History Main / TheDollEpisode

!This trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16641740940.53949200 under discussion]] in the Administrivia/TropeRepairShop.

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[[quoteright:215:[[Film/{{May}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_doll_episode.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:215:May and her closest friend. She'll make more.]]

->''"You are welcome to use whatever you find. [voice drops to a whisper] Even the doll, should it please you..."''
-->-- '''Gehrman''', ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}''

Dolls. Everyone has played with at least one in their lifetime, and many [[KitschCollection enjoy collecting them]] well into adulthood. However, there's something a bit... [[CreepyDoll upsetting about a large collection of dolls]]. [[UncannyValley Maybe they're a bit too human]], or how they lay so deathly still in their pretty dresses, with their glassy unblinking eyes... ''[[SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud Brrr!]]''

Which is why just about every {{horror}}, suspense and [[MysteryFiction mystery series]] that runs for long enough will have a doll-themed episode. This episode will inevitably be [[NightmareFuel incredibly creepy]] and [[CrapsackWorld unusually]] [[DownerEnding upsetting]]. If the show is already terrifying, then this episode will inevitably [[NightmareFuel one-up itself]]. This may have to do with the perversion of childhood innocence, though many people think dolls are just inherently creepy.

This trope tends to manifest in a number of common ways, many of which can combine with each other:
# The dolls are being made to [[ReplacementGoldfish replicate/replace a lost loved one]], such as a child, a spouse or a sibling.
# The dolls are made from [[HumanResources human components]], [[BodyHorror dead]] or [[FateWorseThanDeath otherwise.]]
# The dollmaker is obsessed with dolls for some reason, and has taken to preferring them over humans. Maybe even [[LivingDollCollector wishing humans were more like dolls]].
# The dolls are [[DemonicPossession possessed by an evil spirit]], are RidiculouslyHumanRobots, or have otherwise become [[MarionetteMotion animated/alive]] ''and actively malevolent.''
# The dolls were once [[WasOnceAMan humans]] before they were [[ToyTransmutation forcefully transformed]] into them.

The dollmaker or collector will usually be a madman or woman who has taken a shine to the protagonists either as "something" to add to their collection, potential parts for their latest creation, or threats to themselves and their beloved collection, making them try to capture or kill them.

