Dollphobia?

I was terrified of my grandma's cabbage patch collection. I thought they were the creepier cousins of Chucky.

 

I had plenty of porcelain dolls when I was little, and I loved them all! They actually still have their very own nicely set up shelf in my new home However lifelike baby dolls or the kinds of dolls that remind you of something out of the conjuring have always unnerved me a bit...

 

I can't say I've ever been creeped out by dolls. My grandma on my mom's side had a decent sized collection of ceramic dolls, and my mom also had a few of them around. I never was bothered by them, unless I managed to break one by accident (which, fortunately, I haven't experienced). I wasn't a big fan of Barbie or baby dolls as a kid, but I tolerated their existence.

If there were any dolls that were off-putting to me as a kid though...it was those drink-n-wet types of dolls. But then...that is more grossed out than frightened. And life-like baby dolls. I'm...not a big fan of babies.

Also, I wouldn't say I was ever frightened of dolls, but for a good part of my childhood and into my teen years, I was freaked out by anything that stared at me. But only if it was actually staring at me, like posters with people's eyes directed at you, or anything with eyes that were facing my direction.

I...was a bit paranoid as a kid

 

I've never been scared of dolls but when I collected antique and porcelain dolls I kept them in the hobby room in my basement. I can't sleep with those cold eyes watching me. Bjds I feel are more human and I love anything miniature, so I feel better when they're around. Most of my friends are terrified of dolls though and I love using them to scare them. I know one girl who genuinely thinks my dolls are going to get up and kill me in the middle of the night!

 

Dolls never creeped me out really... Not dolls like porcelain dolls, or BJDs... Those children dolls that were like babies kind of did... The ones that close their eyes, or like "talk" when you go by or whatever those always made me a bit creeped out i wasn't afraid of them though, I still don't like them but they don't scare me or anything xD but on that line, I do feel like things watch me, wether it's characters on posters, figures, stuffed animals, or even something that could be in the mirror or window. So on that note i tend to be uncomfortable with some stuff but i have kind of gotten over it now i mean not the mirror and window thing, but the character, figure and stuff...
I think the reason people are so creeped out by dolls, is because... They're like humans.
But lack all human motion. Like a human without a soul, or a vessel made to be like one?
I dunno how to explain it in english sorry but it's unnatural to see something human that doesn't breathe, move, talk. So seeing something like a doll, we want to think it does almost? Kind of like it's dead somehow... I dunno if it makes any sense but ~

 

I was never afraid of dolls when I was growing up. Barbies, baby dolls, porcelain dolls...I loved them all and played with mine long after my friends had already given theirs up.

As an adult, there have been a few gore-modded BJDs that have given me the creeps, and I did once see a Reborn baby that terrified me.

 

I've never been creeped out by dolls. I've collected them, in one form or another, since childhood. My little sister, on the other hand, was always terrified of basically anything that wasn't a baby doll or a Barbie. XD

Even now, I've yet to find a doll which really unnerves me. Even "creepy" sculpts that a lot of people don't like don't seem to bother me. I may not want them, but that doesn't mean I would feel frightened if they were staring me down in the night. DZ Carter is a pretty good example of the kind of sculpt which I feel is obviously meant to be a bit unsettling, but which doesn't really unsettle me.

I'd say that I have a lot of tolerance for Uncanny Valley kinds of stuff, but I really don't. I don't know why dolls in particular don't seem to bother me, when clowns and weirdly-stiff animations in video games absolutely do bother me. I guess maybe it's because I've collected a wide variety of dolls for so long. I've gotten used to them or something.

 

Just like many others on here, it would have to be the porcelain dolls for me as well. I had an aunt we use to visit when I was a child and she had dolls everywhere around the house. They were positioned in such a way that they would always be looking at you no matter where you would sit.
The scariest thing for me was going into her living room where she had hundreds of these little child like dolls on shelves all around the whole room. I would cry every time my parents tried to make me go in there to visit with my aunt. I was spanked because to them they thought I was acting up and being disrespectful. I didn't have to endure too many of those visits because my aunt eventually died and her dolls went to auction.
Still to this day if I see one of those dolls they make me cringe because of all the trouble they had caused me.

 

I was never afraid of dolls. I actually had a thing for barbie dolls. And now, I love bjds. Sadly, I don't have any bjds yet.

 

I don't know if anyone else has this problem (probably yes) but my little sister who's 15 and my girlfriend, who I plan moving in with in 2 years, are afraid of dolls The biggest issue is my girlfriend, of course, since i'll spend most of my time with her.
Shes just afraid of these dolls because they look so alive yet they're so liveless and even quesions me about why i'm willing to spend so much money on "just dolls", even after ive explained her.
Complicated situation. I know. I came up with the solution of making a yosd sized doll that looks like her so she can play dress up, since she likes this idea but it's so sad to know something you love so much frighens your significant other, someone you love so much.

Do you guys have any similar stories?

