The Doll That Drips Salt Water

They say he still drips salt water when no one’s touched him. In 1904, a life-size doll was stitched for a Key West boy named Robert Eugene Otto. Neighbors saw it change positions in an upstairs window. Servants heard a low, uneven voice after midnight. Once, its clothes were damp and smelled like the sea. As Robert grew up, the doll stayed—guests swore its head followed them; footsteps paced the attic when the doll was locked below. After Robert’s death, new owners shut it in a trunk. The latch clicked, and something laughed.

Today, the doll sits behind glass in a museum. Visitors who mock it or photograph it without asking often write later—hundreds of letters that begin the same: “Robert, I’m sorry.” They describe accidents, lost jobs, sudden illness. Maybe it’s coincidence. Maybe it’s a lesson: with some objects, the ru ...