Why Are There Creepy Dolls On The Side of this Michigan Highway?
Why? Why?? WHY are there creepy dolls lining the side of this Michigan highway?
Over the weekend I found a post from the Facebook group 'Abandoned, Old and Interesting Places in Michigan' that included a picture of dolls posed on the side of the road near Mio, Michigan. Naturally, they're not brand new dolls. Instead, these look like they're straight out of a movie in the Conjuring universe. Picture Annabelle except there's about 8 of them. Take a look:
That's a big NOPE from me!
The post, which was shared only two days ago, already has nearly 400 comments with people sharing their knowledge of the dolls which, apparently, have been there for quite some time:
Amanda M. wrote: It's growing I see
Sonya K. commented: There use to be ALOT more dolls here. They must have started over.
And Shelly H. said: I live up here, I thought it was cool looking. Unfortunately some whiny karens b*****d about it and it was taken down . We went past it yesterday and I seen 2 dolls back up there, I hope it gets built back up. There is a children's book written about the creepy doll hill, by Jonathan Rand I believe.
While it's unclear if the dolls were, in fact, taken down due to complaints from so-called "karens", I did find the book Shelly H. was referring to. It's called "Village of the Dolls" by Johnathan Rand and is part of a series called Nightmare Nation. Read more here.
Thankfully, a fellow member of the group shared a link that details the story behind these dolls.
A woman named Martha Hayden is the creator of a blog called The Restless Viking which focuses on local travel. In late 2020, Hayden happened to pass by this line of old, creepy dolls and decided to do a deep dive herself. She also posted on Facebook asking about the dolls which led to her eventually getting in touch with the owner of the property.
The property owner, who requested that Hayden keep his identity anonymous, said,
I stated it about ten years ago. I had a few dolls and people just keep adding more. Last fall someone added some nasty ones. I suppose it was for Halloween, but I took them down. It's an interesting conversation starter.
Indeed it is. However, there was no origin story as to why this property owner was suddenly inspired to place dolls by the side of the road and I am still very confused. If you'd like to see Hayden's up-close shots of these dolls make sure to visit her blog here.
For those of you who would like to visit these dolls on your own (one more time...WHY) they're said to be located on M-33 between Fairview and Comins. And if I've learned anything from watching Annabelle, I would advise against taking any of them home. Or touching them. Or making them angry in any way.