But as they strolled on Aug. 22, Briar wasn’t interested in tutus and tiaras. Instead, she had in mind a demonic-looking doll. Once she locked eyes with the “Creepy Baby Doll”, she decided she wanted it to be hers.
“Gotta have it mum,” Briar begged her mother, who tried to redirect her daughter to toys that didn’t seem possessed.
But Briar told him, “He needs me.”
“I’ve never been the creepy type,” she said. “I’m not into the gory stuff.”
The doll’s skin appears torn and her eyes are black and sunken, though they light up red at the press of a button. The doll also laughs on command.
“It’s a dark, devilish laugh,” Beard said. “This is definitely the scariest toy I’ve ever seen.”
But her daughter hugged the strange doll and said she felt connected to her. Beard said she wanted to respect her daughter’s tastes, even if it was the opposite of hers. She bought it, then quickly regretted the purchase.
“I had no idea Briar would be so obsessed with it that she had to take it everywhere,” Beard said.
Briar named the baby “Chloe,” which Beard changed to “Creepy Chloe” — more appropriate for the disturbing doll, she decided.
Wherever Briar goes, Creepy Chloe goes too. While Briar has no shortage of other dolls, “she never really liked anything until Creepy Chloe came along,” her mom said.
“People stare, and then, of course, I get awkward and feel like I have to explain myself,” Beard said.
Viewers generally found him sweet – and even adorable. On August 25, Beard took his daughter to Disney World, and naturally, Creepy Chloe showed up. Beard decided to dress his daughter in a Haunted Mansion cast member costume to make her doll look less out of place. Creepy Chloe wore a princess dress.
“I thought it was appropriate,” said Beard, who runs a nonprofit called Unicorn Hugs, which supports sick children by introducing them to miniature horses dressed as unicorns.
While Beard thought people might be surprised — and possibly scared — by her daughter’s doll, the last thing she expected was strangers to swoon over her.
While having breakfast at the Grand Floridian Cafe, the pastry chef – who is apparently a Halloween enthusiast – made Briar a special spooky cupcake and chocolate sign for the Haunted Mansion.
“She was just gushing,” Beard said of the pastry chef. “We were blown away.”
After breakfast, they went to the Haunted Mansion – a popular Magic Kingdom park attraction – where tourists and staff “just lost their minds over it,” Beard said, adding that they were also invited to go behind the scenes to explore the “secret”. servants quarters. Briar was “just beaming.”
After their time at Disney World, Beard shared her daughter’s unusual doll on Facebook, thinking her friends and family might enjoy it.
“This is what it looks like when you take your 3-year-old to the Spirit Halloween store and she absolutely insists on buying the scariest doll you’ve ever seen,” she wrote in a post, before posting. describe their day. at Disney.
“Scary Chloe may be stealing my soul while I sleep, but we’re making the most of the time we have left here!” she continued.
Again, to Beard’s amazement, people were charmed by the terrifying toy. Her post – which featured several photos of Briar with her beloved doll – has been shared more than 13,000 times. Given the backlash, Beard created an Instagram account to showcase Briar and Creepy Chloe’s continuing adventures.
Briar was also featured on Today.com, and Beard said the wave of attention has been overwhelming, but fun for the family.
“I just thought it was a funny story. I definitely didn’t expect what happened,” Beard said. “It’s completely snowballed into this huge thing.”
Ever since Creepy Chloe came into their lives, Briar hasn’t let the doll leave her.
“They’re inseparable,” Beard said, adding that Briar dresses Creepy Chloe in doll clothes every day and tries to match their outfits as best she can. “To my dismay, she’s sleeping right next to her.”
Spirit Halloween stumbled upon Beard’s post and “immediately fell in love with the story,” Nikki Balles, director of public relations and communications at Spirit Halloween, wrote in an email to The Washington Post.
“This touching story is everything Spirit Halloween loves about the season,” said Balles, who sent Briar another doll to add to her spooky collection. “We thought Chloe could use another friend, so we arranged a fun play date for her.”
Although Beard was initially horrified by her daughter’s dark taste in dolls, she comes to appreciate everything Creepy Chloe has to offer. And she was touched by the way strangers appreciate her daughter’s unusual choices.
“My husband said we should cheer him on, because Creepy Chloe is different, and maybe there’s a lesson in life: you should love everyone, no matter what they look like,” said Beard. “It’s a good thing to teach girls.”
Still, “I fear that with all this newfound fame, this has been Creepy Chloe’s plan all along for world domination,” Beard joked. “She’s just using Briar and her power of kindness to gain a foothold.”
