The Nasty Little Challenge Rating (1 = disturbing, 5 = disturbing and may cause nightmares, 10 = disturbing, nightmare-causing and most likely to induce vomiting):

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Say “hello” to my little friend who lives at Great Wolf Lodge in North Carolina.  His name is Death McGraw.  He is a horrifyingly scary doll that supposedly entertains you at night.  There is a sign posted at this display all day with an invitation to come down at night — bring the whole family — and come in your pajamas for a bedtime story.  I can only assume that is the time he is scoping out his prospects.  He is watching with those nasty glass eyes (he is life size too to make it worse) and those nasty glass eyes scan the room for weak hearts and tasty fingers.  There he sits.  Patiently in the lobby.  Watching every single person that comes through the door with hopes of a restful visit.
Don’t get too comfy visitors.
To get this photo, I had to lean far too close to Death.  It made me nervous.  I am pretty certain I saw something red in the corners of his mouth.  I hope it was paint.
I wish you could have seen him in person.  The fact that he is life size and he sits crouched and watching from inside a stump all day gets him a 7 on my Nasty Little Challenge scale.

Has anyone else seen this guy?  Have you seen him in action?

If you have a photo of a Nasty Little Doll you would like the world to see, send it to me.

This nasty little doll photo was submitted by my friend Wallace Branin.

The Nasty Little Challenge Rating (1 = disturbing, 5 = disturbing and may cause nightmares, 10 = disturbing, nightmare-causing and most likely to induce vomiting):
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Wallace said that he saw this doll at an auction.  You know why he is at an auction?  Because he has taken out another entire family and is in need of a new family to destroy.  I wonder how much was paid for him at the auction, but more importantly, where is the family today that made the purchase?

Look at his nasty little smile and his nasty little killing-worn fingers.  A 7 on my Nasty Little Challenge scale.

If you have a photo of a Nasty Little Doll you would like the world to see, send it to me.

This nasty little doll photo was submitted by my framily* member, Sarah Wickstrum Dykens.

The Nasty Little Challenge Rating (1 = disturbing, 5 = disturbing and may cause nightmares, 10 = disturbing, nightmare-causing and most likely to induce vomiting):
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Sarah sent this photo with a letter that says:

I crawled through our hallway closet and back into the secret hide-a-way beneath our stairs to retrieve our Christmas decorations stored away. I shined my flashlight far back under the stairs. The light illuminated three dusty boxes which revealed these three old dolls left behind from the previous tenants of our home, one of which has turned in shame to hide her nudity. We had been wondering where the whispering noises at night were coming from.

Wow.  Thanks Sarah.  The next time I am at your house I will be sure to not sleep inside.  Just the thought of those nasty little dolls whispering in your secret hide-a-way is enough to make me endure a night outside in safety.  But that naked doll is just wrong.  On a hundred levels.  I give this whole collection and story of discovery an 8.
Oh, and also…maybe the dolls did something to the previous tenants.  Yeah.  Maybe they did something and then went back to their nasty little boxes to regain their powers.  So when you guys hear scratching at night, it is not your dog and it is not a mouse.  It is actually those nasty little dolls trying to get out of their little chambers of evil.
Take care and sleep tight at night Sarah and Brian.

*Framily – Framily is the term given to those people in my life that are more than friends but not quite family.  They are my framily.

The Nasty Little Challenge Rating (1 = disturbing, 5 = disturbing and may cause nightmares, 10 = disturbing, nightmare-causing and most likely to induce vomiting):
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This one was sent to me by my good friend Hayne.  Hayne is also is a maker of films.  His fingerprints are on a little gem called  Solid Country Gold.  It’s a good’n.  His submission is not.  Just look at how that nasty little doll lost its tooth trying to nibble on someone’s ankle after waiting under their bed for hours.  This one got a 6 because she looks too sassy.  Too sassy for her nasty little boots.

This nasty little doll photo showed up in my inbox.  It had a terrible, terrible message attached:

Hello Kevin,
I hope you are doing well.
Sincerely,
Scary Baby Doll

The Nasty Little Challenge Rating (1 = disturbing, 5 = disturbing and may cause nightmares, 10 = disturbing, nightmare-causing and most likely to induce vomiting):
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What in the name of all that is holy?  O my goodness.  This one may take the cake.  Just look how sad that clown is.  You can bet I would be sad too if I was held hostage by a naked demon doll with no feeling in its lower appendages.
I gave this one an 10 on the Nasty Little Challenge Rating. Do I really need to explain why?
See you in my dreams Scary Baby Doll.  And by dreams I mean coma-inducing nightmares.

This nasty little doll photo was submitted by my almost sister, Jane McDonald.

The Nasty Little Challenge Rating (1 = disturbing, 5 = disturbing and may cause nightmares, 10 = disturbing, nightmare-causing and most likely to induce vomiting):
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Jane sent this bit of horror to me via her cell phone.  When I got her text, I was like, “Cool.  Jane has sent me a text.  I wonder what it could be?”  But when I opened it, I was like, “Ahhhgh!”  Then I was like, “Dangit Jane!”  After that, I was like, “That was horrible, but thanks for your submission to my blog.”  Then I was like… kind of sleepy.
According to Jane’s own testimony, this nasty doll was life-size.  I know that it is not the clearest photo, but that may be for the best.  If it were any clearer, by law I would have to put a parental warning on my blog and that costs extra.  I gave this one an 8 on the Nasty Little Challenge Rating because of its sheer size and potential to wrap its nasty hands around my throat, even in jest.

This nasty little doll was submitted by my multi-talented pal, Page Phelps.

The Nasty Little Challenge Rating (1 = disturbing, 5 = disturbing and may cause nightmares, 10 = disturbing, nightmare-causing and most likely to induce vomiting):
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This submission perplexes me — my initial response to the photo is of course absolute dread.  I mean look at it.  There is a nasty little doll that lost its eye in some sort of horrific tussle and now he has his good eye on me.  The doll even went so far as to look up my blog and point to me and say, “Kevin (wipes blood from corner of mouth), I have found your pathetic blog.  I am tracking you down through your IP address.  I use the computer at night when your buddy Page is sleeping.  Relax for now Kevin — I am coming for you.  One little nasty pitter pat of my nasty little feet at a time.”
But then I also feel another way — the quality of the photo of the nasty little doll is amazing, dare I say…exquisite.  So as you can see, my perplexed brain was forced to give this one a 3 — the sheer awesomeness of the photo outweighs the terror.