Transcript for 6/11/24: SEE EMILY PLAY W/ DAVE SCHRADER

One of the reasons I really don’t like traveling is because now that I am getting older -- my knees seem to not agree with the long walks that airports entail. So I am usually in a wheelchair being carted along by an airport attendant to take me to my gate. I tip these people because I am sure that they get a workout when they push me all over the airport. 

When Ron and I traveled to Palm Springs for the Contact in the Desert Conference we had a stop in San Jose. I got off the plain and an Asian girl was waiting for me with a wheelchair. I was thinking there was no way she could push me through the airport to my gate. But she did --and we were talking. She told me that she was from Thailand -- and I told her about my cousin who lived there and we also talked about the value of the dollar in Baht --which is the Thai currency. We of course talked about the food.. and afterwards, she asked me what I did for a living. I said I am a talk show host that talks about conspiracy theories and paranormal activities.

Her eyes got bigger and she asked me if I knew about something called Luk Thep. I told her that no -- I did not know what that meant -- she told me that Luk Thep are dolls that have the spirits of dead babies in them. 

I said I vaguely knew something about the custom of casting spirits of the dead into dolls in Thailand but I was not aware of the term luk thep.

She seemed excited to share the story about how she had a spirit doll and how it haunted her -- she said she tried to get rid of the doll but it always seemed to show up again-- she felt that there was nothing she could do. 

She said she ceremoniously took it to the water and drowned the doll. She said it sank into the water, and she swore she saw bubbles come up as if the doll was trying to breathe.

I was a little chilled by the story -- because of how this young woman told it with such innocence. After she took me to the gate I handed her a 20-dollar bill. I usually tip anywhere form 5 to 10 dollars -- but I gave her 20 for her story and she put her hands in a praying position and bowed to me and said thank you -- she did it many times-- I asked her how much that was in Baht .. and she said nearly 700 dollars. 

I smiled and thanked her.

Luk Thep is believed by some to bring their owners good fortune, are purchased for hundreds of dollars, and blessed by Buddhist monks.

Many consider them divine effigies and some restaurants serve them as if they are real children.

One domestic airline is already serving drinks and snacks to the dolls if their owners purchase a seat for them. In a memo to its staff, Thai Smile, a subsidiary of the national carrier Thai Airways, explained the dolls could be considered children as they had undergone a spiritual ceremony breathing life into them. 

Some are actually used to smuggle methamphetamine.

Nearly 200 "yaba" methamphetamine pills were found stuffed into the chest of a girl doll that had been placed in a suitcase for retrieval in the Chiang Mai airport's parking lot.

I can't imagine buying a doll like this and taking it home. Wondering if the spirit of a dead child has been cast into it.

The ceremony to do so is a bit gruesome an certainly wreaks of the most diabolical witchcraft which includes the burnt offering of a still born or dead fetus.

I guess you could say that this would be similar to a voodoo doll maybe -- or something more dark and macabre.

Back when I worked at Alpha Media doing Ground Zero on the flagship KXL -- I had an experience that was really odd and it had to do with strange dolls.

I heard a person that sounded upset just outside my door. Apparently, a new salesperson was hired and as she was getting settled in her new cubicle she opened the drawer of her desk and inside it next to the push pins and stapler were two very strange looking dolls.

A office email went out asking if anyone knew anything about the dolls. Of course I was asked about them and I said that I had never seen anything like them before. What was troubling was that the dolls looked very much like Voodoo dolls and so this is why the salesperson was upset.

In a way, I was upset as well, because the dolls had no faces and they while they resembled voodoo dolls I realized that they weren’t voodoo dolls at all.

I thought it was kind of creepy to have these type of dolls just turn up – and that I was called to try and figure out just what the dolls were and why they ended up discarded in an old desk.

I guess the salesperson or whoever else occupied the desk before her had no problem with having these strange dolls in the drawers hidden in his or her desk.,

I was asked if I wanted them.

I said sure with a bit of trepidation. I then showed them to Ron Patton, the executive producer of my show and he didn’t like the looks of them and he didn’t want them anywhere near the office.the

I told him he was acting silly, because we had perched in the window a haunted doll that we affectionately called “The Little Dutch Creep.” 

He was a doll that I inexplicably inherited during a Christmas party. I was told that the little Dutch boy doll tended to move on his own and that his mouth moved at times looking as if he was trying to speak.

We actually used him on a show and tried to communicate with it to see if it really wanted to speak. We actually rigged a cell phone to the doll and he in explicably talked through the phone into an amplifier and it was chilling to hear what he had to say.

The new dolls that I inherited are not anything like Dutch Creep.

After looking at them and trying to figure out what they are – I accidentally found an image of similar dolls – the dolls are called Poppets.

Poppets are similar to Voodoo dolls and are used in Image or associative magic rituals.

A poppet is a life-like figure or doll made to represent a person or animal and is used in ritual, magic and spell-craft to effect change through the application of sympathetic or imitative magic.