----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* Episodes 11 and 12 of the ''Manga/BlackButler'' anime. The manga has a [[CircusOfFear circus troupe]] with ball-jointed orthopedic limbs, so they look somewhat like steampunk dollish cyborgs.
* ''Manga/CountCain'' has one, featuring an EvilCripple LivingDollCollector who wanted to add Merryweather to her collection.
* ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'' has an episode about a man who makes dolls of his "dead" lover and sacrifices girls to try and put his lover's soul into the doll.
* Episode 11 of ''Anime/GhostStories'' focuses on a CreepyDoll named Mary who stalks and tries to kill the main character Satsuki.
* In one chapter of ''Anime/GhostSweeperMikami'' (both manga and anime), a possessed doll starts attacking a little girl whose doll had gone missing. [[spoiler:It turns out it was all the doing of Mikami's old doll (which got animated thanks to Mikami's spiritual powers) and had started to feel alone]]. Somehow subverted with the fact that [[spoiler:at the end, the little girl's doll is the one that helps everyone to defeat Mikami's doll, animated by the evil doll's energy and full of love for her gentle owner. Mikami's doll is then sealed away and kept in a safe vault]].
* ''Manga/GhostHunt'' has a case called "The Doll House". It's suitably creepy.
* ''Anime/HellGirl'' is already a damned depressing show, considering it's a series of case studies in vengeance, malice and pretty much [[CrapsackWorld all of the evil in the world]]. Therefore, one must appreciate [[FateWorseThanDeath how utterly disturbing]] the doll-themed episode must be to stand out.
* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'' has two very different versions of this:
** The [[MonsterOfTheWeek Stand User of the week]] for the Ebony Devil arc, Devo the Cursed, has a stand that can possess inanimate objects and gets more powerful the more its user hates its target. He plants a small doll with African-inspired designs and a tiny spear on-site beforehand so it has a suitable vessel to inhabit while it hops around tying Polnareff to the underside of a bed and stabbing at him. Apparently, the arc was inspired by ''Film/ChildsPlay''.
** Much later, during the 'D'arby the Gamer' arc, the titular stand user keeps his victims' souls in handmade dolls. The dolls are capable of [[MarionetteMotion limited motion]] and speech, but not much else. He prepares dolls for new victims beforehand, and delights in showing future victims his existing collection.
* In ''Manga/TheKindaichiCaseFiles'', "Doll Island Murder Case" counts, as the entire case arc involves a murder whose backstory has connections with dolls and that takes place on an island that is well-known for doll-related rituals, not to mention Kindaichi himself at one point encountering two people who turn out to be CreepyDoll after a FaceRevealingTurn before he [[CatapultNightmare wakes up screaming]] from such a scenario and realizes the whole incident was AllJustADream.
* One episode of ''Anime/KirbyRightBackAtYa'' was actually about King Dedede ordering thousands of dolls shaped like him, and move whenever he moves so he can torture his subjects. At the end of the episode, Franchise/{{Kirby}} swallows up one of said dolls, and as a result King Dedede is literally flung high up into outer space, ''and is last seen orbiting a planet shaped like him!''
* In ''Manga/NatsumesBookOfFriends'' episode "[[Recap/NatsumesBookOfFriendsEp53UnchangingForm Unchanging Form]]" Natsume is seen by a youkai that stole a doll from a little girl years ago (it was initially planning on keeping ''her'') and is mistaken him for his grandmother Reiko who defeated the youkai and took the doll to return it to its owner. It declares it will take something precious from him as recompense, implying that this will be a person, without informing him of what he supposedly stole and needs to return in order to prevent it from taking its revenge. When he finds the doll it has been sitting in the forest for decades and looks it and he needs to restore its appearance in order to convince the youkai it's the same doll.
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' has this in one of the interlude episodes, related to [[JerkassWoobie Asuka]]'s backstory. Her mother Kyoko went crazy and recognized a doll resembling Asuka as her daughter. Later on, Kyoko hung herself and the doll - with [[NightmareFuel five-year old Asuka finding the body first]]. No wonder the poor girl is so screwed up...
** It gets even better: the main reason Asuka hates [[SugarAndIcePersonality Rei]] so much is that she reminds her of a doll. Asuka also regards Unit 02 as ''her'' doll which is ironic, considering whose soul is in the core. (And this may explain why she has a harder and harder time controlling Unit 02 as the series goes on... until she makes the realization at the very end.)
** ''Rebuild 2.0'' has a scene on Asuka [[NightmareFuel playing with a hand puppet resembling herself]]. While essentially a re-do which may not necessarily reflect the original doll's creepy history, it's fueling one of the new series' many EpilepticTrees.
* In episode 29 of ''Manga/NurseAngelRirikaSOS'', Dewey, the SixthRanger [[TheLancer Lancer]], becomes the subject of a little girl's PrecociousCrush. She even remodels her favorite doll to resemble him. Inevitably, [[CreepyDoll the doll comes to life and starts attacking people]].
* In the Sabrina arc in the first season of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', there was an episode where she used her psychic powers to turn the protagonists into small, living dolls. Also, the green-haired doll she has isn't a doll; it's [[spoiler: the childlike spirit her mind and body rejected as she grew older and become more obsessed with exercising her psychic abilities]].
** In another episode, Misty became obsessed about winning a series of collectible dolls.
* One story in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' involves a cursed doll that Ranma knocks over while the Tendos and Saotomes stay at an inn. The doll swaps bodies with Akane and tries to take vengeance on Ranma, while Akane accidentally scares other guests with living doll antics. ("The Doll is doing calisthenics!!")
* One ''Anime/SailorMoon'' episode had a doll-themed MonsterOfTheWeek and the episode was all about dolls. It was centered on Shingo's friend Mika, a girl from a family of famous dollmakers. One of her creations gets enchanted by Nephrite and turns into a CreepyDoll; under its influence, Mika becomes obsessed with her work on other dolls to the point when she generates enough energy for Nephrite to collect.
** More than one MonsterOfTheWeek has a doll-theme, and either they're pretty creepy or very goofy.
* PlayedForLaughs in a chapter of ''Manga/SgtFrog'', where Keroro and Giroro try to exploit Natsumi's childhood fears of her Hinamatsuri dolls by bringing them to life. Then one of the dolls starts moving by itself... fortunately, it turns out to be possessed by the Hinata household's friendly CuteGhostGirl.
* Actually PlayedForLaughs in an episode of ''[[LightNovel/{{Slayers}} Slayers Next]]''. Lina and the gang search for the Claire Bible in a tower filled with magically animated dolls. HilarityEnsues even as the party is slowly transformed into dolls. [[spoiler:It turns out that the villain is a demon who takes the form of a doll, and uses another doll to pose as the supposed opponent.]]
* ''Manga/SquidGirl'', usually rather light and fluffy, featured an episode about an old doll recovered from a storage shed, toward which it seemed to mysteriously move by itself, overnight. It's revealed that that's a feature of the doll: it and its counterpart, still in the shed, automatically rotate to face each other via magnets. [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane Probably]].
* ''Anime/WitchHunterRobin'' has a witch with MPD, whose other personalities manifest themselves through her collection of dolls. She holds conversations with them, and telekinetically controls them to kill people whom she believes have wronged her. [[spoiler:She's killed, but one of the dolls is unaccounted for. So, [[NightmareFuel killer doll on the loose in Japan.]]]]
* The first ''[[Anime/YuGiOhFirstAnimeSeries Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' anime series has Ridley Sheldon, a Duel Monsters player with a doll-themed deck, who has a bunch of life-sized dolls standing outside his home as if at a party, and also uses a puppet to impersonate the school nurse.
* In season 2 of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'', Judai also dueled a doll possessed by the spirit of a ripped-up card, using a doll-themed deck.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'' did it, in a story where Veronica inherited a doll from her misanthropic great aunt; it was called [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Lucifera]], and caused mischief around the house, and was only destroyed when [[spoiler:Jughead's dog Hot Dog ate it]].
* In an issue of the ''ComicBook/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' Season 8 comics, Dawn is transformed into a porcelain doll by a curse from her ex-boyfriend ([[spoiler:whom she cheated on]]) and found by a well-meaning but absolutely loco dollmaker.
* The Charlton Comics version of ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'' featured an issue "guest starring" the then-popular Creator/{{Kenner}} Steve Austin action figure, which is featured in the story as a bionic voodoo doll; anything done to the doll inexplicably happens to Steve.
* ''ComicBook/{{Zatanna}}'' had a DemonicDummy issue, where she was revealed to have a crippling phobia of puppets.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* {{Pun}} aside, this trope is generally {{Subverted}} in ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'' whenever [[Characters/BloodborneMainCharacters the Plain Doll]] receives focus in the plot. Despite her [[CreepyDoll eeriness]], she's one of the [[NiceGirl kindest]] characters in the story, a trait consistent with her depiction in the [[VideoGame/BloodBorne game]].
