Pediophobia is the specific phobia, or irrational fear, of dolls or inanimate, human-like objects. Dolls, mannequins, dummies. All the same to me. I hate them and have since I was a kid.
My mom has a collection of porcelain dolls that used to (and still do) make my skin crawl. I recently bought a vintage composition doll to model for my book cover. I took the pics and sent it back. I couldn’t stand the thought of it being In my house.
My earliest memories of doll fear came from Child’s Play. Specifically, the VHS cover for Child’s Play. And when Child’s Play 2 came out, the trailer scared me even more. It was a jack in the box cranking slowly to pop goes the weasel. As soon as it popped out, Chucky would stomp it to pieces.
I would watch TV and when the commercials came on, I would close my eyes and look down. If I heard a Pepsi commercial, I would exhale with a smile and watch. Next commercial, close eyes again.
In the early 90s, I became obsessed with The Twilight Zone. I watched and rewatched the marathons a million times. But there was one episode I always avoided.
Living Doll was exactly as the title states. I would check the TV listings in the newspaper and circle the time it was airing. I would stop watching the marathon about two hours before just to be sure to avoid it.
Then I got into Rod Serling’s other show, Night Gallery. The dolls in one episode were otherworldly. In modern times, Annabelle has become a source of terror. Old dolls need no CGI. They are terrifying on their own.
We are closer to October 2025 than October 2024. Halfway to Halloween. I hope they keep turning out creepy doll movies for horror!
