A creepy new trend in Thailand has people caring for supposedly haunted dolls, for good luck and prosperity. The Look Thep (Child God) dolls are believed to be inhabited by children’s spirits, created through special rituals. They’re considered to be an updated version of the ancient kuman thong, the practice of worshiping human fetuses that died in the womb. Look Thep allows people to revere the spirits of children without having to actually obtain dead fetuses. Several locals, including Thai celebrities, are vouching for the effectiveness of Look Thep dolls. Like DJ Bookkoh Thannatchayapan from 94 FM, who claims that his doll Wansai has made him successful in show biz. “The first day I got him, I took him out shopping for clothes in the baby section,” Bookkoh said. “Right after I paid for his clothes, I got a call that my canceled job was back on!”

Photo: Facebook/Nongningbowie

Bookkoh then tried to further test the doll’s powers – he promised it a gold necklace if it would get him a bigger job. And instantly, he received a call asking him to audition for a role in a movie. “I feel like Wansai really exists,” he said. “I love him as my child.” But no one in Bangkok is quite as obsessed with Look Thep as Thai doll collector Mae Ning. She’s the founder of the online Look Thep club and the brains behind the latest version of the dolls. She started making them three years ago, as a way of dealing with her stubborn son. “I thought to myself, ‘how do I control him? How can I make him behave?’ So I was inspired to make a doll in his representation and created a soul for it,” she explained. “I put my son’s charms into the doll. That’s how it started.”

Photo: Facebook/Nongningbowie

Mae Ning now makes thousands of dolls, each waiting to be adopted by a new mother or father. She modifies factory-made dolls by adding weight and styling their hair. Then she conducts a ritual, invoking the power of the Hindu goddess Parvati, to create new children’s souls to inhabit the dolls. All the dolls are then given names and she counts their age starting from the day they “came to life”. So all the dolls are under three years of age. Sometimes, customers leave dolls with her as well, for her to fill with new souls. “We treat them as if they’re really alive,” she said. “I created a soul into it. Can’t you see that he looks very alive? They’re not just spirits. They’re children’s souls. They are the souls I created by chanting incantation.” Mae Ning is quite particular about not using the souls of dead children, and denies adding dead fetuses. She says she fills her dolls with “abundance” and “seeds” that represent life’s essence.

Photo: Facebook/Nongningbowie

“It’s like I have the goddess in my body,” she added. “I practice religious precepts. I don’t know how to explain it. I am the body of Parvati, and I collect and love the dolls. Look Thep came from the idea that I’m the body of Goddess Parvati. And this is my child.” Mae Ning says that the dolls have filled a void in many people’s lives. “When we raise a child, some children are stubborn and give us a headache,” she said. “Some people never found love. Some lost their child. After they adopted a Look Thep, their life has changed. From a broken family where they argue, they now have a cute Look Thep. Suddenly, the family is full of love. This is the case for most of my customers.”

 

Putchraporn Kuntaku, who discovered the Look Thep dolls through Mae Ning’s Facebook page, says that the dolls don’t really come to life for everyone. “Mostly, it’s people who love dolls who can see and feel which one has a soul. It’s more about what we feel,” she said. “People who don’t love dolls would say all dolls are the same. They cannot tell the difference no matter how hard they try.” “Maybe it’s just my imagination, but when I have my doll with me, I feel like I have someone by my side,” she said. via Coconuts TV