** Chapter 20, [[spoiler:however, [[PlayedStraight plays it straight]]]]. [[spoiler:Tasked with delivering a message to Celestine on behalf of Kyril, the Doll [[StealthHiBye shows up in her personal quarters without warning]], which freaks out Celestine and Claudia hard. By instinct, Claudia moves to arrest her for unauthorised entry, only for her to give a disinterested glance that ''somehow causes Claudia to stop in her tracks, sheath her blade, and back off''. Although nothing out of the ordinary happens during their conversation, Celestine is constantly unnerved. There's also how an [[LovecraftianSuperpower ancient power]] is said to reside in the Doll's vessel, yet [[NothingIsScarier no one, not even the readers, know what exactly it entails]].]]
** [[spoiler:PlayedStraight once more in Chapter 29]], where several traitorous guardsmen working for Mandeville are infiltrating Celestine's personal estate in order to enact ThePurge. Things are going rather smoothly for them as they [[spoiler:run into an animated doll and Sir Kyril's retainer, both seemingly defenceless... until two of the guards [[PsychicStrangle find themselves being choked by]] ''[[MindOverMatter something]]'', while the other one ends up with a maimed leg and a crushed throat. [[BewareTheNiceOnes Brrr!]]]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Coraline}}'', the Beldame sends dolls into the house to spy on the children.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/AirDoll'' is about an inflatable sex doll who becomes sentient.
%%* ''Film/TheCell''.
* One of the most famous films about this trope: ''Film/ChildsPlay'', where a doll possessing the soul of a SerialKiller tries to become human again.
* ''Film/DeadSilence'': Contains just about every scary doll trope.
* Naturally there's a horror flick called simply ''Film/{{Dolls|1987}}'', which has an entire mansion filled by murderous dolls.
* ''Film/{{Magic}}'' features a very young Anthony Hopkins as Corky, a ventriloquist who slowly manifests his psychosis through his dummy.
* ''Film/{{May}}'': She decides to make friends rather literally.
* ''Film/{{Poltergeist|1982}}'': A large clown doll figures prominently in one scare scene.
* The "puppets" in the ''Film/PuppetMaster'' horror series are really more examples of this trope.
* ''Film/TalesFromTheHood'' includes a segment in which a white supremacist is tormented by dolls possessed by the ghosts of slaves.
* The Ur example is the third segment of the 1975 made-for-TV movie ''Film/TrilogyOfTerror''. Entitled "Amelia", it's better known as "the one with the doll" by anyone mentally scarred by it. There's worse fare on TV now, but at the time (when most homes didn't even have movie channels on their TV) it was joltingly more intense than anything normally found flipping around the TV dial, plus it had the whole "animated doll chasing Karen Black around with a butcher knife and razor sharp teeth" angle. * shudder* Can be watched [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1pnFLT_k5A here]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Willie Connolly in J.R. Lowell's 1972 novel ''Daughter of Darkness'' collects dolls from all over the world, which everyone assumes are connected with her interest in anthropology. They're partly right. Then Uncle Jonathan manages to connect her interest with the bizarre illnesses and tragedies that befall anyone who crosses her.
* In ''Demon Road'', Dacre Shanks is a serial killer who shrinks humans that look alike and places them in a dollhouse to look like a happy family.
* In ''Literature/GhostRadio'', one of the show's callers speaks of a dollhouse that a child she babysat was always playing with. When she got close, she saw that the dolls and their dismembered pieces were alive and moving. [[AndIMustScream Some were even screaming in agony]].
* In the first ''Tales To Give You Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' collection, the short story "Broken Dolls" features an old woman who turns people into dolls with "dolly jelly".
** Any Goosebumps title that features Slappy, Night of the Living Dummy onwards.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/TheAlfredHitchcockHour'' in 1965 aired one of the all-time creepiest Doll Episodes, "Where the Woodbine Twineth", from the short story by Davis Grubb (of ''Night of the Hunter'' fame). Little Eva's mean aunt refuses to believe that her favorite doll can come to life, until she interrupts a game of "now you be the little girl and I'll be the doll" at a spectacularly bad time.
* ''Series/AmazingStories'', "The Doll" (without much of the creepiness usual for this trope). A man buys a doll for his niece in a little shop. It turns out later that [[spoiler: the shopkeeper uses the doll to help the man finding his true love, and it works]].
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':
** The evil puppets on "[[Recap/AngelS05E14SmileTime Smile Time]]".
** "[[Recap/AngelS05E04HellBound Hell Bound]]" featured a necromancer who used to buy bodies from Wolfram & Hart's grave robbing department and use them to create a scene of an old-fashioned tea party.
** And the spinoff comic ''Spike: Shadow Puppets'', featuring the return of the Smile Time puppets.
%%* In ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' the episodes "Crimson Clown" and "Dollmaker" were doll episodes.
* ''Series/BarneyMiller'' had a 1981 episode simply titled "The Doll". It's a valuable antique that was stolen from a shop window and later recovered. The proprietor is a middle-aged LonelyDollGirl -- she knows her dolls are not real but it's difficult not to speak of them as people. The thief confesses that the stolen doll seemed to be watching him. Harris [[DeadpanSnarker quips]] "You won't have to see her again -- not until she testifies at the trial."
* ''Series/BarRescue'' featured Royal Oaks, an 81-year-old bar whose owners had littered the place with ''disturbingly'' creepy giant mutilated dolls on nooses. The rest of the décor was equally as unsettling and offensive.
* ''Series/TheBradyBunch'': Played straight for the most part, particularly when Bobby is annoyed at Cindy over her being overly mothering to her beloved doll, Kitty Carry-All, and wished that it would go away forever... which it does shortly after Cindy leaves the room and leaves the doll on the couch (for Tiger to swipe). Throughout the duration of the episode, while Kitty is missing, Cindy worries with sickness what has happened to/is happening to her, particularly when she isn't immediately found.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS1E9ThePuppetShow The Puppet Show]]" featured a Ventriloquist's Dummy that is really alive. [[spoiler:{{Subverted}} in that he's a good guy.]]
** There's also Drusilla's dolls, though they're creepy mostly by virtue of the fact that they're owned and (apparently) loved by a creature like Drusilla.
* In one episode of ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'', the villain is a man who shrinks people and turns them into porcelain figurines.
* ''Series/CriminalMinds'' Inverts this, one episode is about a cracked unsub who abducts women, chemically paralyzes them, and dresses them up as living dolls, to replace the dolls her evil doctor father took from her. It's even called "The UncannyValley".
* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'':
** "City of the Dolls" was about the owner of a doll hospital being murdered. The opening featured a creepy scene of the hospital filled with broken dolls, various doll limbs and eyeballs, and actual blood from the murder. It was enough to make the person who found the body run screaming.
** Another episode had life-size dolls made from silicone. One was mistaken for a witness because it was "looking" out of a window above the crime scene.
* "The Doll" in ''Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm''. Larry cuts a girl's doll's hair, only to find it's a rare collector's item and is made to replace the head, swapping one from Jeff's daughter's collection for the one he cut. At the end, the girl thanks him for fixing it and hugs him, but feels the water bottle he put in his pants to sneak into the theatre and runs out screaming [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B3oC6yWY0A "Mommy! Mommy! That bald man's in the bathroom and there's something hard in his pants!"]]
* In season 7 of ''Series/DesperateHousewives'' Gaby grows attached to a doll [[spoiler: who bears a close resemblance to Grace, her long lost daughter who was switched at birth with Juanita.]]
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** In the classic series, the Master had a weapon called a Tissue Compression Eliminator which would shrink people down into doll-sized versions of themselves, killing them in the process.
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E7TheCelestialToymaker "The Celestial Toymaker"]], the Doctor and his companions have to fight with the [[HumanoidAbomination Celestial]] [[WickedToymaker Toymaker]] and his living dolls, [[spoiler:which apperantly used to be people]].
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E4TheGirlInTheFireplace "The Girl in the Fireplace"]], the main antagonists are life-size clockwork dolls seeking to [[spoiler:disassemble Madame de Pompadour and use her body to fix their spaceship]]. Since Creator/StevenMoffat wrote the episode, [[NightmareFuel terror ensues]].
--->'''The Doctor:''' [[OhCrap If this clock's broken]], and it's the only one in the room, [[TerribleTicking then what's that ticking?]]
** Creator/MarkGatiss' episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E9NightTerrors "Night Terrors"]] has an alien RealityWarper kid who [[PowerIncontinence couldn't control his powers]], accidentally creating a nightmarish realm populated by giant dolls that ''[[TheVirus turned other people into doll versions of themselves]]''.
* ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'': The show's name and the fact that the concept revolves around BlankSlate humans referred to as dolls aside, there was the episode where a serial killer collected women who look like his relatives, drugged them with paralytics, dressed them up and 'played pretend'.
* ''Series/GhostWhisperer'' has an episode involving a haunted dollhouse.
