“Hey, Iris, you up?” Ava said
“Barely. It’s midnight, Ava. What’s going on?”
“You know that old doll I told you about? The one from the thrift store?”
“Oh no. Don’t tell me. What now?”
“It... moved.”
Iris sighed. “Ava, we’ve been through this. It’s just your imagination. Or gravity. Or, I don’t know, the house settling?”
“I’m serious, Iris! It was on my desk when I went to bed, and now it’s on the floor by my closet. I didn’t move it.”
“Maybe it fell?”
“Nope. It’s standing upright.”
Silence. Then: “Okay. That’s weird.”
~~~~~
By 12:15, Iris was at Ava’s apartment, her coat thrown hastily over her pajamas.
“Alright, show me the doll,” Iris demanded, trying to sound braver than she felt.
Ava hesitated, pointing toward her bedroom. “It’s... in there.”
“You left it alone?”
“Of course! I’m not about to hang out with the thing!”
Rolling her eyes, Iris pushed the door open. The doll sat innocently on the floor, its painted blue eyes staring vacantly ahead. It was old—cracked porcelain, faded fabric dress, and wild, wiry hair.
“That’s... creepy,” Iris admitted, kneeling to inspect it.
“See? I wasn’t lying!” Ava whispered from the hallway.
“It’s just a doll, Ava. Maybe you bumped it and forgot?”
“I didn’t,” Ava hissed.
As Iris stood, the room’s atmosphere shifted. A faint sound—like distant giggling—echoed through the apartment.
“Did you hear that?” Ava whispered.
“Yeah,” Iris said slowly.
The closet door creaked open.
Ava gasped, clutching Iris’s arm.
“Probably the wind,” Iris said, though her voice trembled.
“We’re inside, Iris.”
Determined to prove Ava wrong, Iris grabbed the doll and placed it back on the desk.
“There. See? It’s fine,” she said firmly.
Ava shook her head, backing out of the room.
“You don’t understand. This started a week ago. I think it’s haunted.”
“Haunted? Really?” Iris scoffed.
But as they turned to leave, a loud thump came from behind them.
They spun around. The doll was on the floor again, this time lying face down.
Ava screamed.
“Iris, let’s get out of here!”
“Wait! Just—hold on,” Iris said, though her confidence was waning. She crouched to pick up the doll.
Before she could touch it, the doll’s head snapped to the side.
Both girls froze.
Then the doll spoke, its tiny mouth parting: “Play with me.”
Ava bolted for the door. Iris wasn’t far behind, slamming it shut as they stumbled into the hallway.
“Okay, okay,” Iris panted. “You win. It’s haunted. Now what?”
“I don’t know! Burn it? Bury it? Exorcise it?” Ava said, panicked.
“Calm down. Let’s think logically.”
Ava glared at her.
“LOGICALLY? DID YOU NOT SEE THAT THING MOVE?”
~~~~~~
An hour later, they were back in Ava’s room, armed with a broom, a garbage bag, and, inexplicably, a Bible Ava found in a drawer.
“Alright,” Iris said, “we’ll bag it, toss it, and be done with it.”
“You touch it.”
“Coward.”
With a deep breath, Iris nudged the doll with the broom. It tipped over lifelessly.
“See? It’s fine. You’re imagining—”
The doll’s head twisted 180 degrees to face them.
Iris screamed, dropping the broom.
Ava grabbed the Bible and hurled it at the doll. It hit the floor with a crash, but when the dust settled, the doll was gone.
“What... where did it go?” Ava whispered.
From the closet, the giggling returned, louder this time.
The door flew open.
Ava and Iris screamed as dozens of tiny porcelain hands reached out, pulling them into the darkness.
The next morning, the landlord found Ava’s apartment empty.
The only thing left behind was the doll, sitting neatly on the desk, smiling.
About the Creator
Komal
I write poems and stories that hit the feels.
When I’m not lost in my own plots, I’m either daydreaming about the next big idea or just winging life with a grin.
𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕒𝕟 𝕀𝕄ℙ𝔸ℂ𝕋
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
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Comments (10)
😶🌫️😨
That was very rude of Ava and Iris to run away when the doll said she wanted to play. It’s hard for possessed dolls to make friends, and yeah, they’re kind of awkward. But these women obviously hurt the poor doll’s feelings :( Nobody likes feeling rejected and vulnerable.
I love this layout! Poor Iris, her fear makes her delusional, you handled her complex range of emotions perfectly 👌🏽 When the dolls head started moving 😳😱😬 Why is this both hilarious and scary, how do you do it. now every time I go to a store and see a doll, I am going to hurry along. What the actual hell, oh my gosh. I can’t, I just can’t. Ava… the landlord…iris oh my fins!! This makes me want to hide at the bottom of the ocean. it’s not safe up here. Well done Komal this made me laugh and scared the hell out of me 👌🏽
That spooked, Komal. Thankfully, dolls have never really been my fave collectible!
Omgggg hahahahahahaha, that was soooo creepy! I loved the dialogues between Ava and Iris. My favourite part was when the doll twisted its head 180 degress!
Very interesting. Creepy too.
Your story is interesting and engaging, keep it up, Komal
Creepy! 😳 however, the story is very interesting and well written.🤗👻
Oh God! The next residents there are doomed. Never in my life, am I gonna enter a room or a place with dolls in it. Seriously, you took me into that dark, haunted room... The only thing I was praying was,"Please, now don't say that the door SHUTS!", and there you go. Ngl, it was one of my fav horror stories. That bible part was quite interesting and ending left me—Speechless 😶 You nailed it Komal 💖 “Of course! I’m not about to hang out with the thing!”, cracked me in between 😂
oh my! I love howpacked this was with growing tension that was well paced and lots of creepy jump scares! well done!