Dolls , likeclowns , exist right at the crossroads of delicious and terrifying . The video above , from the archive of British Pathé , is a sodding instance of how chick can straddle the line between lovely andunnerving .
“ Doll ’s Factory ” is a 3 - moment documentary film from 1968 that takes you inside the Rosebud Mattel toy factory in Wellingborough , Northamptonshire , England . ( Rosebud is the name of the doll being produced . ) watch out as the tiny tot go through production , from getting their head modeled in plasticine all the agency to being outfitted in the latest fashion . The short film is charming — and a snatch creepy-crawly , too .
“ Modern dolls are really tiny robot , ” exclaims the teller as groovy euphony propels the action along . “ A taping in the tum gets them talk and a power pack in the back gets them walk . The whole process has a shivery , macabre mite ! It ’s almost dreaded the direction they pop in the wench ’s eyes with workaday nonchalance . ”
Watching thisvideomight make you enquire : Just why do we find dolls so creepy?Thalia Wheatley , a professor in the psychological and brain science at Dartmouth University , appear into this , and apparently it seethe down to how our brains perceive faces and whether there ’s consciousness behind them .
When assessing something that await like a face , WheatleytoldVICE , “ You ’re basically looking to see whether this person has a mind you could connect with . Is somebody home ? ” Dolls are creepy because we make out that they have faces , but we ca n’t find out consciousness under that . “ There are these signal that are telling our brain this thing is alert , ” Wheatley said . “ But we know it ’s not active . And that collocation is really creepy . ”
If you want to get even more creeped out after watching this video , control out Thomas Edison’stalking skirt , translate up onthe sale of taken up bird , and learn about some famoushaunted dolls .
A version of this story ran in 2016 ; it has been update for 2024 .
