Now that that's out of the way, I'm giving my Living Dead Dolls some attention. Yeah, I know that these guys have popped into So Random posts over the past couple'a months, but killecrankie, how long has it been since I honest-to-God talked about Living Dead Dolls? Five years? Six? Not recently, I know that much. Beauty and the Beast were the subjects of one of my first posts, clean back in 2012.
Yes, my unicorn, whom y'all will soon meet. Y'all might think I'd name one of the more over-the-top dolls as the one that scares me, right? Someone like Bloody Mary (left) or Schitzo, the latter of whom looks like John Wayne Gacy.
I admit that they're freaky, but they don't make my skin crawl. Indeed, I admire Bloody Mary's detail; the cuts on her face remind me of the Beast's stitches. Schitzo is also a favorite of mine since I'm a true crime enthusiast, though the saga of John Wayne Gacy is one of the sicker ones I've heard. Seriously, clown by day, serial killer by night. How sick is that??? Anyway, for reasons I've never been able to figure out, the Living Dead Doll that's always given me the heebie-jeebies is one of the tamer ones, Alison Crux. My unicorn.
While I was unwrapping Alison, I noticed the age bracket for these dolls...and the specific type of person.
Spooky kids ages fifteen and up! Alison is the eldest of my six dolls, and my younger dolls' boxes sadly don't have the description "spooky kids." Or she's the eldest production-wise, having been marketed in 2007. In terms of her chronological age, she'd probably be the youngest. <pauses to consult the wiki> Yeah, here's what I found.
*MILU: She's a goddess and is therefore immortal. She'd be the oldest by far.
*BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: The original fairy tale dates from 1740 but is vague about the two characters' ages. I'm just gonna say 1740 for these two and leave it at that.
*ANDRAS: Her wiki says that she died in a fight but gives no date, so she could be as old as time or as young as her year of release, 2012.
*SPRING-HEELED JACK: His urban legend dates back to 1837.
*ALISON CRUX: She's actually the easiest one; her death certificate specifically states that she died in 1944.
So it's a toss-up between Andras and Alison as to who the youngest is. Andras LOOKS younger, but being a bellicose little doll she doesn't WANT to be younger. Alison is no fighter and is thus more than willing to let Andras think what she likes.
Not that Alison is a wimp, of course. Her job is to guide lost souls to the other side (definitely not for the faint of heart), and according to her chipboard poem she takes great pride in that work. The key she wears around her neck is a key to the portal for that "final resting place," wherever that may be. Even Alison isn't sure where that is. Maybe it's the Inbetween Place.
Above I talked a bit about variants, and Alison Crux has variants...FOUR of 'em! She was part of Resurrection Series VIII along with Pumpkin and Calavera, and all three of them had four variants (images of Pumpkin's and Calavera's variants can be found HERE). These two are Resurrection (left) and Resurrection Variant...
... then these two are Lazarus (left) and Lazarus Variant.
Resurrection Series VIII tells an interesting tale of insanity, grief, murder, and bravery. Pumpkin's mind has been corrupted to the point of insanity, and it's up to Alison Crux and Calavera to stop him from killing the other Living Dead Dolls. The whole saga is told with each doll's death certificate, (full text can be found HERE), and the end implies that none of the trio are ever quite the same afterwards. As to the Alison variants, they're creepy enuff, but for me nothing beats the original...and now she's mine, mine, MINE!!! Happy day! Now if I could only find a good deal on Toxic Molly...
For the record, Spring-Heeled Jack and Milu have variants too. Here's what they look like.
Today is the anniversary of Alison Crux's death, so send her a little love.
RagingMoon1987