Pupa The Doll

Pupa the Doll was made in the likeness of her owner, a young girl in Italy in the 1920s.

Pupa became that little girl's best friend and secret keeper, until the end of her life in 2005.

Since then, Pupa has been kept in a display cabinet, which she does not seem to like at all...

Alive with a Will of Her Own

Pupa the doll is approximately 14 inches in height, is made mostly from felt or a felt-like fabric, and was made in the likeness of the little who was to own her. Pupa (latin for 'doll') was made for a little girl in Italy in the 1920s, and who owned her right up until her death in 2005. Pupa's hair is real human hair, though it is believed to be hair that was sold to the doll maker rather than the hair of the owner - although having an owners hair worked into the doll was often the case.

The little girl who owned Pupa often stated that her doll was 'alive' and had a will of its own. She stated that she and Pupa would talk often throughout the years, that Pupa held all of her secrets and was a help in hard times – even going so far as to have saved her life.

Pupa and her owner travelled quite extensively throughout Europe and the United States. At the end of World War II the little girl’s grandmother passed away, so as a memento and a way to remember her, a button from her grandmother’s clothes was sewn onto Pupa’s dress.

Pupa’s owner cherished her right up until the end when she passed away in 2005, and it is here that the doll’s activity really began to show. After her owners passing, Pupa was placed in a glass display cabinet, a fitting piece to have on display seeing as she had travelled the world, survived a world war, and also out lived the owner (quite an achievement... none of my childhood toys seem to be left in one piece!).

According to the family that keeps Pupa under their care, the doll really does not like being confined, and they have had several interesting experiences that seem to verify this. At times the glass cabinet is heard to tap, like something is trying to draw your attention. Soon after this, they began to notice that the doll has changed position within the cabinet – her arms will be in a different position, legs crossed or uncrossed, but most interesting of all is the subtle changes in expression they have noticed over the years.

Items in the case with her are also moved around, sometimes haphazardly, and at other times done with more purpose.

One day the glass cabinet looked to be quite filthy, so someone set to cleaning it. They opened it up, exhaled warm air on the glass to fog it over, to see the marks more clearly, and they were shocked to find the words 'Pupa hate' written... on the inside of the cabinet.

Those who have investigated Pupa say that they have recorded the doll moving, but the movements are so slow they essentially go undetected by the human eye, but photos and videos taken over long duration and compared show these movements quite easily.

The dolls location is kept quite secret. As such I cannot tell you which town, or even which country the doll can be found in.

As for who or what haunts the doll? Well that is a hard one to answer, but many think that maybe it was part of the childhood 'spirit' of that dolls owner, a part of her essence imparted on this object she so loved and cherished, and that with her passing, that spirit became stronger, maybe even completed within the doll itself.

By Ashley Hall 2014