* ''Series/TheHauntingHour'' featured Lilly D, a doll who tries to become Lilly, the girl she was given to. Lilly D gets Lilly into more and more trouble, while Lilly's mother starts to treat Lilly D as her daughter. Lilly D is in the pilot two-parter "Really You" and returns in "The Return of Lilly D".
** Not to mention the Worry Dolls, who appear whenever Jordana worries about something or makes a wish.
* ''Series/InspectorRex'' had "Der Puppenmörder", featuring Christoph Waltz as the doll-obsessed villain of the week.
* ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'' has the two-parter "The P's Game", which is PlayedForLaughs (and [[TearJerker tears]]) rather than screams. Akiko encounters a doll that she sees as a real girl, but when the doll starts killing people Akiko is the one implicated. Eventually the MonsterOfTheWeek is revealed to be a children's book author who is killing the critics who panned his latest book, which was dedicated to his deceased daughter. The doll, which belonged to the girl, "tells" Akiko that she doesn't want her father to cry anymore, and she relates this to the man after Double defeats him.
* Referenced in an episode for ''Series/LastWeekTonightWithJohnOliver'', where Creator/JohnOliver claims that the only thing making an old, racist woman's statements bearable is the fact that she will be taken away into the night by her shelf full of creepy clown dolls.
* An episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' had a criminal who kidnapped children to play with his doll collection. Unfortunately, while he didn't plan to hurt them, he suffered from some degree of ([[FreudianExcuse maternal abuse induced]]) psychosis and having them damaged was a BerserkButton...
* ''Series/{{Medium}}'' has an episode where Alison dreams she and her family are dolls.
* ''Series/TheMiddleman'' had one episode featuring [[{{Dracula}} Vlad Tepes]]' very own ventriloquist dummy Little Vladdie, who naturally comes to life and obsesses some of the cast.
* ''Series/MurdochMysteries'': In "Murdoch in Toyland", Detective Murdoch is the target of devilish CriminalMindGames. He's taunted by receiving dolls with recorded messages that give him just enough clues to find the next one, and also to make him overanalyse things and miss more blatant clues.
%%* ''Series/NightGallery'' had an episode simply called... "The Doll".
* ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'':
** A HalloweenEpisode where an evil Molly Dolly torments Sabrina and her [[{{Muggle}} mortal]] friends. It was sent by her Aunt Beulah, who thought that the doll would make a great Halloween party, ignorant of the fact that the mortal world would be helpless against it.
** Another episode has [[BrattyHalfPint Amanda]] turn Sabrina into a doll. When Amanda puts Sabrina in her toybox, Sabrina finds out that she's not the first person who mildly annoyed Amanda and got turned into a toy as a result.
* ''Series/SamAndCat'':
** Their HalloweenEpisode "[=#DollSitting=]", Sam and Cat are tasked by a creepy guy with babysitting a doll on a few occasions, including taking it to a rock concert. At the end, [[spoiler: the doll comes to life as a young girl, the daughter of the man, and thanks them for babysitting her]].
** A non-creepy version happens in "[=#Fresno Girl=]" where Sam and Cat promise to buy a n expensive doll for a girl they are babysitting for the weekend if she gets a good grade on her math test. Things get worse for them financially when they accidentally break the doll's leg off and the doll store gouges them with the price for fixing it.
* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' had a rare comedic Doll Episode (though, [[UncannyValley still kinda creepy]]). In one episode George Costanza finds out Susan has a rather large doll collection, and her favorite doll happens to look exactly like his mother. Susan is the only one who can't see the resemblance and dismisses all of George's claims, telling him he's being ridiculous. HilarityEnsues as for the rest of the episode whenever the doll is around George hears the nagging voice of his mother in his head and starts to believe the doll is speaking to him. At the end of the episode, his father sees the doll and also imagines it speaking to him. He briefly argues with it as if it were his actual wife, then he pulls its head off.
-->'''George:''' ''[to Susan]'' I told you it looked like her.
** In another episode, Jerry and Kramer switch apartments for a while, and Jerry takes issue with a creepy ventriloquist's dummy Kramer keeps in his apartment.
--->'''Jerry:''' I feel like it's gonna come to life in the middle of the night and kill me!\\
'''Kramer:''' What, Mr. Marbles? He's harmless!
* ''Series/StargateSG1'' had the "200" episode which included the pilot redone with Team America marionettes.
* ''Series/{{Suits}}'' had an episode with a client who made custom dolls in Season One. She made Mike one that looked like him at the end, and it was brought back for at least one ContinuityNod later.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** The episode "Playthings" had a little girl who lived in a hotel and had a large antique doll collection. Individual dolls were being positioned to mimic someone hanging themselves or breaking their neck... after which, of course, someone would hang themselves or break their neck. Sam and Dean pretended to be antique dealers, and needed to get access to the dolls. Dean got a lot of fun by telling the girl's mother that Sam just ''loved'' dolls and had a huge collection of his own, so could she please let Sam take a look?
** In the episode "I Believe the Children Are Our Future" Castiel got turned into an action figure.
** The episode "Provenance" featured a doll [[spoiler:whose hair was made from the hair of a dead girl]]. (That's TruthInTelevision. In Victorian times that was considered a beautiful token of remembrance of lost loved ones. Or simply another way of making dolls; human hair wigs were quite common, especially on luxury dolls. The hair came from women who sold it--or had it cut in prisons or asylums, which is arguably still disturbing.)
* The old Chilean SoapOpera ''Los Titeres'' ("the Puppets") has a very creepy OP featuring marionettes that are modeled after some of the characters. In-story, these dolls also exist... [[spoiler: but they're not creepy or enchanted: they're normal marionettes used by a schoolteacher (an old friend of the series's bigBad) to tell stories to the kids she teaches to.]] The theme is justified as people are seen in-story [[YouCantFightFate as dolls and puppets controlled by destiny.]]
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'':
** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E98TheDummy The Dummy]]", Jerry Etherson is haunted by his dummy Willie, whom he is convinced is alive and is trying to take over the act.
** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E126LivingDoll Living Doll]]", Erich Streator is tormented by his stepdaughter Christie's doll Talky Tina, who continually tells him that she is going to kill him.
** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E148CaesarAndMe Caesar and Me]]", Jonathan West's ventriloquist's dummy Caesar manipulates him into performing several robberies instead of finding honest work while they are waiting for their big break. He later abandons him, leading everyone to believe that Jonathan is insane, and teams up with an [[EnfanteTerrible evil little girl]] named Susan.
* ''Series/VoyageToTheBottomOfTheSea'' had "The Deadly Dolls", where puppets come alive and try to replace all crewmembers.
* This is obscure and perhaps not belonging here, but one of the early ''Series/TheWaltons'' episodes--or maybe the pilot--has a bit where Elizabeth gets a doll from a church gift giveaway, and it is used and cracked in the face and freaks her out.
* ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'':
** An episode where action figures come to life.
** An episode where Alex shrinks herself and a little girl thinks she's an actual doll and plays with her.
* The ''Series/TheXFiles'' episode [[Recap/TheXFilesS05E10Chinga "Chinga"]]. Noted for being co-written by Creator/StephenKing (and set in Maine, of course), but ''not'' being as scary as most of the other episodes!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* Music/JonathanCoulton’s song "Creepy Doll" is a bizarre second-person story playing this trope for laughs.
* The titular object in Music/{{Poe}}’s song "Spanish Doll" is less obliquely creepy, but comes across as unsettling due to the entire album being chock full of haunting orchestration and off-putting lyrical themes. The protagonist having nothing but good things to say about the “sweet Spanish doll” is actually rather unsettling considering the apprehensive tone she takes about everything else in her life.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In the ''TabletopGame/CurseOfStrahd'' module from ''{{TabletopGame/Ravenloft}}'', Izek Strazni is the sociopathic henchman to the Baron of Vallaki and has an entire room full of creepy dolls resembling Ireena Kolyana, the MacGuffinGirl of the story the party is trying to keep away from [[BigBad Strahd]]. This turns out to be because [[spoiler:Ireena is actually his biological sister, and the two were separated when they were both quite young, with Ireena eventually ending up in the village of Barovia and adopted by the town's Burgomaster with no memory of who she really is. Izek however remembers her and is obsessed with finding and taking her so he can keep her "safe"]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* The plot of ''VideoGame/TheSeventhGuest'' centers around this trope since [[spoiler:children's souls are turned into dolls by an evil toymaker]].
