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A mum-of-three has taken her fascination with collecting dolls to a whole new level of creepiness.
Marilyn Mansfield owns 500 dolls – but her pride and joy are blood-stained horror toys called Krypt Kiddies and Living Dead Dolls.
She said she first fell in love with the idea of horror dolls watching the infamous 1980s Hollywood slasher movie, Chucky, starring a homicidal doll of the same name.
"I have always loved Chucky dolls," admited Marilyn, from Staten Island, New York.
"To have a demon baby in a black crib, that was always my fantasy."
The 33 year-old is so devoted that she has turned her hobby into a business, and now creates her own horror dolls, selling them to customers for up to $300.
As well as her total of 500 dolls – which is worth hundreds of thousand of dollars - Marilyn also makes 'reborners' – dolls that look like real-life babies.
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She also creates 'portrait babies' which are crafted to look like her customer's children.
"I would say a lot more work goes into making a doll look life-like and real than goes into making a scary-looking doll," she said.
"I find it more challenging to make them look realistic."
She takes the dolls out in public in a buggy or car seat – but is met with mixed reactions.
"One woman who saw one of the dolls in a store recently said: 'Your baby looks a little pale. Is he OK?' She touched him and screamed when she found out it was a doll," she said.
Marilyn, who has featured on the TLC show My Collection Obsession, said that her children are not jealous of the playthings.
Her seven-year-old son has his own doll collection and her 12-year-old daughter helps her mother change and wash the dolls.
Marilyn said: "Holding these dolls is so calming and relaxing - the experience is very absorbing.
"When your own kids are babies, it's a special time. Having a reborn doll is like having that all of the time."
Do you think these dolls are grim or gorgeous?
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