The Doll Museum

The rain poured down. I stood beneath the mottled sign of "Old Henry's Doll Museum". Rainwater slid down the rusty iron sheet and gathered into dark red puddles on the ground. This three - storey old house looked extremely gloomy in the rain. The Gothic spire stabbed straight into the gray sky, like a withered palm reaching out to the sky.

The key was inserted into the keyhole. In an instant, a sweet and putrid smell rushed towards me, very much like the smell of rotten candies mixed with moldy bread. The door hinge let out a sharp creaking sound, as if it were the dying wail of some creature. Dust danced wantonly in the dim light, just like countless tiny flying insects.

Inside the museum, hundreds of dolls were quietly displayed in glass cabinets. Their eyes glistened with a strange luster under the light. I always felt that they were staring at me intently. Every time I turned around, I seemed to hear a faint turning sound. There was also a faint sweet and fishy smell in the air, which reminded me of the bloody smell when I scraped my knee as a child.

Late at night, a faint noise woke me up from my sleep. The sound was like someone gently tapping on the glass, or like the sound of tiny footsteps. I quickly picked up the flashlight and followed the sound to the studio on the second floor.

Moonlight spilled in through the stained - glass window, casting mottled shadows on the ground. I saw the doll on the workbench - it was a little girl in a red lace dress. Her head was tilted to one side, and her glass eyes reflected the cold moonlight.

I remembered clearly that her head was upright before I went to bed.

Suddenly, a soft chuckle came from behind. The voice was childish but hollow, as if it drifted from a distant place. I turned around abruptly, and the beam of the flashlight quickly swept across the display cabinets. To my horror, all the dolls had turned towards me in unison.

My heart almost stopped beating instantly. They were clearly fixed, how could they turn?

"Patta", a warm drop of liquid fell on my neck. I reached out my hand and touched it tremblingly. By the light of the moon, I saw that my fingers were covered with dark red liquid. Looking up, a large amount of blood seeped out from the ceiling and was dripping slowly.

I wanted to run away, but my legs were as heavy as if they were filled with lead. The smell of blood like rust filled the air, mixed with that nauseating sweet and putrid smell. There were faint whispers in my ears, as if many children were talking at the same time, but I couldn't make out the specific content.

The doll on the workbench actually started to move. Her head slowly turned straight, and the corners of her mouth split into an exaggerated arc. Her glass eyes rolled around, staring straight at me.

"Come and play with us..." A childish voice whispered in my ear.

I screamed in horror and stepped back, knocking over the display cabinet in a panic. The sound of breaking glass was particularly harsh in the quiet night. The dolls rolled out of the cabinet, their joints making a clicking sound, and then they slowly stood up.

The moon was suddenly covered by dark clouds, and the room was plunged into darkness. I felt something cold tightly grab my ankle. Looking down, a pale little hand stretched out from under the floor.紧接着, more hands stretched out from the walls and the ceiling. The air was filled with the laughter of children.

The beam of the flashlight swept across the wall, and I saw faces faintly emerging under the wallpaper. They were not ordinary faces, but distorted, pained, and resentful faces. Their mouths were wide open, as if they were screaming silently.

"Grandpa... what have you done..." I murmured tremblingly.

Suddenly, all the sounds disappeared instantly. The moonlight shone into the room again. I saw the doll on the workbench return to its original state, as if everything that had just happened was just a absurd illusion. But I knew in my heart that it was not an illusion, because there were still blue - purple handprints on my ankle.

I stumbled downstairs, but suddenly bumped into something at the corner of the stairs. Looking up, it was a life - sized doll dressed in a Victorian - era dress. Her face was exquisitely beautiful, and her skin glistened like pearls in the moonlight.

"Stay and play with us..." The doll's lips moved slightly, making a sweet sound.

I screamed and pushed her away with all my strength, rushing out of the door desperately. The rain was still pouring down. I was soaked through and ran all the way to the police station in the town. But when I looked back, there were full of figures standing behind the windows of the doll museum, all waving goodbye to me.

The next day, I went back to the doll museum with the police. But strangely, all the display cabinets were empty, and there was no sign of any dolls on the workbench. The wallpaper was intact, and there was no trace of any faces emerging.

"Miss, are you sure you didn't have a nightmare?" The policeman looked at me suspiciously.

I had no way to explain and could only leave helplessly. But that night, I received a package. Inside was a delicate doll, wearing a red lace dress with a strange smile on her face.

There was also a note in the package, which read: "You can't escape. We're a family."

I picked up the doll tremblingly and suddenly found that her face was somewhat similar to mine. Even more terrifying was that when I looked in the mirror, the corners of my mouth also involuntarily split into the same smile as hers...

I tried every means to throw away that doll, but every time I woke up, it would reappear at my bedside. What was even more chilling was that its posture changed every day - sometimes sitting, sometimes standing, and sometimes even as if it was walking.

Late at night a week later, I was awakened again by that sweet and putrid smell. Opening my eyes, I found the doll sitting upright on my chest. Its glass eyes glistened with a strange light in the moonlight.

"Sister..." it spoke, and the voice seemed to come from a distant place, "The basement... Do you want to know the truth?"

I wanted to scream, but I couldn't make a sound. The doll's cold fingers gently stroked my cheek, and a chill shot up my spine. The corners of its mouth split wider, revealing the fine fangs inside.

Suddenly, I found that I could move. I pushed the doll away with all my strength, and it fell heavily to the ground, making a sound of porcelain breaking. But when I turned on the light, there was nothing on the ground.

The next day, I made up my mind to go back to the doll museum again. I knew that there were terrifying secrets hidden there, but I had no other choice. If I didn't find out the truth, these dolls would keep pestering me until they drove me crazy.

The old house didn't seem so terrifying during the day, but that sweet and putrid smell still filled the air. I put on a mask and started to search every room carefully.

At the entrance to the basement, I found a hidden compartment. Inside was a yellowed diary with my grandfather's name on the cover. My hands were shaking uncontrollably, but I still slowly opened it.

The diary recorded a spine - chilling truth: When my grandfather was young, he was a wizard. He firmly believed that souls could be trapped through special dolls. Those missing children... they were all my grandfather's experimental subjects. He sealed their souls in the dolls, trying to create "immortality".

The last page read: "I was wrong... they started to resist... they want freedom... I must stop them..."

Suddenly, a burst of laughter came from the basement. I turned around and saw all the dolls standing there, their eyes glowing with a green light in the dark. In the front was the little girl in the red dress. The corners of her mouth split to the base of her ears, revealing a gaping maw.

"Welcome home, sister." They said in unison, "Now, it's your turn..."

I wanted to run away, but the door slammed shut. In the dark, I felt countless cold hands pulling at my clothes. The sweet and putrid smell became even stronger, and my ears were filled with the laughter and screams of children.

When I woke up again, I found myself sitting in front of the workbench. I was holding a carving knife tightly in my hand, and in front of me was an unfinished doll. Its face... was exactly the same as mine.

In the mirror, I showed a strange smile, and the corners of my mouth split uncontrollably, revealing fine fangs. The sweet voice rang in my ears: "Now, we'll be together forever..."