‘Fills my bones with dread’
A British mother purchased what’s been called the most cursed doll in the UK — and says she has been haunted ever since, claiming the terrifying toy even speaks to her young child.
Paranormal hunter Candice Collins of Cornwall was warned against purchasing “Norman” — a “demonic,” baby-faced child’s doll that went viral last year when its previous owner, Christian Hawksworth, put it up for sale after experiencing a string of bad luck he attributed to the toy.
Hawksworth bought the doll for about $4 at an antique store — then suffered an exploding appendix, got shot, had car trouble and his salary severely slashed.
Collins, 42, purchased the toy from Hawksworth for $260 on Ebay and added it to her haunted-doll collection — and it didn’t disappoint.
“As soon as I opened the box, the room went freezing cold, and a heavy depression filled the air,” Collins told Jam Press. “I knew then there was definitely something attached to this doll.”
The “demonic doll,” named “Norman,” has been haunting Collins for a year. Jam Press/Cornish Ghost Whispers
Candice Collins is a paranormal hunter from Cornwall. Jam Press/Cornish Ghost Whispers
Concerned, she put him in a glass box with some holy water.
Norman “fills my bones with dread,” she admitted.
She has started having nightmares where she wakes up in a panic, feeling as if she’s being attacked by “an unseen figure.” She says she’s felt her hand be bitten during the night and has “heard an evil voice calling my name in my sleep.”
Even more terrifying, she’s heard her 3-year-old son speaking with the toy, she said.
“I can hear my little boy talking to someone. He also starts laughing, which is very strange,” she said.
Similar to the doll’s previous owner, Collins said her health has also taken a turn for the worse since welcoming Norman into her home.
“I have arthritis, headaches and also random bruises that come up on my body for no reason. I’ve got a scratch on my back that looks like deep claw marks, too. My partner, Nick, needs a hip replacement, as that has taken a turn for the worse,” she said.
Collins claims Norman talks with her 3-year-old son at night. Jam Press/Cornish Ghost Whispers
Norman is part of Collins’ haunted-doll collection. Jam Press/Cornish Ghost Whispers
“It just feels like never-ending bad luck,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s a result of this demonic doll.”
Despite the eeriness of the doll and the misfortunes it has brought her, the Cornwall native said she has no plans to get rid of Norman anytime soon. She said she hopes to work with the doll and exorcize its evil.
“I really do think he’s the most possessed doll in the UK – maybe the world,” Collins said.
“To be able to inflict such pain and accidents as he has done really makes you wonder how far he will go. I do all of what is needed to protect [my family]. I use sage, crystals, holy water – anything I can,” she said, noting that Norman should not be trusted around children.
“I want to prove that there is life after death and that not all objects are evil, some just need help. But I’ve got to keep my wits about me, as I don’t know what could happen next.”
