A collector seems to have gotten more than he bargained for after he managed to record footage of an antique ventriloquist doll coming to life in the evening while no one else was around.
Collector Michael Diamond, 48, had been wondering why the door of the 1940’s puppet’s display case kept opening at night. So he set up a camera and left it running overnight only to be shocked at what is recorded.
Watch the video of it below.
[rumble video_id=v5plgl domain_id=u7nb2]
Video credit: Rumble
In the footage, the puppet can be seen blinking and moving its mouth as the door to the display case opens.
The puppet, named Mr. Fritz, was supposedly crafted by an American prisoner of war. It became part of Diamond’s collection earlier this year. Soon after he acquired the puppet, Diamond noticed that the display case kept opening up at night so he set up a GoPro camera to record over two nights.
Diamond, from Liverpool, was so taken aback by the footage that he has secured the display case with chains and even covered the case with a blanket. Diamond, who likes collecting unusual artifacts, said: “When I first watched the video back I had a weird feeling in my stomach.
“You can see the eyes move before the door opens and again afterward. The eyes flicker and his mouth moves up and down slightly.”
His wife and daughter are equally terrified of the antique puppet but Diamond has decided to still keep Mr. Fritz for the moment.
He said: “I wouldn’t say I’m scared of Mr. Fritz but I am wary of it. I want to give it a permanent home.
I get emotionally attached to my collections. What’s the explanation is the one million dollar question isn’t it? I have no idea myself. I don’t even know where to start. There are no open windows in the room and no airflow.
“The door is on a latch so shouldn’t just swing open. I have told Sally and Amber about it and they don’t like it at all. To stop it from happening I’ve chained the box up and covered it in a blanket.”
Diamond tours the country with his collection of oddities such as spiritual props, taxidermy animals, ancient weaponry, and the like.
Mr. Fritz was supposedly made by an American prisoner of war who was incarcerated at Stalag II-B, in Czarne, Poland. He was reportedly a ventriloquist before he was conscripted and eventually captured.
Following the end of the war, the doll made its way to the US and eventually to an antique shop in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, prior to finding its way to the UK.
Diamond has a “freak room” in the family home where he keeps Mr. Fritz, whose cabinet is now securely chained shut.
Replaced!