So far, my day off work has been like most of my day offs. I woke up with determination. Today, I will get out of bed early. Today, I will engage in an outdoor recreational activity, or do something productive. Today, I will get things done! With a great deal of effort, I rolled over on my side, snatching my Ipad off the nightstand. My heart sank as I saw the time – 10:27am.
I rationalized that it is way too late to do anything. By the time I get myself out of bed, out of my pajamas, and into the shower it will be way too late to do anything meaningful. Besides, I couldn’t think of anything that sounded more enchanting than laying around in my pj’s all day long. So, I decided to do my favorite time passing activity. It’s Youtube time! I entered my four digit passcode on my Ipad, swiped to the Youtube app, and beheld the trending videos of the day.
I kicked the down comforter off my sweaty pajama clad body and rolled closer to the bedside fan. My room was particularly hot and muggy this day, but not uncommon for the first few budding days of summer. As I basked in the air beating down on me from my fan, I scrolled through the trending videos. I came to my first interesting looking video, which was very creatively entitled, “Top 10 Scary Videos on Youtube.” I thought to myself, that this is a very interesting subject that I would like to learn more about. So, I clicked on the video and braced myself for the horror buried deep in the realm of the internet.
Some of the videos confused me, some made me chuckle, and some gave me chills. Videos entitled “I Feel Fantastic,” and “There is nothing” blasted through the speakers of my Ipad. Confusing images such as “Obey the Walrus,” and “Pretty Woman” danced on my screen, as I inched my nose closer and closer to get a better look at what I was seeing. Unsatisfied I began to search for more and more strange and creepy videos. Minutes passed into hours. Before I knew it, the time read 4:47pm on my Ipad. But I just couldn’t stop. I was addicted, and craving my next frightening fix.
Eventually, I made my way to a wildly interesting string of videos featuring supposed “haunted” dolls. I watched video after video of dolls slightly moving; dolls changing facial expressions, and tales of scary personal encounters with the so called spirited poppets. I gradually fell deeper and deeper into this bizarre, yet much discussed subject. And then I saw it. A thumbnail showing a plastic vintage doll sitting in what appeared to be a vintage upholstered chair. Something about the video called to me. It had only 17 views and was uploaded years ago.
The name of the video was, “Look at Its face!” I clicked on the thumbnail and waited for the video to load on the screen. Instantly, I felt that something was not quite right. The video featured a plastic blond doll with a short 1950’s style haircut. The doll was wearing a crisp bright yellow dress with a white bow around the collar. The dollar sat in the middle of an old upholstered forest green reclining chair, and the camera was still and fixated on the doll. I took note of the dirty looking wall behind the chair. At one time, it was white, but now you can clearly see nicotine stains and dirty hand prints gracing its surface.
One of the things that jolted me a little about the doll was the odd expression it had on its face. It was neither smiling, nor frowning. It seemed to not have an expression at all! Its plastic blue eyes staring blankly toward the camera. About 2 minutes or so into the video of watching this doll do absolutely nothing, I began to hear a ragged breathing coming through my speakers. The breathing began to pick up pace and you can hear someone putting their face up close to the camera.
Suddenly, a man whispers directly next to the camera in excitement, “Look at its face!” Another few seconds pass, and you hear another even more enthusiastic whisper, “Look at its face!” As if the man was going to burst with utter unadulterated joy, he exclaimed this time out loud, “Look at its face! Just look at its face!” The man sounded as if he just won the Powerball; a strange emotional outburst for a doll sitting still in a chair with no activity to be had whatsoever.
Another minute goes by of erratic breathing; the camera still focused on the expressionless doll. Then without any warning, “LOOK AT IT’S FACE!!!!” I jumped at the gleeful shout that burst from my speaker. The man grunted, and hummed as if he was about to meet his celebrity idol. “Look at its face, look at its face, look at its face, look at its face!” Wild laughter now coming through my speakers. “Just look at its FACE!” More crazed breathing mixed with bouts of insane laughter.
Clearly, this man was completely crazy. The kind of crazy that requires medication, and a full time medical staff. “Look at its faaaaaaaayyyyyyyaaaaacccceeee! Hahaha, LOOK AT IT’S FACE!” The doll continued to stare blankly into space. Its mouth set in neither a smile nor a frown. No sign of emotion, or life at all. Its stiff yellow dress stood out like cardboard against the shiny, tanned, plastic body of the doll.
As the man continuously demanded with terrifying glee to look at the doll’s face, I began to descend into a state of fear and panic. The man became more and more emotionally unstable, and I was not sure what was about to happen next. I waited, holding my breath for something unpleasant to happen. And yet, the doll sat unmoving and untouched in the chair. It’s vacant stare burning a hole into my soul.
After several more minutes of ghoulish wild laughter and commands to look at the doll’s face, the camera begins to lift up from its cradle by shaky hands. The camera pans downward, and I caught a quick glance of a terribly messy old wooden coffee table, which was littered with used paper plates, crumpled napkins, and empty soda cans. The video promptly clicked off. I sat there for a moment; shocked and perplexed over what I just watched. I wondered if the video was real, and if the man was really mentally disturbed. Even as my mind raced with a million questions, one image remained burned into my mind – the doll’s expressionless face.
I scrolled down to look at the comments left by the other few viewers. The first comment, left by a user with the brilliantly hilarious and telling username of “bananaking0649” queried, “What did I just watch?” Another user, “smallfrycaligirl” begged, “Please do not watch! Gives terrible nightmares! Please don’t do it!” A few more users uttered the same warning. The general theme of the comments were that this video supposedly causes demonic type dreams, and various injuries whilst sleeping. I rolled my eyes, and chuckled to myself. “Okaaayyyyyyy” I whispered under my breath. I sat down the Ipad and decided that I waited way too long to take a shower.