Sympathetic magic works on the principles of “similarity” and “associated contact” (i.e. like attracts and effects like). It is based on the belief that someone or something can be magically affected by doing something to an object in one place, that represents a person or thing in another place. To achieve this a poppet is made as a representation of a person or thing and contains items associated with or belonging to that same person or object. Once made and magically charged, any action performed upon the poppet, is thought to cause or effect a similar reaction on the person or object it represents.

The use of poppets in witchcraft and magic is an age-old practice, but their potential uses have long been closely guarded secrets, and as such there is an abundance of myths, folklore and superstition surrounding their use. For example, in more recent times poppets have been negatively.

During the witch hysteria of the 17th century, at the infamous trial of the Lancashire Witches in 1612, Old Mother Demdike confessed and described the quickest way to murder someone by witchcraft as: “…to make a Picture of clay, like unto the shape of the person whom they mean to kill, and dry it thoroughly: and when they would have them to be ill in any one place more than another; then take a Thorn or a Pin, and prick it in that part of the body to consume away, then take that part of the Picture, and burn it. And when they would have the whole body to consume away, then take the remnant of said Picture and burn it: and so thereupon by that means, the body shall die.”

The basic idea is that by using some object to represent a victim, what is done to the object is done to the victim. This practice goes all the way back to Ancient Egypt.

For best results, it is suggested that the practitioner use a personal belonging of the victim’s that has their vibes on it to construct the poppet. A photo, a small article of clothing, car keys, small personal possessions, hair, fingernail clippings, sexual fluids, or even dirt taken from a footprint can be used. There are endless possibilities, as long as the article has a close connection in some way with the enemy.

Poppets were often constructed from wax or clay anciently. Wax can be hard to work with. It is best to construct the image to be sturdy and not soft, if you plan to inflict any serious damage. The poppet is suggested to be constructed to take abuse.

What is important is that if you use them to create curse or a hex , the right amount of focusing and hatred goes into the working. Driving a nail into its head will cause insanity. Driving a nail into the heart, with the right kind of focus and intensity, will cause death if done with enough intensity and the operator’s aura is powerful enough. Burying the image in the ground will cause the person to waste away as the image rots in the ground.

Take whatever you have and use it in the construction of the image. Clothing articles may have to be cut to size. What is left over can be saved for the ritual working.

A doll can be sewn and stuffed with what you have obtained. 

Wax, clay or the like can be molded and blended with pieces of the victim’s personal belongings. While constructing this image, chant aloud, or inside your head, the name of the enemy it represents, over and over as long as it takes to complete the image. 

Like any ritual tool, once made, the poppet needs to be consecrated, named and dedicated to the work in hand, then infused with personal energy to bring into force your intentions. Sometimes this is be done by breathing life into the poppet's mouth through a straw. In this way the poppet takes on a magical life of its own, which activates the spell or working. 

Depending on the type of spell being worked, be it to curse, heal, harm, or bind, various actions are performed on the poppet to cause a similar effect on the recipient.

I wanted to look further into what Poppets are used for and I ran across a very interesting codex that was entitled “Satan stands for justice.”

The title was off-putting, however, there was a passage that actually was using the term poppet and homunculus as the same entity . However the poppet made homunculus is able to communicate with its creator and with much work can become a small living being.

If you do not know what the term Homunculus means all you need to know is that a Homunculus is an artificial humanoid created through alchemy. While not quite a human, this creature is a “rational animal” that will be the guinea pig for further experimentation that will be used to fulfill humanity’s dream of mastering life and death.

The idea of willing, into reality or creating a genetic slave has been considered a forbidden science since medieval times.

The Book “Abominable Mixtures”: The Liber Vaccae (the Book of the Cow) in the Medieval West, or The Dangers and Attractions of Natural Magic” demonstrates that something that is similar to genetic engineering must follow certain laws of magic and alchemy. It is suggested that any genetic Sim that is made is seen as the ultimate blasphemy in the eyes of God.

What is most disconcerting is that the human can also be made into a poppet -- by injecting tinctures into it -- what is known as Pharmakia.

Pharmakia is a word that comes directly from Medieval Latin Pharmacia, from Greek pharmakeia "a healing or harmful medicine, a healing or poisonous herb; a drug, poisonous potion; magic potion, dye, raw material for physical or chemical processing.

The person or initiate becomes a controlled poppet when it is injected with unknown serum or poisons meant to control the body -- very much like a golem or a puppet.

The big pharmaceutical companies have mastered the use of fear to coerce people into injecting themselves with unknown vaccines that are supposed to help us -- but we are seeing that there are side effects that are killing many people -- for what nefarious purpose was the vaccine was for remains to be seen -- was it all for depopulation -- or was it a way to create subservient poppets to do the bidding of the elite?

We now are attempting to make our own servants by creating cyborgs -- they are similar to dolls that are being imbued with artificial intelligence. We are attempting to give them a counterfeit or artificial soul capable of imitating human forms.

