Haunted Dolls

04/27/21 • 47 min

In Singapore, there’s a park known as the Haw Par Villa, an expansive theme park filled with over 1,000 statues, and hundreds of detailed three-dimensional dioramas. Of course, lots of parks have statues and memorials of people from history. But these dioramas set Haw Par Villa apart; and make it a much wilder, much stranger place. At the epicenter of the park is the Ten Courts of Hell. It’s a self-guided tour through the experiences one would expect from hell. Or at least, the Hell imagined by the multicultural mythology that makes Singapore so unique. While the purpose of the park was to show children the consequences of their bad behavior, the implementation created something rather dark and foreboding. And now, the park has gained a reputation as haunted.

So, perhaps it’s not a surprise that some of these spooky statues and dioramas are thought to be haunted. But what about haunted dolls? How does something created for a sweet and innocent purpose, something that provides comfort and safety to so many, come to get such an evil reputation? In a world with so many dolls, how does one single doll become infamous?

Learn more about the history of three famous haunted dolls; Peggy (who inspired the story of Annebelle), Robert & the girl-doll of the Yesterdays’ Museum.

For images and full show notes visit: http://mydarkpath.com/season1episode9-1
References

Peggy & Annabelle:

Robert:

Read MF Thomas' novels
Like Clockwork https://amzn.to/417lOzy
Arcade https://amzn.to/4aTpisx
A Sickness in Time https://amzn.to/41apSPK
Seeing by Moonlight ...

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Learn more about the history of three famous haunted dolls; Peggy (who inspired the story of Annebelle), Robert & the girl-doll of the Yesterdays’ Museum.

For images and full show notes visit: http://mydarkpath.com/season1episode9-1
References

Peggy & Annabelle:

Robert:

Read MF Thomas' novels
Like Clockwork https://amzn.to/417lOzy
Arcade https://amzn.to/4aTpisx
A Sickness in Time https://amzn.to/41apSPK
Seeing by Moonlight ...

Previous Episode

Genuine Fakes

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Once upon a time, I was in Shanghai, and I needed a birthday present for a friend.

Shanghai is a captivating city; one I love to visit. I always enjoy my time there. It’s vibrantly alive with culture, history, and commerce. For many years it was called “The Paris of the East,” due to its cosmopolitanism, and its sophistication. I love it so much that my next novel, Like Clockwork, is based in this incredible city. On this particular day on this particular trip, I went to the shopping district around Nanjing Road. There are so many little shops and stalls mixed with western brands crowding the marketplace that you can easily lose your bearings if you’re not careful.

...I picked up a so-called “Rolex” that I thought my friend would love, and examined it while the shopkeeper promised to make me a good price.

“Is it real?” I asked, jokingly.

“If you cannot tell the difference,” she asked, “does it matter?”
Listen to learn more about

Four Treasuries Project – an entire library of books, meant to gather a comprehensive record of Chinese history, philosophy, and literature.
The creation of the Beijing Opera, a complex art from that combines song, dance, acrobatics, mime, acting, elaborate makeup and costumes, telling stories of romance, war, heroism and villainy.
How the performance of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in Tokyo by Chinese students brought western theater styles to China.

The full show notes can be found at https://www.mydarkpath.com/season1episode9

Read MF Thomas' novels
Like Clockwork https://amzn.to/417lOzy
Arcade https://amzn.to/4aTpisx
A Sickness in Time https://amzn.to/41apSPK
Seeing by Moonlight ...

Next Episode

The Triumph & Tragedy of the Dole Derby

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Air travel to Hawaii is actually an amazing story of innovation, imagination, and tremendous courage as well as a great deal of tragedy. Like most opportunities we have in our lives, it’s easy to take for granted the sacrifices that made them possible. So, it’s a dark path that eventually opens up into the sunny skies to the land of Aloha, and involves an event you may never have heard of, but which I don’t think you’re going to forget. Today, we’re telling the story of the Dole Derby. Keep your seatbelts fastened.

REFERENCES:

Race to Hawaii

Honolulu Star-Bulletin Features

1903-The First Flight - Wright Brothers National Memorial (US National Park Service)

Great Adventure Stories : Rafer Brent : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming

Actual newsreel footage of the participants and some of the takeoffs:

[Dole Air Race, 1927] : Kinograms : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming

MUSIC:

Stacks, Elision

Brenner, Falls

Nuclear Conception, Alice in Winter

Paths of Glory, Stephen Keech