* The Dollhouse from ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'', which despite its bright, colorful motifs manages to be the most disturbing stage in the game [[spoiler: especially after you've beaten it and realized how much rape symbolism was all through it, foreshadowing the big plot twist]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'', your Creator/FromSoftware [[CreatorThumbprint standard-issue]] [[MysteriousWaif mysterious female companion]] who you talk to in order to level up is [[AnimateInanimateObject a living doll]] owned by the caretaker of the [[EldritchLocation Hunter's Dream]], Gehrman. The Doll is completely benevolent, a subversion of the trope, and if you happen to discover the real-world version of Gehrman's workshop, you will find the real-world (and very much not alive) version of the Doll there, along with a set of spare clothing for it (which is about as terrible as you would expect for defense but sells for a lot of money) and an ornament for its hair (which can be given to the Doll in the Dream, who will be [[TearsFromAStone greatly touched]] by your kindness), which shows that the Doll means quite a lot to Gehrman. [[spoiler:Or at least it used to. It turns out the Doll is a ReplacementGoldfish of Lady Maria, whom Gehrman was in love with, and crafted in her exact likeness. However, its demure, subservient personality is ''nothing'' like Maria's, which has caused Gehrman to become openly disgusted with it, to the point that the only time he even acknowledges its presence is the page quote inviting you to "use" the Doll as much as you like, which his voice dropping to a creepy, lecherous whisper as he says it that strongly suggests [[SexualEuphemism he isn't talking about levelling up]]]].
* The quest "All That Remains" in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', in which [[spoiler:a mad blood mage kidnaps women and grafts parts of them together to recreate his deceased wife. His latest victim is Hawke's mother]].
* ''VideoGame/FatalFrame'':
** In ''VideoGame/FatalFrameIICrimsonButterfly'', you meet the ghost of a girl whose sister was [[spoiler: killed as part of the Crimson Butterfly ritual]]. Her father, a skilled dollmaker, made her a doll [[ReplacementGoldfish that looks exactly like her deceased sister.]] At first the girl is overjoyed at "getting her sister back." However, things quickly start going downhill when the doll starts getting a little [[DemonicPossession too realistic]]...
** ''VideoGame/FatalFrameVMaidenOfBlackWater'' also has dolls. An entire shrine of dolls. Creepy enough thanks to the ridiculous amount of them, but then the symbolism behind them kicks in, and there's that entire area where they are set to look like they hanged themselves. Oh, and some ''attack'' you and you can only dodge...
* At one point in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', you have to stop a group of dolls, separated into Calco and Brina, who also later combine into a giant one, Calcobrina, from taking a PlotCoupon. Many people see it as NightmareFuel and it also counts as ThatOneBoss.
** However, Calcobrina can be avoided entirely if you kill the Calco and Brina dolls quickly enough.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Ib}}'', the violet area becomes a doll episode after Garry gets separated from his companions. The room full of rabbits [[spoiler:turns out to actually be full of dolls]], one doll becomes infatuated with Garry and [[StalkerWithACrush stalks him for quite a while]], a giant doll starts spying on him from behind windows and bookcases, and then [[spoiler:he encounters another room full of them and promptly gets locked in. If he's unable to escape before the giant doll catches him, he gets driven insane]].
* One of the booses in the world of the [[Franchise/ToyStory Toy Box]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' is Angelic Amber, who is, naturally, an excessively creepy Heartless-possessed doll.
* ''[[VideoGame/LegacyOfKain Blood Omen]]'' has a section of gameplay wherein Kain must journey to the mansion of a dollmaker named Elzevir, who has stolen the soul of the king's daughter and trapped it in a doll. Needless to say, t
The whole place is full of creep-tastic enemies like vicious attack dolls and murderous teddy bears.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Puppetshow}}'' casual game series is based on this trope.
* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'':
** Played terrifyingly straight in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica''. Alfred and Alexia's private residence is full creepy dolls from the darkest pit of the UncannyValley. The worst part is when you're walking up the stairs for the first time. There is a massive doll that is disturbingly lifelike despite being in terrible condition. The camera angles only show its feet but as you keep moving up, you see more and more of it until it's staring you in the face. And then there's the "[[SarcasmMode lovely]]" [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AI3pmwKnMw musical number]] that accompanies this monster.
** The mansion of the Beneviento familiy in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'' is full of creepy dolls, and the lady of the house herself appears to be a horrifying skeleton-like doll. The boss fight against her consists of a TimedMission where you must find her and stab her before all the dolls in the house come to life and gang up on you. Upon killing her you find out [[spoiler: she's a human who controlled dolls by placing pieces of her Cadou parasite in them.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Robotrek}}'' features a chapter whose principal antagonist is a possessed doll.
* In a homage to the aforementioned ''Film/ChildsPlay'', ''VideoGame/ZombiesAteMyNeighbors'' features evil dolls as enemies.
* In each of the ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' games, there is always an optional "Doll House" dungeon. While not necessarily difficult (though they can be), they are pretty much guaranteed to make you feel depressed or give you nightmares. The only somewhat-exception is [[spoiler:in the second game, when Gepetto gets to learn that Cornelia was with him all along]]. Still completely screwed up, though.
* In ''VideoGame/SilentHillHomecoming'' Dr. Fitch's daughter Scarlet loved dolls. She was sacrificed to the "Gods" by her father. When Alex visits Dr. Fitch he finds that Scarlet is missing and only her doll is left. Suddenly the doll becomes a giant creepy spider-like monster, with long limbs and a fragile exoskeleton seeming to be made of porcelain.
* The Tails Doll from ''VideoGame/SonicR''. A series of joke {{urban legend}}s even formed around it, it was so creepy to the fan base. The urban legends and creepiness are actually canon to [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics one non-game Sonic continuity]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'''s Kharla'ggen has the ability to turn any person she wants into dolls. Their skin, bones and joints are all twisted and transformed, turning the person into a [[AndIMustScream living, breathing]], [[FateWorseThanDeath fully conscious]] doll, who can never die unless they are allowed to starve and ''they never are''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' had variants of this, without the horror tropes.
** Steve meets a [[MyGirlIsASlut loose girl]] who is interested in him, but needs him to bring another boy along for her "friend." He brings Snot, only to discover that this "friend" is a doll which the girl treats like a real person. Things only get weirder when (in the girl's mind) Snot gets the doll pregnant and has to bring her for an abortion.
** In the episode "Russian Doll", Stan is given a mission to plant a bug inside of a doll named Piper set to be delivered to the daughter of a Russian criminal. Due to his family not being very supportive as of late and the fact that his mother forced him to get rid of a doll he had as a boy, Stan begins treating Piper like a real person. Rather than deliver the doll as instructed, he goes on the run with her. The CIA find Stan and Piper and deliver the doll to the girl as intended. Stan buys an army of dolls and goes to Russia to get Piper back. But after seeing the criminal treat her daughter the same way his mother treated him, Stan says goodbye to Piper and gets over his doll obsession.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' episode "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderThePuppetmaster The Puppetmaster]]", Sokka finds several puppets in their innkeeper's cupboard. This foreshadows the [[PeoplePuppets puppet-like waterbending skill]] that Katara learns from the innkeeper by the end of the episode.
* ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'': The episode "A Present for Jez", where a reprogrammed mechanical doll tries to take over Miseryville.
* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' plays this trope LighterAndSofter in "Puppeteer". Marinette has made several cloth dolls that resemble Ladybug, Chat Noir, and a few of the villains they had defeated in prior episodes. The titular villain has the power to use these dolls to [[VoodooDoll control their real-life counterparts]], and most of the fight revolves around the heroes' efforts to keep the otherwise harmless dolls out of her hands. Once Puppeteer takes control of each doll, it animates and acts out her commands in a miniature mimicry of its living counterpart.
* Type Four in the ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' HalloweenEpisode "Terrifying Tri-State Trilogy of Terror". Candace unintentionally invokes a spell that brings her Ducky Momo to life, and the stuffed animal spends the rest of the story stalking her around the house, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK55Fio4qmo to this delightfully creepy number]]. [[spoiler:In the end, it turns out Ducky Momo only wants a hug, but ''then'' the spell kicks in and her teddy bear Mister Miggins turns evil.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': "Treehouse of Horror III", where Homer gets Bart a cursed Krusty doll from a Chinese man's curio shop filled with cursed and weird objects from around the world. The doll [[spoiler:wasn't even cursed, despite coming from an occult curio shop run by a strange Chinese man. The doll had a [[MoralityDial "good/evil" switch]] on its back that someone flipped on "evil".]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'': Noximilian the Clockmaker has a clockwork replica of his [[spoiler:long lost family]], significant in that his whole life goal revolves around [[spoiler:getting his family back.]] It's simultaneously [[{{TearJerker}} heartbreaking]] and downright terrifying.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/WordGirl'' was actually about Mr. Big forcing everyone to buy thousands of [=WordGirl=] dolls that can control their minds.
[[/folder]]

