Another ghost story...

Here's a sketch I did late one night, up watching shows on the paranormal.
This particular night, the story focused on artist Robert Eugene Otto who was given a doll as a child that was supposedly cursed or possessed.

Neighbors claimed to see the doll moving from window to window when the family was out. The Otto family swore that sometimes the doll would emit a terrifying giggle and that they caught glimpses of it running from room to room. In the night Eugene would scream, and when his parents ran to the room they would find furniture knocked over and Eugene in bed, looking incredibly scared, telling them that "Robert did it!".


So here's my quick sketch of 'Robert the doll'. At the time I was fascinated by the story, but having been unable to actually find any real information on Robert Eugene Otto or anything other than the doll story I'm quick to say it is pure myth,


Text taken from 'Robert the Doll' - Wiki (Link).

Black Shuck

"An American airman was staying in a lonely old house by Walberswick Marsh in Suffolk. Suddenly, he heard a terrible crashing outside. Looking out, he saw a huge, black dog, fiery foam dripping from it's jaws, hurling itself repeatedly at the door. The dogs battering continued all night. But at dawn, it disappeared. Had the airman seen Black Shuck, the phantom dog?"

Fascinated by the paranormal, I remember taking an interest in the myth of Black Shuck, the one-eyed ghost dog. This was mostly due to the text above (written by Anne Civardi in the Pocket Rocket book Phantoms, 1993) which inspired this 'monstrous' illustration by an 8 year old me.