Woman tries to secretly get rid of her mother’s ‘creepy’ doll by handing it to charity shop… but it backfires when toy attracts attention from locals

A woman who tried to secretly get rid of her mother’s “creepy” porcelain doll was scolded when the toy went viral after “scaring” locals.

Nathalie Ramirez had long hated the “horrible” figurine, named Hannah, which belonged to her mother Angela Henderson, 74, for 12 years.

The 51-year-old donated the doll to an Edinburgh charity shop while helping Ms Henderson leave the family home and hoped never to see her again.

However, the doll began to attract attention on social media for scaring passersby from the window.

It was eventually bought for £200 by famous psychic Deborah Davies, after many locals claimed it was “the scariest thing they had ever seen”.

Ms Ramirez said her mother is now able to “smile through gritted teeth” when talking about the situation, after initially being “pretty annoyed” to find out what had happened to her beloved doll.

The doll began attracting attention on social media for scaring passersby as she peered through the window of the Edinburgh charity shop.

The doll was eventually bought for £200 by famous medium Deborah Davies, after many locals claimed it was “the scariest thing they had ever seen”.

Mrs Henderson is an avid doll collector and has more than 100 figures at home, which her daughter helped her tidy up before moving to Tobermory, on the Isle of Mull.

Having always hated the “hideous” childish doll, Ms Ramirez saw the opportunity to get rid of it and slipped it into a box destined for St Columba’s charity shop in the suburb of Morningside.

She told the BBC: “I always thought it was horrible and that she would never notice if I just put it in a box.

“St Columba came to bring some stuff to the store and the doll was in the first box I gave the guy. But I thought whoever opened it, I’d give them a heart attack.

However, her plan failed when the doll, now named Annabelle, became a hit on social media, with people fascinated by her strange appearance.

Manager Simone Varga said she “wondered if the doll would come to life” before it was sold, after locals said it was “haunted” and “freaked them out”.

“When I opened the box, I saw his long, scary legs and his real shoes, then I saw that his eyes had pupils and his nails had white bits.” I thought it looked very human,” she said.

The Ashton-Drake Galleries redhead doll was so unpopular that Ms Varga was forced to reduce its price from £180 to £90 and display it with a sign insisting: “I’m not scary”.

One local claimed she “comes to life at night”, while others claim the doll’s eyes “follow everyone who passes”.

Manager Simone Varga said she “wondered if the doll would come to life” before it was sold, after locals said it was “haunted” and “freaked them out”.

Having always hated the “hideous” childish doll, Ms Ramirez saw an opportunity to get rid of it and slipped it into a box destined for St Columba’s charity shop in the suburb of Morningside.

The Ashton-Drake Galleries redhead doll was so unpopular that the store owner was forced to reduce its price from £180 to £90 and display it with a sign insisting: “I’m not scary”.

The doll was eventually sold for £200 by Deborah Davies and made the headlines in the local newspapers. That’s when Ms. Ramirez realized the game was over.

“I thought I had gotten away with it and then it’s on the front page of the paper,” Ms. Ramirez said. “At first, mom was pretty annoyed. But I think now she must smile, but through gritted teeth.

“She volunteered with St Columba’s for many years and the doll made a lot more for them than we would have sold it for, so I think it worked.”

Meanwhile, Ms Davies told BBC Scotland she planned to keep the doll on display at home, despite her misgivings about its appearance.

She also believes that the character has a human soul and plans to speak to him to carry out an “investigation”.