* One of the booses in the world of the [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory Toy Box]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' is Angelic Amber, who is, naturally, an excessively creepy Heartless-possessed doll.

* ''Film/DeadSilence''. Contains just about every scary doll trope.

* ''Film/{{May}}''. She decides to make friends rather literally.
* ''Film/{{Poltergeist|1982}}''. A large clown doll figures prominently in one scare scene.

* ''Manga/CountCain'' has one, featuring an EvilCripple LivingDollCollector who wanted to add Merryweather to her collection.
* Episode 11 of ''Anime/GhostStories'' focuses on a CreepyDoll named Mary who stalks and tries to kill the main character Satsuki.
* Episodes 11 and 12 of the ''Manga/BlackButler'' anime. The manga has a [[CircusOfFear circus troupe]] with ball-jointed orthopedic limbs, so they look somewhat like steampunk dollish cyborgs.
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' has this in one of the interlude episodes, related to [[JerkassWoobie Asuka]]'s backstory. Her mother Kyoko went crazy and recognized a doll resembling Asuka as her daughter. Later on, Kyoko hung herself and the doll - with [[NightmareFuel five-year old Asuka finding the body first]]. No wonder the poor girl is so screwed up...
** It gets even better: the main reason Asuka hates [[SugarAndIcePersonality Rei]] so much is that she reminds her of a doll. Asuka also regards Unit 02 as ''her'' doll which is ironic, considering whose soul is in the core. (And this may explain why she has a harder and harder time controlling Unit 02 as the series goes on... until she makes the realization at the very end.)
** ''Rebuild 2.0'' has a scene on Asuka [[NightmareFuel playing with a hand puppet resembling herself]]. While essentially a re-do which may not neccessarily reflect the original doll's creepy history, it's fueling one of the new series's many EpilepticTrees.
* In the Sabrina arc in the first season of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', there was an episode where she used her psychic powers to turn the protagonists into small, living dolls. Also, the green-haired doll she has isn't a doll; it's [[spoiler: the childlike spirit her mind and body rejected as she grew older and become more obsessed with exercising her psychic abilities]].
** In another episode, Misty became obsessed about winning a series of collectible dolls.
* ''Manga/GhostHunt'' has a case called "The Doll House". It's suitably creepy.
* ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'' has an episode about a man who makes dolls of his "dead" lover and sacrifices girls to try and put his lover's soul into the doll.
* In one chapter of ''Anime/GhostSweeperMikami'' (both, manga and anime), a possessed doll starts attacking a little girl whose doll had gone missing. [[spoiler: It turns out it was all the doing of Mikami's old doll (which got animated thanks to Mikami's spiritual powers) and had started to fell alone]]. Somehow subverted, with the fact that [[spoiler: at the end, the little girl's doll is the one that helps everyone to defeat Mikami's doll, animated by the evil doll's energy and full of love for her gentle owner. Mikami's doll is then sealed away and kept in a safe vault.]]
* One story in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' involves a cursed doll that Ranma knocks over while the Tendos and Saotomes stay at an inn. The doll swaps bodies with Akane and tries to take vengeance on Ranma, while Akane accidentally scares other guests with living doll antics. ("The Doll is doing calenstetics!!")
* One episode of ''Anime/KirbyRightBackAtYa'' was actually about King Dedede ordering thousands of dolls shaped like him, and move whenever he moves so he can torture his subjects. At the end of the episode, Franchise/{{Kirby}} swallows up one of said dolls, and as a result King Dedede is literally flung high up into outer space, ''and is last seen orbiting a planet shaped like him!''
* Actually played for laughs in an episode of ''[[LightNovel/{{Slayers}} Slayers Next]]''. Lina and the gang search for the Claire Bible in a tower filled with magically animated dolls. HilarityEnsues even as the party is slowly transformed into dolls. [[spoiler: It turns out that the villain is a demon who takes the form of a doll, and uses another doll to pose as the supposed opponent.]]
* ''Manga/SquidGirl'', usually rather light and fluffy, featured an episode about an old doll recovered from a storage shed, toward which it seemed to mysteriously move by itself, overnight. It's revealed that that's a feature of the doll: it and its counterpart, still in the shed, automatically rotate to face each other via magnets. [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane Probably]].
* Played for laughs in a chapter of ''Manga/SgtFrog'', where Keroro and Giroro try to exploit Natsumi's childhood fears of her Hinamatsuri dolls by bringing them to life. Then one of the dolls starts moving by itself... fortunately, it turns out to be possessed by the Hinata household's friendly CuteGhostGirl.
* In episode 29 of ''Manga/NurseAngelRirikaSOS'', Dewey, the SixthRanger [[TheLancer Lancer]], becomes the subject of a little girl's PrecociousCrush. She even remodels her favorite doll to resemble him. Inevitably, [[CreepyDoll the doll comes to life and starts attacking people]].
* In ''Manga/NatsumesBookOfFriends'' episode "[[Recap/NatsumesBookOfFriendsEp53UnchangingForm Unchanging Form]]" Natsume is seen by a youkai that stole a doll from a little girl years ago (it was initially planning on keeping ''her'') and is mistaken him for his grandmother Reiko who defeated the youkai and took the doll to return it to its owner. It declares it will take something precious from him as recompense, implying that this will be a person, without informing him of what he supposedly stole and needs to return in order to prevent it from taking its revenge. When he finds the doll it has been sitting in the forest for decades and looks it and he needs to restore its appearance in order to convince the youkai it's the same doll.
* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'' has two very different versions of this:
** The [[MonsterOfTheWeek Stand User of the week]] for the Ebony Devil arc, Devo the Cursed, has a stand that can possess inanimate objects and gets more powerful the more its user hates its target. He plants a small doll with African-inspired designs and a tiny spear on-site beforehand so it has a suitable vessel to inhabit while it hops around tying Polnareff to the underside of a bed and stabbing at him. Apparently, the arc was inspired by ''Film/ChildsPlay''.
** Much later, during the 'D'arby the Gamer' arc, the titular stand user keeps his victims' souls in handmade dolls. The dolls are capable of [[MarionetteMotion limited motion]] and speech, but not much else. He prepares dolls for new victims beforehand, and delights in showing future victims his existing collection.

