In an ancient and sprawling Kent woodland, some eerie figures have appeared. Porcelain dolls, fit with little dresses and shoes, have been spotted among the trees, freaking out walkers.
But why on earth are they there? We sent reporter Millie Bowles into the woods to find them…
When I first started as a journalist, trying to find discarded children’s toys in some woods was not on my bingo card of things I’d have to do.
Yet – there I was yesterday, pulling into the car park of King’s Wood in Challock, near Ashford, with my trusted dog Banger (she’s a dachshund), ready to find these mysterious figures.
I had seen a post on social media from a walker who had come across the dolls, and it caused quite a stir.
“That’s terrifying,” said one commenter.
“I’m never going there again,” said another.
He found three, so I assumed they would be easy to spot…
I parked up the car, grabbed the dog and headed into the woods
At the main entrance, there was an obvious path which looked to lead to a clearing in the distance.
I thought to myself, “If I was the kind of person to leave creepy dolls around, I’d probably put them a bit off the beaten track”, so I took the smaller walkway to my right.
What a mistake that would turn out to be.
I trudged on, looking left, right, and left again hoping to see a glimpse of a sinister toy.
To start with, I was in high spirits and enjoying the majestic woodland in all its glory.
Terrifying installations aside, King’s Wood is wonderfully peaceful.
Squirrels ran out in front of us, birds chirped in the distance and the odd insect buzzed past.
It stretches across 1,500 acres and was once the hunting ground of King Henry VIII.
As I kept walking, however, I started to think I should have come across something by now.
In my wandering, I had done a loop which led back to an impressive yew tree, in the centre of four different paths.
I had taken two-out-of-four routes, and the second led me straight back to the car park where I started.
I was at a loss, but then I spotted a woman who’d just returned from the trees.
“Excuse me, have you seen any creepy dolls?” I asked innocently, but aware that I might have sounded a bit bonkers.
“Yes, I have! That’s so funny you should say that, I was so confused when I saw it. I thought it was freaky,” she replied.
“Finally”, I thought – a lead!
Helpfully, the walker had plotted her route on her phone, and directed me to where she saw the doll.
I set off determined and hopeful, reciting in my head the route she had given me.
But, as I kept going and reached where she said the freaky figurine was, nothing was there.
It was at this point I began to go slightly mad.
Were the dolls playing tricks on me and moving?
Nevertheless – I had to keep going.
By this time, I had been walking for about 45 minutes.
I was worried my sausage dog’s little legs were tired, but she was still trotting along at full steam.
I delved further into the trees, eventually ending up on a wider path lined with huge evergreens.
Another dog walker approached us, and while the pups played I tried my luck with directions to the dolls again.
Unfortunately, the lovely lady had not seen any in the direction she was heading.
She had, however, seen one in a different area of the woods two weeks before, but couldn’t pinpoint exactly where.
She shared some of her treats with Banger and we kept on going back the way we came.
I took more different paths than I can count but after a while, they all began to look the same.
Feeling entirely defeated, I considered giving up on my quest.
Then, I saw two mums with pushchairs and a black labrador emerging from the forest.
Once again, I asked, “You haven’t seen any creepy dolls have you?”
“Yes,” they said, “there’s one right down there”.
She was pointing right at the path I had chosen not to take.
“I can’t believe it – I’ve been wandering around here for almost two hours!” I said.
After a lot of thank yous, I strode back into the shadows.
I wandered about for a minute or two. Finally, to my left, there was a doll.
She was sitting at the bottom of a tree, wearing a burgundy dress and little black shoes.
Her face was dirty and her hair was intertwined with twigs, leaves and moss.
I stopped another dog walker, who told me that he had no idea why they are there.
“I saw a few in here about a year ago actually,” he said.
“There’s another one a bit further down.”
Elated, I skipped down the path in search of the next one – and it was even creepier.
Dressed in a tartan and navy frock, the face of this poor toy had been smashed and placed on the floor next to her.
Her curly blonde hair barely hung on to what was left of her head and her matching bonnet was strewn on the dirt.
I didn’t know whether to feel sad, scared or fascinated.
Mission accomplished, I went back to the car and headed home.
But the question still remains. Why are they there?
And, who put them there?
Art installation? Horror film set? Satanic ritual?
I guess we may never know…
