By Amanda Thomason September 21, 2021 at 3:34pm
People generally have strong positive or negative associations with dolls. Some fondly remember toys they grew up with or have collections, while others are creeped out by those collections and childhood mementos.
Horror movies and Halloween decor certainly play on those fears, but one new homeowner got a very personal and unnerving gift along those lines that he discovered recently after moving into a new home.
Jonathan Lewis, a 24-year-old teacher who’d bought a home in the Walton area of Liverpool, England, spotted something unusual in the kitchen and decided to investigate.
“There was a wire coming out where the previous owners had the fridge, but I didn’t know where the wire was plugged in so I knocked through a bit of the plasterboard to see what was there,” he said, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Inside the wall, which was also the cavity under the staircase, was an old rag doll, looking like it was peeking through the opening Lewis had created.
The big-eyed doll would have been spooky enough to find in the empty space, but she came along with a note that made everything even darker.
“Dear reader/new house owner,” the note began.
“Thank you for freeing me! My name is Emily. My original owners lived in this house in 1961. I didn’t like them so they had to go. All they did was sing and be merry. It was sickening.
“Stabbing was my choice of death for them so I hope you have knives. Hope you sleep well.”
Some of Lewis’ friends found the doll and note too much. They advised him to get out and sell, but Lewis’ observational skills have picked up on the joke.
“Some of my friends have told me to put my house back on the market and move out, but I think it’s just a laugh,” he said.
“The letter says 1961, but the estate agent said when she was showing me around that the kitchen was only done four or five years ago.
“I think it must have been put there then because the paper doesn’t look very old and looks relatively recent.”
Many have commented that the handwriting looks like a teenager’s and that the contents of the note aren’t really as scary as they could be, pointing to idea of a young prankster as the author.
Others still think the discovery is a bit eerie and say they wouldn’t have behaved nearly as rationally as Lewis under the same circumstances.
How about you? What would you do if you found something like this lurking in your home?
Amanda holds an MA in Rhetoric and TESOL from Cal Poly Pomona. After teaching composition and logic for several years, she’s strayed into writing full-time and especially enjoys animal-related topics.
As of January 2019, Amanda has written over 1,000 stories for The Western Journal but doesn’t really know how. Graduating from California State Polytechnic University with a MA in Rhetoric/Composition and TESOL, she wrote her thesis about metacognitive development and the skill transfer between reading and writing in freshman students.
She has a slew of interests that keep her busy, including trying out new recipes, enjoying nature, discussing ridiculous topics, reading, drawing, people watching, developing curriculum, and writing bios. Sometimes she has red hair, sometimes she has brown hair, sometimes she’s had teal hair.
With a book on productive communication strategies in the works, Amanda is also writing and illustrating some children’s books with her husband, Edward.
Location
Austin, Texas
Languages Spoken
English und ein bißchen Deutsch
Topics of Expertise
Faith, Animals, Cooking