The disturbing tale of Mr Fritz – the haunted ventriloquist dummy of Stalag IIB
Halloween and Remembrance Day are a mere eleven days apart so it seems only fitting that I post this story regarding two of the most terrifying things a person should never have to encounter during their life – war and ventriloquist dolls.
The private collection of alternative entertainer Michael Diamond is home to some of the rarest sideshow exhibits and apparatus in the UK. Oddities such an elephant headed boy from Brading Waxwork Museum, real execution swords and axes, Houdini's handcuffs and shrunken heads are all on display in his 'Freak Room'. But tucked away in the corner, shrouded in a blanket is a display cabinet with a firmly locked door. The 'Freak Room' is now the final resting place of Mr Fritz, a haunted ventriloquist doll, who has struggled to find a home since 1945.
Not much remains of Mr Fritz. A solitary head, mounted on a piece of wooden pace stick, his face peeling and warped. As dead as he looks, some would argue that he is very much alive. Unlike most of the exhibits in Michael's collection which were acquired through considerable financial investment, Mr Fritz was given to him for free. Michael admits though that this was not initially unusual,
“Most people find dolls, especially ventriloquist dolls far too creepy. The unlucky ones end up being thrown out or locked in attics for years while others get given to collectors like myself”.
A well know WWII Militaria dealer in Liverpool approached Michael at a festival they were both working at over the summer. He had seen Michael’s travelling exhibition of oddities and thought that Mr Fritz would fit in perfectly. Mr Fritz was discovered in an Antiques Mall in Myrtle Beach, USA and once the dealer heard of the connection with a German POW camp he felt compelled to buy him and bring him to the UK. It was then that things started to happen.
The dealer, who wishes to remain anonymous, first started to notice something strange when he put Mr Fritz on display in his showroom. He would lock up for the night and come back in the morning to discover that Mr Fritz's display case door was wide open, even after it had been firmly shut. Every night it would be shut, yet every morning it would be open again. Things then started to take a more uncanny turn. Mr Fritz would sometimes have his eyes open, when they were normally closed. His mouth would also change position. The dealer tried to think of obvious explanations such as humidity, a breeze or even going as far to think that a mouse may have made a nest in his head. On closer inspection, he discovered it was neither of these things. Day after day the door continued to open so he finally taped it shut. The following day he returned to find the tape peeled back and the door open once more. He finally removed Mr Fritz from the showroom and placed him in the garden shed where he stayed for another six months. His children then reported hearing laughter from the shed as they played in the garden and nobody would dare go near it.
Mr Fritz had to go.
As soon as Michael adopted the lonesome remains of Mr Fritz, he placed him in the 'Freak Room' and immediately things started to happen. The door started to open. At first it was once or twice a week but soon the door opened every night without fail. He even discovered one morning that the display case was not only open but had moved six inches across the table. Curiosity finally got the better of Michael and he set up a GoPro camera to monitor Mr Fritz. As you might imagine, a doll that was made to entertain people was not camera shy and the following footage was shot over two nights in September 2019.
But what is the story behind Mr Fritz?
A small hand written note that accompanied the eerie doll explained that he was originally a ventriloquist doll who was used to entertain Allied POWs during WWII in Stalag IIB between 1943 – 1945.
Stalag II-B was a German POW camp situated 2.4 kilometres west of the village of Hammerstein in Poland. In 1933 it was established as one of the first Nazi concentration camps and was used to house German communists. In late September 1939 the camp was changed to a POW camp to house Polish soldiers and in August 1943 the first American prisoners arrived, having been taken prisoner in the Tunisian campaign. Over 600 US POWs were held in Stalag IIB and life was harsh, consisting of long days of hard labour on neighbouring farms with meagre rations.
Prisoners tried to overcome these hardships by educating themselves and staging entertainments such as musicals and comedy. Among the prisoners with enough energy to entertain was Private 'Billy' Booth who had been a children's entertainer and puppeteer before the war started. He had made Mr Fritz with German newspapers soaked in potato starch and painted him with a smuggled pot of pink gloss that a Polish farmer had given him which had been used to paint his daughter's cot.
For almost 18 months Billy Booth and Mr Fritz entertained the prisoners of Stalag IIB with 'in' jokes and songs. He was so good that even some of the German guards found him funny. But unfortunately on 14th January 1945, 2 weeks before the camp was liberated, Billy and nine other US POWs were taken into a field, made to dig a large pit and shot for not working hard enough.
When the camp was finally liberated on 28th January 1945, Mr Fritz was taken back to the US by a fellow prisoner and given to Billy Booth's family as a reminder of their son's fortitude and his ability to raise morale in the harshest conditions.
