There is no doubting that dolls are creepy. Those big bug-like eyes are enough to turn the stomach. But what about a doll possessed by a girl's ghost? Introducing the Okiku doll, named after the doll's first owner. The doll is quite big-40 centimeters (1'3″) in height-wears a kimono, and has hair that grows. Yes. Hair that grows.
The Okiku doll can be found at the Mannenji temple in Iwamizawa, in Hokkaido prefecture. When the doll first appeared in the temple it had cropped hair, but over the years the hair has grown like a hippie's-to a whopping 25 centimeters (10 in). According to some, the hair is annually trimmed.
The legend goes that a teenage boy bought the doll for his two-year-old sister, Okiku. Okiku loved the doll; she played with it every day, dressed it up, spoke to it. Tragically, their friendship was short-lived: The girl died. Her family refused to get rid of the doll. After some time, they noticed its hair was growing, so they concluded that the spirit of their daughter resided within the doll. In 1938, they made the executive decision to hand the doll over to the temple, where it remains to this very day.