* The Charlton Comics version of ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'' featured an issue "guest starring" the then-popular Creator/{{Kenner}} Steve Austin action figure, which is featured in the story as a bionic voodoo doll; anything done to the doll inexplicably happens to Steve.

* ''Film/{{May}}''. She decides to make friends rather literally.
* ''Film/{{Poltergeist|1982}}''. A large clown doll figures prominently in one scare scene.

* ''Film/AirDoll'' is about an inflatable sex doll who becomes sentient.

%%* ''Film/TheCell''.
* The Ur example is the third segment of the 1975 made-for-TV movie ''Film/TrilogyOfTerror''. Entitled "Amelia", it's better known as "the one with the doll" by anyone mentally scarred by it. There's worse fare on TV now, but at the time (when most homes didn't even have movie channels on their TV) it was joltingly more intense than anything normally found flipping around the TV dial, plus it had the whole "animated doll chasing Karen Black around with a butcher knife and razor sharp teeth" angle. * shudder* Can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1pnFLT_k5A
* ''Film/{{Magic}}'' features a very young Anthony Hopkins as Corky, a ventriloquist who slowly manifests his psychosis through his dummy.

* In ''Literature/GhostRadio'', one of the show's callers speaks of a dollhouse that a child she babysat was always playing with. When she got close, she saw that the dolls and their dismembered pieces were alive and moving. [[AndIMustScream Some were even screaming in agony.]]
* Willie Connolly in J.R. Lowell's 1972 novel ''Daughter of Darkness'' collects dolls from all over the world, which everyone assumes are connected with her interest in anthropology. They're partly right. Then Uncle Jonathan manages to connect her interest with the bizarre illnesses and tragedies that befall anyone who crosses her.
* In ''Demon Road'', Dacre Shanks is a serial killer who shrinks humans that look alike and places them in a dollhouse to look like a happy family.

* Series/SamAndCat:

* Music/JonathanCoulton’s song “Creepy Doll” is a bizarre second-person story playing this trope for laughs.
* The titular object in Music/{{Poe}}’s song “Spanish Doll” is less obliquely creepy, but comes across as unsettling due to the entire album being chock full of haunting orchestration and off-putting lyrical themes. The protagonist having nothing but good things to say about the “sweet Spanish doll” is actually rather unsettling considering the apprehensive tone she takes about everything else in her life.

* In the ''TabletopGame/CurseOfStrahd'' module from ''{{TabletopGame/Ravenloft}}'', Izek Strazni is the sociopathic henchman to the Baron of Vallaki and has an entire room full of creepy dolls resembling Ireena Kolyana, the MacGuffinGirl of the story the party is trying to keep away from [[BigBad Strahd]]. This turns out to be because [[spoiler:Ireena is actually his biological sister, and the two were separated when they were both quite young, with Ireena eventually ending up in the village of Barovia and adopted by the town's Burgomaster with no memory of who she really is. Izek however remembers her and is obsessed with finding and taking her so he can keep her "safe".]]