How is this different from the Jewish Golem, the luk thet of Thailand and the voodoo dolls that are used against enemies?

Is this smaller to making a graven image? Is it Idolatry -- is moving forward with a singularity a sin to mankind?

Many people are aware of the infamous raggedy Anne doll Annabelle that was in the possession of Ed and Lorraine Warren. I was fortunate or unfortunate enough to hold the cold stiff movie prop-- it was very cold like I was holding a corpse.

Back in 2008 "Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Cuddle 'n Coo" was one of a line of "Little Mommy Real Loving Baby" dolls manufactured by Fisher-Price and Mattel. The doll's verbalizations set it apart from other offerings in that toy line: "Cuddle 'n Coo" was advertised as producing cooing, giggling, and babbling sounds rather than words, thereby imitating the pre-language vocalizations made by babies.

People were shocked when the babies were heard saying "Islam Is the Light" and then giggling "Satan is the King."

Fisher Price offered a refund for these dolls. But never admitted the dolls uttered those words -- which makes it even more curious--as to what cursed the dolls to say it. 

Many have concluded that what happened was a case of apophenia -- that the brain approximated the words and that they were never said --

Then why refund the dolls? 

Recently there was a report from Texas about a haunted doll that a family had trouble disposing of. 

Anyone with young children is probably bored stiff with the “Frozen” movies, but Emily Madonia of Houston, Texas, says she’s scared stiff of a “haunted” Elsa doll that she claims sings and talks in Spanish even when it is turned off; she and her husband decided to throw the ‘Frozen’ doll away but it came back, so they tossed it again and it returned again even after being hauled away by trash collectors – Madonia then decided to mail the doll to a friend living 1,500 miles away who taped the doll to the hood of his car, where he claims it has stayed.

I have been reading a book by paranormal investigator Dave Shrader called Theater of the Mind: Tales from the Darkness.

I was particularly interested in a section called WHO WANTS TO PLAY WITH EMILY.

In the section, Schrader talks about appearing at a paranormal conference where he is gifted with a box. Attached is a letter informing him that inside the box is doll named Emily.

The letter opened by saying 

"I have heard you offer to take items with a haunted past, this doll, Emily has been with us too long already and I am hoping you have an idea on how to deal with her."

I am sure he felt the same way I did when I was given the little Dutch doll at a Christmas gathering.

Shrader had to deal with Emily as she seemed to not want to remain in the box-- she was wrapped in bubble wrap and still managed to find herself on top of boxes in storage. The owners before were most certainly traumatized by the experience.

I suppose he finally got rid of the offending doll -- even though she didn't hurt anyone -- just a little poltergeist activity to make his life interesting.

Not everyone is a doll lover, especially with those really old dolls. Some people class old dolls as being ‘creepy’, and some are even fearful of the antique object. There is a known phobia of dolls, which is called ‘pediophobia’. 

Could this be why many people are convinced dolls can be haunted, because they have a ‘fear’ of them? Dolls can be so realistic looking, which can be a significant issue for some. The more realistic (or once realistic, but now aged) is enough to frighten anyone. 

Many people have had experiences with haunted dolls because they are effigies of humans and perhaps they can be animated by our own minds in some psycho kinetic exchange.

Some people even sell their so called haunted dolls and yes there are collectors of them -- Ron and I have a couple and we put them in the studio while we do the show.

We think it is good luck -- is that crazy?

We did at one time have an old Doll Named Nickel who was a haunted doll that lived in a pawn shop. He was inherited by Larry Oberman, who was the owner of the Ghost Mine that was featured on Cable TV. We eventually found out it was a Pappy Yokum doll from Li' Abner and his full name was LUCIFER ORNAMENTAL YOKUM. 

He was most definitely one of the most haunted dolls I ever met.

There are several signs to look out for to determine if a doll is haunted. Such as unexplained movements, eerie sounds such as whispering, and temperature fluctuations. Or intense feelings of emotions to electrical interference could all be signs that a spirit is lurking.

Haunted dolls produce strange sounds that cannot be attributed to any logical source. The sounds of whispers, crying, laughing, or even conversations have been reported to come from these dolls. These unexplained auditory experiences have left many feeling anxious and unsettled.

Another telltale sign of paranormal activity is temperature changes. The sudden occurrence of ‘cold spots’ or variations in temperature within the vicinity of these dolls. These temperature changes can be subtle or drastic, resulting in a chilling sensation.

People believe that spirits draw their energy from their surroundings. This causes local temperatures to drop as the energy’s sucked out.

Allegedly, haunted dolls evoke strong emotions in those who interact with them. People have reported feeling uneasy, anxious, or overwhelmed with sadness when in the presence of these dolls.

Some have even reported having the sensation of being watched or becoming fearful. 

If you can take a moment and you have one of those old dolls around the house -- stare into its floating eyes. If it begins to look through you -- you may be gazing into what could be seen as the abyss.

Dolls have a way of reflecting what we manifest or project into them.