knew I'd be forced back to the grave I couldn't find a permanent vessel. Because of you I can live forever." The doll grinned even more as the look of realization struck the poor old man's face. He stumbled back in disbelief at what he had heard. "No....No that's impossible. This is just a dream it's just...it can't be", he began to stammers as he continued to back away from the doll. No matter how many times he tried, he couldn't shake away the truth. The customer was a ghost....he had been hired to make a vessel for her spirit to live in so that she could return to Earth.

"How could I ever repay you, Mr. Crawly?", the doll said rising back to her feet as she began to walk closer to him once more. "Stay away from me, demon!!!" he screamed throwing one of his tools I'm horror at the doll before him. "Get away from me!!", he screamed. Before he could say any more he stumbled over his chair and fell back smacking the back of his head against the counter top of his work station. He felt his body grow colder and colder as the blood trickle down to the floor boards. The last thing he saw was his doll looking down at him sympathetically. Just before hi soul was swallowed into the black abyss he heard the doll's faint voice say, "Don't worry Mr. Crawly, I'll continue the family business....Crawly's Dollies will live on forever". With those final words, the poor old man's work faded to black.

Author's Note

Please give credit to the author.
Includes Possession and ghosts.

Reviews

[KCthelastboyscout]

A delightful read to curl the blood.a good short horror story is rare.this is an exception. The idea is always first followed by the writing. Good combination here.

[Kai Harmon]

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story and give feedback! I am more than happy to return the favor!

[Brent]

EPIC! Your short story does more than pay homage to Mr. Poe. Similar literary devices and what I like to call "creep-factor"--don't worry that's a good thing for a horror story. Shame the old man's payment for making his best doll was death by doll.

And, as they have been for all-time, dolls continue to be terrifying creatures that torment humans...

[Kai Harmon]

Thank you so much for giving me feedback on this story! That was the best compliment you could have possibly given! I can't thank you enough for taking the time to read my story! I'll be happy to do the same in return!