Ozzy Osbourne Believed He Was 'Cursed' by an Infamous Haunted Doll as New Fears Surround the Paranormal Florida Item
Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne claimed in 2020 that he was cursed by Robert the Doll.
Nov. 16 2025, Published 5:30 p.m. ET
Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne once claimed he was cursed after visiting Robert the Doll — a chilling encounter he said contributed to his declining health, RadarOnline.com can report.
The Black Sabbath singer's experience is just one of many stories fueling renewed warnings about the 120-year-old figure, widely regarded as one of the most haunted objects in America.
Robert the Doll
According to local legend, Robert was cursed with voodoo by a spiteful maid.
Locked away at the Fort East Martello Museum in Key West, Florida, the doll has terrified countless visitors for more than a century, inspiring hundreds of reports of misfortune from those who believe they crossed him the wrong way.
With his scarred face, tattered sailor suit and grotesque toy dog, Robert presents a nightmarish sight. His shoes are frayed, his hands appear disproportionately large, and his hair hangs in matted tufts over ghostly pale skin. Even his once-crisp sailor uniform looks battered, as if faded by decades of harsh sunlight or relentless fluorescent lighting. Yet many who encounter him say the real horror goes far beyond his appearance.
According to long-standing legend, Robert was cursed with voodoo by a spiteful maid before being given to a young boy in Key West, setting off a chain of eerie events. His fearsome reputation eventually grew so intense that he is said to have inspired the murderous doll from the Chucky film franchise.
Troubling Legacy
Museum visitors claim Robert curses people who take photos without permission.
Today, museum staff and visitors continue to recount unsettling experiences. Robert is believed to curse anyone who photographs him without asking permission, a claim backed by the museum's trove of apology letters sent by visitors reporting accidents, injuries and sudden streaks of bad luck. Even Osbourne's allegation of a curse has become part of the folklore that surrounds the infamous artifact.
For psychic medium Matt Fraser, the doll's troubling legacy is no surprise. Fraser warns that Robert is more than a disturbing toy — he may be hosting a dangerous energy. "Robert isn't merely a creepy doll, he is a vessel of 'dark and ritualistic energy,' and approaching him risks serious consequences," he said.
"Most people think hauntings begin with a place, but in reality, they often begin with an object. Dolls are powerful symbolic vessels, and when a spirit becomes attached, the object gains attention," Fraser explained. He added that negative entities "feed on attention and grow stronger when people interact with them," stressing that the safest approach is to keep such objects "secured, protected and away from the public."
Robert's Previous Home
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The doll’s fearsome legacy reportedly helped inspire the 'Chucky' franchise.
Before arriving at the museum in 1994, Robert belonged to Robert Eugene "Gene" Otto of Key West. The doll, likely a Steiff Company display model, was a birthday gift from Otto's grandfather — and it quickly became his constant companion. As a child, Gene dressed the doll in his own clothes and whispered stories and secrets to it as though it were alive.
"What people really remember is what they would probably term as an unhealthy relationship with the doll," museum curator Cori Convertito said in 2020. "He brought it everywhere. He talked about it in the first person as if he weren't a doll, he was Robert – as in, he is a live entity."
Strange incidents soon followed. The Otto parents reportedly woke to Gene screaming amid overturned furniture. Mutilated toys began appearing throughout the home, and the young boy insisted, "Robert did it!"
"Spirits do not suddenly jump into dolls for no reason," Fraser noted. "The only times I have seen this occur are when someone intentionally does something dark or ritualistic, creating an opening for lower energies."
