Fiona Dodwell welcomed a spooky clown doll into her home for research, hoping this would give her a first-hand insight into supposedly cursed objects. It was then that things got seriously creepy
When Fiona Dodwell set about writing a book about haunted dolls, she had no idea that she was about to experience the phenomenon first-hand.
The paranormal author, who has loved a good ghost story since childhood, decided to “adopt” creepy clown doll ‘Knock, Knock Harry’ while working on her book, thinking this would bring an extra dimension to her writing. She quickly realised this was not an object to be toyed with.
Fiona, an avid collector of all things quirky and vintage, purchased Harry from two UK-based sisters with a keen interest in paranormal objects, who warned her that he “had some kind of energy attached”. Although many would have run for the hills at this point, Fiona remained undaunted.
Speaking with the Mirror, she recalled: “I thought, well, I’ve got nothing to lose, you know, something might happen, something might not, but I trusted these two sisters, and they take it very seriously. So I basically adopted this clown, and it was quite a unique little nickname, Knock Knock Harry, it sounded quite sweet. But since owning him, it’s kind of really opened my eyes to the fact that these things really happen.”
READ MORE: ‘I stayed in UK’s most haunted hotel – there was unexplainable noise in dead of night’
Fiona never really expected anything to happen, but says it wasn’t long at all before she realised there was “definitely something” to her “unique” new addition. At first, this started out as a subtle sensation with Fiona feeling “goosebumps and cold spots and chills” around the doll.
The author of ‘A Cursed Collection of Haunted Dolls’, who doesn’t regard herself as a psychic or a medium, remarked: “That felt quite significant. It happens, and it still happens a lot around him.” But things didn’t stop there. As Harry made himself at home, wordsmith Fiona experienced the “intense feeling of being watched”.
She wasn’t the only one, with friends popping over, becoming uneasy at the sight of the cheerful but undeniably creepy clown. According to Fiona: “They say, ‘Well, it really feels like he’s looking at me, do you mind turning him around?’ And I actually understand what they mean because there have been times where I’ve deliberately pushed him to a different position because the intensity of feeling watched by him is quite palpable.”
As time went on, curiosity got the better of her, and Fiona decided to try to communicate with Harry using a spirit box – an electronic device used by paranormal investigators which quickly scans through radio frequencies to create white noise. Some believe this can be used to pick up messages from the dead, and if you’re of a nervous disposition, then you absolutely shouldn’t try this at home.
It was at this point that Harry supposedly took the opportunity to formally introduce himself. Fiona remembered: “There was a time when, actually, I asked him to confirm his name, and the voice that came back on this spirit box said, ‘Knock Knock Harry, hi’. Like that. And it sounded really clear to me.”
Another spirit box session followed, and this time, Fiona began to feel “a bit wary about Harry”. After asking a series of questions with no answer, Fiona decided to ask Harry if there was anything he wished to share. It was then that he got very vocal indeed, insulting Fiona with a foul insult. Fiona revealed: “He basically called me a b****’.
This session left Fiona “on edge “, with Harry sounding “kind of angry”, in a way that left her feeling “unnerved”. Putting the spirit box to one side, she continued to reach out to Harry using touch sensor light balls. Fiona would ask Harry to light up the balls through touch if he wished to communicate or if he was listening. Eerily, the balls would light up, as if touched by some invisible hand.
But Harry’s energy apparently isn’t confined to experiments alone, as Fiona has heard inexplicable knocking around the doll, as his namesake would suggest. Even the night before speaking with the Mirror, Fiona, who was unable to sleep, could hear knocking sounds from downstairs as she lay in bed, which she has attributed to “Harry’s energy”.
Despite all this, Harry is still a fixture in Fiona’s home, although she did have a few doubts after he so rudely swore at her. Thankfully, Harry has since been better behaved. Fiona said: “Since then, I haven’t had anything like nasty coming through, but there’s certainly been activity, like I said, that feeling where you just feel like the intense feeling of being watched.