 

Is it an actual fear like panic attacks and irrational thought process or is it just creeped out/uninterested personally or is it a total disregard for your feelings about your hobby and passion? I only ask because I'm also in a relationship and my boyfriend doesn't have any interest at all but is supportive to the point that he knows it makes me happy so he doesn't complain about the expense (so long as it's not a burden on our lifestyle) or the fact that there are dolls around the house at times. In return, I'm not inconsiderate by leaving them or their stuff all over the place or in his personal space. Now, I totally understand someone not liking them in the same room as you sleep in, I'm the same way with clocks facing me. Can't sleep if I feel like something is 'watching' me or something like that. Just something to consider.

 

Actually being afraid/uncomfortable around dolls vs lack of support/negativity are two separate issues to me... at least my wife isn't bothered by the dolls, it's just a support issue... which has a lot more to do with the understanding of ones joys, them being less focused on the object and focusing instead on the effects on their loved one... the money buys the joy, outlet, hobby, etc not the doll itself....
Sometimes it's difficult for others to understand, or want to understand. I feel you.

 

I post about dolls on a private spam account on instagram that she follows and she gets upset many times because shess afraid. I posted about Kitty Jolie from Cerisedolls and she said she jumped when she saw the doll so I guess it's really a fear she has.
But the fact she "doesn't trust me" enough to invest on buying dolls makes me upset because we will be able to do whatever we want together and I will be able to save up for the hobby, like everyone else. But she does support the fact that I make dolls and I won't have the dolls around the house or anything, I'll have my own studio and that's where the dolls will be.

Yes, i've felt some lack of understanding and support from her... which is really upsetting, of course. I'm always willing to support the things she loves and I never judge her and when shess judgemental with me... its upsetting. She has gotten upset with me because i posted on my priv ig account a really well taken picture of a bjd in lingerie... I really hope I can make her understand how much this means to me

 

@madrugadawn honestly, time and patience.
Nothing is ever fair in this life, and expecting everything to be equal in relationships tends to lead to resentment... I always keep in mind to give my wife grace in her inabilities to empathize with me, forgive for how much it hurts sometimes to feel attacked and misunderstood... and to keep pressing forward toward a place of clarity in our relationship... eventually finding the right words to express my feelings. I try to take it slow, because her main concern is monetary

Hopefully, you will be able to gradually ease her into things like the clothing/lingerie thing... but for me the most important thing was making it clear that the dolls were secondary, the true offense was simply the lack of consideration for my feelings/passions/ability to create and customize/to enjoy and be free in something, the feelings would be the same no matter what the hobby was, if she acted the same.... finding that communication is the best advice I have, and not acting on any offense about it while trying to communicate, because getting hostile or defensive during the process will only add fuel to the fire, especially if she is feeling a bit jealous of any time/attention/dolls are pretty/nude, the picture thing makes it seem as though jealousy might be at least a partial underlying factor...

 

There are still dolls that terrify me honesty. Either sculpts that hit uncanny valley or just ones that look...off. Every once and a while I'll scroll by a sculpt or doll that just completely freaks me out. Although most BJDs I'm okay with, it's more old porcelain dolls and such.

 

@i-framed-vader, I think you're talking about the Uncanny Valley, where something looks just human enough to trigger a human's emotional responses but is obviously/subtly not human and so is disturbing to the psyche. Dolls for many are in that valley, they look like they should have a human soul because they look so human, but there's nothing inside them to animate them so they seem "dead".

@GammaVector I've had similar feelings/experiences. I never found dolls scary and very few types of dolls I find truly upsetting (clown dolls! very old Bisque dolls! horrible racist caricatures!). BJDs almost universally for me have so much personality and liveliness that I don't find them upsetting. Even my old porcelain dolls, I tended to favour dolls with lively expressions and more character in their faces so they didn't unsettle me. I think the worst BJDs can be is have misplaced eyes, that aren't aligned for "sight". Then it becomes unsettling because they become dead and doll-like again.

 

I've never really been terrified of dolls, but honestly, if I had a porcelain doll I would hate it; I would be terrified of it. Personally, I think they look so eerie. Uncanny valley has been mentioned a few times on this thread and that's exactly it.

 

Tbh I think my fear of porcelain dolls or baby dolls come from horror films about them... When the day comes where they make one about bjd's I'm gonna avoid it at all costs lol. But also bjds just feel so alive because usually you attach characters to them or give them personalities.. You get to dress them up make stories for them.. I don't think I've ever done that with a baby doll lol

 

I was afraid of baby dolls when I was young, no thanks to a relative who gave me one around the time a scary TV series was using it as a prop. And having grown up with folklore of child spirits made me uncomfortable owning overly child like even though I understand my friends like childlike dolls. I don't know if this means I'm never gonna have that msd cat girl bjd that I been eyeing...

I stepped into a shop full of porcelain dolls once, I'm amazed that I managed to own bjds years after that, although my bjds are more action figure looking than childlike. Granted I grew up with action figures.

 

When I was in elementary school everyone in my family felt I required porcelain French clown dolls. I have no idea where it started and I had like 20 of them. (They're not as creepy as some porcelain dolls since they're more human looking.) But as a kid they creeped me out hard core. I would put them in the closet and I would get yelled a for hiding them. I was convinced they watched me. It was a relief when I was finally allowed to box them up..
It confused my family a bit when I start collecting bjds cause of my aversion to porcelain dolls. Im still slightly creeped on by the French clowns till this day