About 20 minutes later I hopped out of the shower feeling refreshed. I slipped on a new pair of soft pajamas, and took a trip to the kitchen, where I gorged on microwaved French bread pizza. After tossing my refuse into the recycling bin in the garage, I made my way back up the stairs to my bedroom, and back into my blissful bed. I switched on Netflix and watched a few seasons of one of my favorite shows, “Orange is the New Black.” Even though my eyes were focused on the TV, my mind kept wandering back to the Youtube video of the doll on the chair. In my mind, I can perfectly hear the frenzied sound of the psychopath’s voice coming through the camera, chanting over and over, “Look at its face!”
After some time, I became extremely exhausted. I could not fight the heaviness in my eyelids any longer, and let myself drift into a deep slumber. It wasn’t much longer after I shut my eyes that I awakened with a start. I found myself transported onto someone’s filthy living room carpet. I sat up bolt upright at the realization that I was no longer in my bed. My heart pounded so hard that I could hear it in my ears. I fearfully absorbed my surroundings. It appears that someone had replaced a lightbulb with a novelty red bulb, so everything in the room had a sickening reddish hue.
It was apparent right off the bat that I was in someone’s apartment living room. The living room looked as if it has never been cleaned. The coffee table was stacked high with paper plates, rotting remnants of food, old pizza boxes, discarded oily napkins, and crumpled Pepsi cans. The couch was also covered in the same type of trash; however, unlike the coffee table, it also held an epic mountain of dirty laundry. The side table had a retro type lamp, housing a single red lightbulb. Crowded on the side table under the lamp was a picture of a smiling old woman that I have never seen before, and more crumpled Pepsi cans.
The room was hot. It felt as if the entire apartment building was on fire. To make matters much worse, I noticed several beams of wood nailed across the door to exit the apartment, and a make shift dam made of beams of wood piled high in front of the hallway to the bedrooms and the entrance to the kitchen. I was trapped in the small dingy living room. Panic began to set in. In addition to maddening panic, I began to feel something completely foreign to me; something I have never felt before – evil.
My entire body seemed to be enveloped in this evil feeling, and it permeated through my skin and bones, and deep into the depths of my spirit. It pulsated like a heart-beat, and seemed to emanate from the heat that clung to the air. I darted about the room, tossing trash and laundry every which way to look for a clue to get out of the room. As I strew garbage around, I saw something out of the corner of my eye in the corner. Part of a dirty green cushion belonging to a vintage reclining chair peeked out at me under a pile of dirty clothing. I froze with fear. A sick feeling overcame me, and my stomach dropped down to my knees. I slowly inched my way toward the chair.
My hands began to shake uncontrollably as I lifted each article of clothing between my index finger and thumb, and dropped it to the floor. I began to notice movement underneath the clothes. I continued to remove the laundry, when I saw the source of the strange jerking movements. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, I wanted to run, but I was unable to make a sound, and there was nowhere to run. The doll lay face down in the middle of the cushion, its body rocking from side to side slightly on its small protruding belly.
Shaking violently now, I reached for the doll taking note that it’s once yellow dress was now black. The plastic felt warm to the touch as if the doll was alive. I cautiously turned the doll over. I tried to scream, but could only manage a whisper. I stood there holding the doll; frozen with fear. I could not take my eyes away from its grotesque face. It was at that very moment that I knew with absolute certainty that I was in hell. And not only was I in hell, I was trapped in a room with a murderous demon. The face…no horror movie could ever do what I saw on this doll’s face justice.
Its mouth was gaping wide open; a large black void of a hole that encompassed most of its face. One eye was popped open, and rolled upward towards the top of its head. The other eye was shut. The evil feeling thickened all around me. I was unable to move, frozen in time; eyes fixed on the dolls chasm of a mouth. I began to feel as if I was not alone in the room. I could feel eyes boring a hole into the back of my head. But I could not turn around. All I could do was look at the doll’s face.
With a jolt I awoke from my nightmare. I was back in the safety of my room, wrapped in the security of my down comforter. My room was extremely warm, and the fan did little to cool me down. I threw my comforter off of my sweat soaked body, and sat up in my bed. I tried my best to steady my rapid breathing. It was too hot in my room. I left my bed and headed to the bathroom to splash some cool water on my face. As I glanced up at my face in the mirror in between splashing handfuls of tap water on my face, and noticed something odd.
Leaning in for a closer look I saw there was something on my shoulder. I pulled down my nightshirt a tad to see what it was, and backed away from the mirror in horror. Three long red scratches adorned the pale white skin on my shoulder. Each scratch was completely parallel to the other, almost appearing as a claw mark. I continued backing away from the bathroom, “no, no, no” I repeated to myself under my breath. It all hit me like a tidal wave; the reality of what I had just been through. I knew that I had seen hell. It was not a dream. The warnings in the comments of the Youtube video rang true.
I have tried to look for the video again on Youtube, but I have not been able to find it again. I know it is still out there….somewhere hidden in the depths of the web, waiting for some unknowing kid to click on it. Hopefully, some of you will read my story before you find it. The scratches eventually healed from my shoulder, but I never recovered from my experience. If you ever happen upon a video on Youtube, (or anywhere else for that matter), that features a blond doll in a yellow dress sitting in a vintage green chair, whatever you do, don’t click on it. Take it from me, you do not want to look at its face.
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