“And there’s been times where I’ve moved him to different positions in the house and then had a really kind of heavy feeling and then done one of my experiments and I’ve had a voice kind of saying something like ‘move shelf’ or ‘move table’ kind of thing where it’s like I’m being directed to where he wants to be in the house, which is quite interesting as well.”
Being the proud owner of a haunted doll has certainly put Fiona in the spirit of things when writing her book, which covers instances of haunted doll cases from all around the world. Readers can learn about Ed and Lorraine Warren’s infamous Raggedy Ann doll, Annabelle, and the antique Robert the Doll, which is said to curse those who insult it.
As well as interviews with Ghost Adventures Medium Patti Negri, and individuals who’ve had their lives turned around by haunted dolls, Fiona has also included a section all about “haunted” or “killer doll” themes in horror, featuring interviews with Child’s Play director Don Mancini and actress Jennifer Tilly, who played serial killer Tiffany Valentine in the movie series.
But there’s one case that really sets Fiona’s hair on end – Harold the Doll. Back in 2004, a man by the name of Anthony Quinata bought Harold during an eBay auction, keen to “see if anything interesting would happen”. What allegedly followed was a torrent of negative activity, including injuries and even deaths. Anthony even went on to write a book about his search for answers as to what exactly was going on with this supposedly cursed plaything.
Fiona, who interviewed Anthony for her book, remarked: “That is one of the creepier cases because with Harold, there’s a question mark about where that negativity comes from. Is it just an angry spirit? There’s speculation about whether it’s demonic or not. And just by that very definition, it kind of puts you on edge and makes people sort of feel creeped out, so to speak.”
Some believe that Harold has the ability to affect a person, even if they are many miles away. With so much eerie energy out there, Fiona took precautions when writing her book, opting to use illustrations instead of actual photographs of the dolls, which some readers believe may well still be powerful enough to have an impact.
While Fiona was well aware of some of the infamous cases, including, of course, the infamously terrifying Annabelle, she was surprised to learn just how many instances have been reported over the years, the majority of which don’t feature in Hollywood blockbusters.
She reflected: “I think what was interesting to me is that, you get people from all walks of life today in 2025 [encountering the dolls,] it’s not just a historical thing. People could possibly pop into a charity shop, pick up a doll that they like the look of and unwittingly invite an energy into their home. It’s quite eye-opening to see.”.
According to Fiona, these experiences aren’t all the stuff of horror films, and sometimes it’s only the “unknown” element of such objects that can feel unnerving.
Her rollercoaster journey with Harry hasn’t stopped her from bringing yet more ‘haunted’ objects into the house, and she’s since welcomed a spooky doll called Edna, who was gifted to her during the writing process. Much like Harry, Edna has made her presence felt, with Fiona believing her to be “definitely” haunted.
Vintage lover Fiona owns many collectables, including plenty of antique dolls. However, these are the only two instances where she believes “there is something”. Unfortunately, there has since been a ‘power struggle’ between the two purportedly cursed playthings, with “dominant” Harry doing his best to grab all the attention.
Fiona told us: “The unfortunate thing with Edna is, I’ve been told it’s the spirit of a child attached to her. I’ve tried to do spirit box sessions, but unfortunately Harry’s kind of bullied his way into some of these. I thought at one point I could be talking to Edna and then I’ve heard Harry’s voice saying, ‘It’s not Edna, it’s Harry’, and he sounded quite angry about it. I can’t help but think there’s some sort of dominance there – Edna’s shown definite signs to me, but Harry’s shown that he likes the limelight.”
Offering some words of wisdom to others in the market for a haunted object, Fiona advised: “Just to tread carefully. Just to be aware that it’s not like the Hollywood films. I mean, I absolutely love the horror films, but I think that can give you a kind of caricature idea of what the reality of haunted dolls is like.”
If you dare, you can grab a copy of Fiona Dodwell’s A Cursed Collection of Haunted Dolls here.
Do you have a story to share? Email me at [email protected]
READ MORE: Zara Tindall just added this surprisingly affordable bag to her autumn accessories wardrobe
