There's something especially creepy about the idea of a haunted doll, after all these are usually the items most cherished by children and just the idea that somehow deep within this most innocent of childhood companions lies something far darker is guaranteed to send a chill down the spine of even the most hardened of souls.

But not all haunted dolls hide behind the mask of innocence, some are far more blatant and obvious in intent, such is the case of the haunted rag doll.  Resembling a voodoo doll of sorts made from rags and poorly stitched this haunted doll was found washed up on the beaches of a small town in Somerset, England.  Found washed up amongst the flotsam by a 16 year old girl this haunted rag doll was found contained within an ageing old jam jar.  The strange looking doll inside had obviously been forced in and was bent at a strange angle to make it fit inside, around it neck was a brown string that wound around it's neck to form a noose that then fed out from under the jars lid and wound around the rim of the jar.  Inside behind the doll sat a folded piece of paper and on the metal lid had been etched the words "Do not open".

Despite the dolls unattractive appearance and the unease she later claimed to have felt upon finding the doll, combined with the apparent warning etched into the jars lid the girl having found such an unusual item decided to take it home with her.  Later after a party the girl decided to show the doll to some friends who were all intrigued by the strange doll and particularly by the message "Do not open" etched into the jars lid.  Being teenagers and curious the obvious thing to do when confronted with such a warning was to open the jar, those present later claimed that upon opening the jar a feeling of great unease seemed to fill the room and all in attendance and the room seemed to become colder.

However despite this feeling of unease the teenagers having now opened the jar began to examine the doll inside, and the strange noose-like attachment that bound the doll to the jar.  It wasn't long before one of the teenagers extracted the folded up piece of paper that sat behind the doll in its prison and unfolded it.  The piece of paper inside the jar once unfolded contained a written message of just four words: "He's your problem now."

Just at the moment they all read the note the television in the background suddenly exploded into a loud burst of static that scared all of the teenagers present, and the girls dog began to bark uncontrollably at something none of them could see. At this the teenagers visibly scared placed the doll, note and all back into the jar and screwed the lid back on as tight as it would go.

With this the television picture returned to normal and the girl's dog became calmer, the girls friends despite her protests one-by-one eventually left and went home, leaving her alone with the doll in its jar.

The girl over the next few weeks experienced several strange occurrences regarding the rag doll in the jar, twice during the night the jar fell from the shelf within her cupboard where she had placed it, and clattered loudly waking her, in addition the posture of the rag doll squashed tightly within its prison seemed to have changed.  The girl also claimed to have repeatedly dreamt of the doll, her dreams seemed to suggest that even though the jar had been opened and the girl and her friend had witnessed something odd, had they removed the noose that attached the doll to it's jar prison things would have been much much worse.

After the second time the doll fell from its shelf late at night a small crack appeared in the side of the jar, terrified by the idea of the little haunted rag doll inside breaking free from its prison the girl took the doll on advice from her Aunt to a parapsychologist friend of her Aunts.  The doll is currently undergoing analysis, early results so far have included EVPs recorded surrounding the doll within which can be heard the faint but unnerving sounds of a child crying.