A mournful-faced barking dog, a cursed object, with a story attached.

This is a cursed object.

To cut to the chase, I believe the soul of a deceased dog resides within it. Here is the story of how I came to possess this item and its history.

The previous owner was from Kyushu. They purchased this doll from a regular general store and displayed it in their entryway as a decorative piece. However, strange phenomena began to occur, and the doll's expression seemed to change subtly.

The phenomenon involved frequent dog barks coming from the entryway. It wasn't a lively bark, but rather a thin, anxious whimper. While it could be attributed to a neighbor's dog passing by on a walk once or twice, the barks were primarily heard at night, and it felt as if they were coming from inside the entryway, not outside. Moreover, the sounds would abruptly cease when the owner rushed to the entryway.

Additionally, the owner often detected a mysterious animal odor in the entryway (they had never owned a pet), and on several occasions, they heard a scratching sound, like animal claws on concrete. Due to the overwhelming number of strange occurrences, the owner became frightened and passed the doll on to me.

However, it's unusual for a seemingly ordinary doll purchased from a general store to suddenly become possessed. As I questioned the previous owner, the reason gradually became clear.

Apparently, there is an animal shelter near their home that takes in stray dogs and cats with no owners. As you may have seen in the news, animals that don't find new homes are euthanized. The owner's entryway faced north from the shelter's perspective. It is said that deceased souls travel north. Therefore, it is likely that the soul of a dog that perished at the shelter entered the entryway and took residence in this dog doll. I found this explanation convincing.

Upon bringing the doll home, I confirmed all the phenomena I had been told about. The occurrences gradually subsided after I began offering it food. This child seems to be a gourmand, or perhaps a picky eater. I usually offer it leftovers from dinner, but when I'm busy, I give it dog food. When I do that, it seems to become dissatisfied, and the phenomena like barking increase. It's quite funny, actually.

I hope this doll finds a caring owner. Please take good care of it.