Lest we forget.
How Mr Fritz ended up in a US antiques mall is not know, did Billy Booth's family give him away or was he thrown out for being too 'lively'? These things we will never know. All we do know is that what remains of Billy Booth's creation is safely tucked away in Michael Diamond's 'Freak Room' where he shall remain for the unforeseeable future. And if Billy wants to open Mr Fritz's cabinet every now and again to reminisce days gone by, then Michael doesn't have a problem with that.
The Cabinet of Curiosities Challenge Part 2
Some of you may recall my previous Cabinet of Curiosities post from way back in June. The challenge was to create a cabinet of curiosities within 3 weeks however, the year took a rather nasty turn and the death of a close friend followed by health issues hindered the creative process. I should really be grateful that I actually completed the project in 3 months, although not quite as ambitious as the original 3 weeks I feel the end result is more than worth it.
At the end of my previous post the cabinet exterior was complete as well as the self unlocking padlock mechanism. The interior was a blank canvas, four large sections of empty space ready to be filled with fantastical things. The final cabinet can be broken down into 4 distinct sections and I will cover them individually.
The Odditorium
Taking inspiration from a typical cabinet of curiosity I wanted this section to be an assortment of inconsistant nooks and crannies in which the client could hide his tools of the trade. The items that adorn the shelves each have a terrible tale or mysterious history that the owner can pluck at any point from the display to recount to his mesmerised audience. There is even a slot for a deck of cards should needs must.
Haunted Artifact Exhibition
The permanent resident of this mysterious corner of the cabinet is a haunted doll of such paranormal magnitude she has to be strapped down to prevent her from ‘wandering’. Even the padlocked box is unable to contain the power of the doll as her ghostly hands have been known to pick the lock in an attempt to escape. A selection of protective talismans and amulets dangle from the display in an endeavour to quell the evil forces than animate this bisque abomination.
Spirit Communication Module
It has long been thought that mirrors are seen as windows to the spirit world. The Spiritus Speculo Infinitum is a type of infinity mirror that opens a portal directly to the spirit realm. Once present they may communicate using traditional methods such as bells and tambourines, if you listen carefully you may even hear them speak. The drawers are filled with items once owned by the dead, these ’spirit catalysts’ are used to lure the spirits of the departed through the portal in order to communicate. Some spirits may even leave gifts known as aports and some of these are on display in the cabinet.
The Professor’s Library
A fitting repository for Prof BC’s classic Doppelgänger series, safely strapped in and protected from the inquisitive hands of the uninitiated. In anticipation of Prof BC’s 'Realm of the Fairies', the pinned and mounted specimen of a winged mummified creature resides in silent protection of the tomes below.
The Spirit Theater
Finally, the cabinet converts into a spirit theater complete with velvet curtains and gold footlight shell lights to illuminate the horrors within. Should the performer be feeling brave he may unstrap the haunted doll to give the audience a demonstration of her unearthly powers (from behind closed curtains of course!)
Thanks
A special thanks goes to the client who originally ordered this commission. Your infallible patience and friendship combined with your artistic understanding of not rushing the creative process was most welcomed. May the Cabinet of Curiosities bring you a lifetime of mystery and wonderment.
She's Alive!!!
Here's the long awaited Dolly Darko update you've all been waiting for. I know that I said that this would be Dolly Darko MkII week, however I totally forgot about the bank holiday and that we had family visiting. This means my usual studio time has been spent entertaining the troops, although even given the limited time I have made great leaps forward in the design process.
Dolly's new cracked ceramic finish still retains the nasty pallor of the original but gives it a new look that I think is an improvement. The previous painting method could not be used as it would melt the 3D printed doll parts, this method also produced inconsistent finishes. Once painted there's no way of telling she's a 3D printed model, in fact she feels a cross between delicate porcelain and traditional paper mache. The original Dolly weighed a ton, this new one is a fifth of the weight. In true Wurzel Gummidge fashion the heads are also swappable allowing users to tailor performances and it also gives me the opportunity to exploit a marketing opening and produce a collection of heads!
Without giving too much away technically the chips I use inside Dolly can be programmed very easily, by simply plugging in a USB cable you can define -
The angle the head turns
The delay from pressing the button to the head turning.
The time it waits looking left or right before returning to centre
The speed in which her head turns and much more
I'm also working on making her arms raise as is she is begging to be picked up. Space inside the doll is limited but theoretically the triggers that make dolly move can be either manual, remote control or by sensor .i.e movement or light. The programmable chips also mean that future updates, new features and custom performance programs can be installed by the user with ease.
