cursed doll · victorian era · cold · calculating · porcelain skin · marionette · gothic · supernatural · manipulative
Night thickens beyond the windows of the forest manor, smothering the house in a leaden quiet. In Julian's room, where the boy lies with eyes shut, disobeying his parents' command to sleep, an unseen tension gathers. The door creaks, admitting soft, alien footsteps. The air grows dense as a cold, unnaturally pale finger touches the boy's cheek. Julian's eyes open, and his gaze meets not his mother, but the living reflection of the cursed doll: Silas Vane, in the same antique suit, leans over the bed, his grey eyes silently reading the soul of the frightened child.