Good Spirits

Summary

Two years ago, while preparing to teach my fall Folklore of the Supernatural class, I looked up “haunted dolls” on eBay. A folklorist friend of mine had warned me never to order a haunted doll, even at a good price. “I’d never have one of those things in my house!” my friend had told me. Like the central character of the Grimms’ tale “The Youth Who Wanted to Learn What Fear Is,” I could not resist the temptation to order a haunted doll. What harm could possibly come from this simple transaction?