You can get the curse lifted if you apologize — The mystery of the letters that keep arriving for 'Robert' in Florida

Curses are, fundamentally, a one-way street.
Once you're cursed, that's it. There's no one to apologize to. Because it's not human.
But Robert the Doll in Key West, Florida, is different.
You can apologize to him. If you write a letter, he'll receive it. And the curse might just be lifted.
That's why letters arrive from all over the world. Today, yesterday, tomorrow—they keep arriving at the museum in Florida. Letters addressed to the doll saying, 'I'm sorry, please lift the curse.'
I mean, really, what is this? What is happening in Florida?
Today, I'm going to talk about that.

The story of Robert the Doll

First, let's talk about the actual object.
Robert the Doll really exists. He is still on display today inside a plexiglass case at the Fort East Martello Museum in Key West, Florida.
He is about 100 centimeters tall. He's a stuffed doll filled with wood wool, and it has been confirmed that he was made by the German company Steiff around 1904.
What is with that 'confirmed' part?
He's wearing a sailor suit, holding a small stuffed dog, and there are traces of faded paint on his face. It is also said that he once had an expression resembling a jester.
I wonder if that's true.
The one who named this doll Robert was his owner, a young boy named Robert Eugene Otto. He gave the doll his own name and started calling himself 'Gene'.
What is with that 'he gave away his name' part?

The story of Gene and Robert

Around 1904, young Gene of the Otto family in Key West received this doll.
There are two theories about who he received it from: one is that 'his grandfather bought it in Germany,' and the other is that 'a servant from the Bahamas who worked for the Otto family gave it to him with a voodoo curse as revenge against the family.'
I wonder if that's true.
Gene doted on Robert. He went everywhere with him, sat him at the dinner table, and treated him like a living friend.
The problems started shortly after that, when Gene's parents began hearing voices from their son's room, 'conversing in two different voices.' Gene's voice and another voice they didn't recognize.
I mean, this is already scary.
The sound of furniture falling would echo in the middle of the night, and when they rushed in, the room would be a mess, with only a terrified Gene inside. Gene would say every time, 'Robert did it.'
What is with that 'Robert did it' part?

The story of when he became an adult

Let's be a bit rational here for a moment.
I understand a child shifting responsibility onto a doll. That's just how children are. 'It wasn't me, the doll is bad' is not an uncommon story.
But Gene didn't let go of Robert even after he became an adult.
When he studied art in New York, Chicago, and Paris, and returned to Key West in 1930 with his wife Anne, he brought Robert back with him.
I wonder if that's true. A man who studied abroad in Paris as an adult brings a doll back home.
Anne hated Robert. She couldn't understand why her adult husband was still living with an old doll. In a sense, that's a sane reaction.
It is also said that Gene turned a tower-like room in his house into Robert's room and spent his days painting there.
The neighborhood children were afraid to walk in front of the Otto house. Stories were told in the neighborhood that Robert would watch from the second-floor window, and that he could be seen even when the family was out.
What is with that 'even when the family was out' part?

The story after coming to the museum

Gene passed away in 1974. He spent 70 years with Robert.
After that, his wife Anne locked Robert in a trunk in the attic, and Anne passed away two years later.
The next owner, Myrtle Reuter, discovered Robert in the attic, lived with him for 20 years, and then donated him to the Fort East Martello Museum in 1994. She added the reason, 'Because he was moving around on his own and it was scary.'
I wonder if that's true.
Myrtle passed away a few months after the donation.
I mean, she passed away just a few months after donating him.
I could write an entire article just on this timing. But there's more to the story.
Since he was put on display at the museum, reports of cameras malfunctioning and electronic devices suddenly stopping have increased. And before long, letters started arriving.

The story of the letters

Letters of apology started arriving for Robert.
The contents are things like, 'I took a photo without asking. I'm sorry,' or 'I took a photo while laughing. Ever since then, misfortune has followed me.'
These still arrive at a rate of one to three per day even now. The total has exceeded 1,000.
I wonder if that's true.
A passage from a letter that actually arrived goes like this: 'Since leaving Key West, very terrible things have happened. The diamond fell out of my husband's ring. I tore my rotator cuff. My daughter's wedding was canceled. Everything happened before I got home. Please lift the curse. I am truly sorry.'
What is with that 'everything happened before I got home' part?
And there is a clear rule at the museum. A rule stating, 'Please ask for permission before taking photos of Robert,' is posted as an official notice.
It's an official rule. Of the museum. To ask for permission from a doll.

In the end, what is Robert?

There is no answer.
It is said that Chucky from Child's Play might have been modeled after Robert. This isn't a confirmed fact, but after watching that movie, if you look at a photo of Robert, there is certainly something you can't deny.
A doll with a slightly faded face wearing a sailor suit sits inside a plexiglass case. Today, tomorrow, while receiving letters.
Robert has continued to exist for over 100 years. All of his owners have died before him. Robert is still there, forever.
What's scary isn't that Robert might do something, but that people all over the world keep writing letters on their own even if Robert does nothing.
Maybe Robert isn't doing anything at all. But even so, the letters arrive.
If you ever go to Key West and take a photo in front of Robert, I want you to ask for permission out loud first.
'Robert, may I take your picture?'
Well, there's no reply, though.
Probably.