* Played terrifyingly straight in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica''. Alfred and Alexia's private residence is full creepy dolls from the darkest pit of the UncannyValley. The worst part is when you're walking up the stairs for the first time. There is a massive doll that is disturbingly lifelike despite being in terrible condition. The camera angles only show its feet but as you keep moving up, you see more and more of it until it's staring you in the face. And then there's the "[[SarcasmMode lovely]]" [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AI3pmwKnMw musical number]] that accompanies this monster.
** The mansion of the Beneviento familiy in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'' is full of creepy dolls, and the lady of the house herself appears to be a horrifying skeleton-like doll. The boss fight against her consists of a TimedMission where you must find her and stab her before all the dolls in the house come to life and gang up on you. Upon killing her you find out [[spoiler: she's a human who controlled dolls by placing pieces of her Cadou parasite in them.]]
* At one point in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', you have to stop a group of dolls, separated into Calco and Brina, who also later combine into a giant one, Calcobrina, from taking a PlotCoupon. Many people see it as NightmareFuel and it also counts as ThatOneBoss.
** However, Calcobrina can be avoided entirely if you kill the Calco and Brina dolls quickly enough.
* In the each of the ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' games, there is always an optional "Doll House" dungeon. While not necessarily difficult (though they can be), they are pretty much guaranteed to make you feel depressed or give you nightmares. The only somewhat-exception is [[spoiler:in the second game, when Gepetto gets to learn that Cornelia was with him all along.]] Still completely screwed up, though.

* ''[[VideoGame/LegacyOfKain Blood Omen]]'' has a section of gameplay wherein Kain must journey to the mansion of a dollmaker named Elzevir, who has stolen the soul of the king's daughter and trapped it in a doll. Needless to say, the whole place is full of creep-tastic enemies like vicious attack dolls and murderous teddy bears.

* The quest All That Remains in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', in which [[spoiler:a mad blood mage kidnaps women and grafts parts of them together to recreate his deceased wife. His latest victim is Hawke's mother.]]
* In ''VideoGame/SilentHillHomecoming'' Dr. Fitch's daughter Scarlet loved dolls. She was sacrificed to the "Gods" by her father. When Alex visits Dr. Fitch he finds that Scarlet is missing and only her doll is left. Suddenly the doll becomes a giant creepy spider-like monster, with long limbs and a fragile exoskeleton seeming to be made of porcelain.
* The plot of ''VideoGame/TheSeventhGuest'' centers around this trope since [[spoiler:children's souls are turned into dolls by an evil toymaker.]]
* The ''VideoGame/{{Puppetshow}}'' casual game series is based on this trope.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Ib}}'', the violet area becomes a doll episode after Garry gets separated from his companions. The room full of rabbits [[spoiler: turns out to actually be full of dolls,]] one doll becomes infatuated with Garry and [[StalkerWithACrush stalks him for quite a while,]] a giant doll starts spying on him from behind windows and bookcases, and then [[spoiler: he encounters another room full of them and promptly gets locked in. If he's unable to escape before the giant doll catches him, he gets driven insane.]]
* The Dollhouse from ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'', which despite its bright, colorful motifs manages to be the most disturbing stage in the game [[spoiler: especially after you've beaten it and realized how much rape symbolism was all through it, foreshadowing the big plot twist.]]
* One of the booses in the world of the [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory Toy Box]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' is Angelic Amber, who is, naturally, an excessivly creepy Heartless-possessed doll.

* ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'''s Kharla'ggen has the ability to turn any person she wants into dolls. Their skin, bones and joints are all twisted and transformed, turning the person into a [[AndIMustScream living, breathing]], [[FateWorseThanDeath fully conscious]] dolls, who can never die unless they are allowed to starve and ''they never are''.

* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' plays this trope LighterAndSofter in "Puppeteer". Marinette has made several cloth dolls that resemble Ladybug, Chat Noir, and a few of the villains they had defeated in prior episodes. The titular villain has the power to use these dolls to [[VoodooDoll control their real-life counterparts]], and most of the fight revolves around the heroes' efforts to keep the otherwise harmless dolls out of her hands. Once Puppeteer takes control of each doll, it animates and acts out her commands in a miniature mimicry of its living counterpart.

* Naturally there's a horror flick called simply ''Film/{{Dolls}}'', which has an entire mansion filled by murderous dolls.

[[folder:Film]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Coraline}}'', the Beldame sends dolls into the house to spy on the children.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' episode "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderThePuppetmaster The Puppetmaster]]", Sokka finds several puppets in their innkeeper's cupboard. This foreshadows the puppet-like waterbending skill that Katara learns from the innkeeper by the end of the episode.

* Music/JonathanCoulton’s song “Creepy Doll” is a second-person story playing this trope for laughs.

* Music/JonathanCoulton’s song “Creepy Doll” is a long nonsensical story playing this trope for laughs.

* Music/JonathanCoulton’s song “Creepy Doll” is a long rambling second-person story playing this trope for laughs

* Creator/JonathanCoulton’s song “Creepy Doll” is a long rambling second-person story playing this trope for laughs
* The titular object in Music/Poe’s song “Spanish Doll” is less obliquely creepy, but comes across as unsettling due to the entire album being chock full of haunting orchestration and off-putting lyrical themes. The protagonist having nothing but good things to say about the “sweet Spanish doll” is actually rather unsettling considering the apprehensive tone she takes about everything else in her life.

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' had a variant of this, without the horror tropes. Steve meets a [[MyGirlIsASlut loose girl]] who is interested in him, but needs him to bring another boy along for her "friend." He brings Snot, only to discover that this "friend" is a doll which the girl treats like a real person. Things only get weirder when (in the girl's mind) Snot gets the doll pregnant and has to bring her for an abortion.

->''"You are welcome to use whatever you find, even the doll, should it please you."''

* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' had a rare comedic Doll Episode (though, [[UncannyValley still kinda creepy]]). In one episode George Costanza finds out Susan has a rather large doll collection, and her favorite doll happens to look exactly like his mother. Susan is the only one who can't see the resemblance and dismisses all of George's claims, telling him he's being ridiculous. HilarityEnsues as for the rest of the episode whenever the doll is around George hears the nagging voice of his mother in his head and starts to believe the doll is speaking to him.
** At the end of the episode, his father sees the doll and also imagines it speaking to him. He briefly argues with it as if it were his actual wife, then he pulls its head off.
--->'''George:''' ''[to Susan]'' I told you it looked like her.
** Mr. Marbles, too.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'', Gehrman owns a beautiful, [[AnimateInanimateObject ridiculously humanlike doll]] wearing delicate clothing. You happen to be able to interact with the doll while Gehrman, the owner himself cannot. If you investigated the original workshop and found the spare clothing and comb of the doll, one can tell the doll really meant so much to Gehrman. [[spoiler: It turns out the said doll is a ReplacementGoldfish of Lady Maria, whom Gehrman has a curious mania on. And who made the said doll being able to move in the first place? [[EldritchAbomination Moon Presence]].]]
** Though it's also subverted in that the Doll is by far the most benevolent character in the game.

* One of the most famous films about this trope: ''Film/ChildsPlay'', where doll possessing a soul of a SerialKiller tries to become a human again.

* One of the booses in the world of the [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory Toy Box]] in VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII is Angelic Amber, who is, naturally, an excessivly creepy Heartless-possessed doll.