The floating version of Dolly Darko will be a separate product. The prototype at this stage can lift her head, stand, walk and then float seemingly unassisted. Some clients have contacted me worried that this turns bizarre performance into some form of strange puppetry. I have reassured them that the story that accompanies Dolly Darko MkII gives a certain validity and reason for the 'puppet show' whilst still maintaining a visually disturbing yet entertaining performance.
Those attending Doomsday VII in Whitby in two weeks will hopefully be able to see Dolly Darko MkII on display. You never know, she may even look at you and wave...
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Ann: the haunted doll webcast
For those waiting on news of Dolly Darko MkII here's something to give you a creepy doll fix. Ann: The Haunted Doll as you will soon read has all the typical tropes of a routine we bizarrists have been conjuring up for years. The mental asylum, the caretaker, the doll, the death of a young girl – I could've written this myself, but I didn't! Do think it's true or just a publicity stunt to boost viewing numbers of The Haunted Collector on Destination America? I'll leave that choice up to you...
People often think of ghosts haunting buildings or people, but haunted objects have fascinated GHOST HUNTERS for ages. Now, the network that brought you EXORCISM: LIVE! is giving ANN: THE HAUNTED DOLL her own live webcast. Destination America is devoted to telling the stories of the unknown, from alien encounters, to the quest for Bigfoot, and now, Ann. DestinationAmerica.com has partnered with THE LINEUP - a hot new digital destination for fans of true crime, horror, the mysterious, and the paranormal - to broadcast ANN: THE HAUNTED DOLL to the masses, 24/7. Check the live stream any time in the next two weeks at DestinationAmerica.com or THE LINEUP to check if Ann moves, blinks, cries, or does her signature move, waves.
Ann is currently living in The Lineup's New York offices under constant surveillance via web cam, and the office has already reported strange occurrences since Ann's arrival, such as hearing faint cries and experiencing technical difficulties with the feed. After two weeks, it will be time for Ann to move on to a new, loving family. Anyone interested in giving Ann a proper home can enter to win by stating why they would make the best caretaker for ANN: THE HAUNTED DOLL.
So who is Ann? The original Ann was a 13-year-old girl treated for tuberculosis at Waverly Hills Sanatorium in the early 1900s. One of Ann's caretakers a very devoted and attached woman named Lois. When the children succumbed to their illnesses, it was believed that the spirits followed Lois home, hoping she would continue to care for them. Lois began her doll collection to help house the unfortunate souls, and while she has since passed, she kept a detailed journal about all of her dolls. Lois claims that Ann was terrified of the dark and that her spirit, who lives on in the doll, still cries out in the middle of the night. Paranormal investigators called in to examine Ann have reported a severe drop in temperature and strange odors in her presence, and there have been reports of a tear running down Ann's cheek, as well as waving motions in her right arm.
No one is more fascinated by haunted objects than John Zaffis, a paranormal investigator and demonologist who has specialized in this type of haunting for nearly four decades, and works to remove any unwanted ghostly objects from peoples' homes. His research is the focus on HAUNTED COLLECTOR, currently in network premieres on Destination America on Tuesdays at 10/9c. In HAUNTED COLLECTOR, John and his paranormal team travel to help various people in need by identifying and removing any trigger objects that may the source of unwanted activity. Through the years, he has amassed thousands of possessed objects that he keeps in his bizarre museum, where visitors report feeling an evil presence upon entering the building.
OBSERVATION LOG
Pre-Live Cam
We unboxed Ann, who was wrapped tightly in bubble wrap, without incident. (Watch the video.)
Over the next couple days, we worked around Ann, setting up the camera feed in a large storage closet, where she’s currently living. During that time, a few strange things happened.
• Two coworkers, whose desks are against the wall that separates the main office space from Ann’s room, heard a faint whining noise. One person even asked the whole room to be silent because she was positive she heard a child crying. No one else heard this noise.
• Two different coworkers set up an EMF sensor near Ann while they were working in her vicinity. The meter was silent the whole time. Then one of them asked her a direct question: “Hello, Ann. Welcome to our office. Do you like your new home?” Twenty seconds later, the detector’s light started flashing and wouldn’t stop. We haven’t seen it light up since.
• The day after the live feed was finally established, a coworker arrived at the office and noticed the feed had stopped at 8:27 p.m. the previous night. He went into Ann’s room and saw the magnetic power cord that attached to the laptop had been physically disconnected. No one was in the office at that time.