Creepy Doll
Jonathan Coulton Lyrics

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In a town in the woods at the top of a hill
There's a house where no one lives
So you take a big bag of your big city money there
And buy it.

But at night, when the house is dark
And you're all alone, there's a noise upstairs
At the top of the stairs, there's a door

And you take a deep breath and try it.

And the flashlight shows you something moving just inside the door
There's a tattered dress and a feeling you have felt somewhere before.

And there's the creepy doll
That always follows you
It's got a ruined eye
That's always open...

And there's a creepy doll
That always follows you
It's got a pretty mouth
To swallow you whole...

So you scream and you close the door
And you tell yourself it was just a dream
In the morning you head into town,
'Cause you want to go antiquing.

In the store there's a strange old man
With a wandering eye and a withered hand
When he hands you the old wooden box
You can hear his old bones creaking.

And you know what you will find inside the moment that you see
That someone's carved your name into the tarnished silver key.

And there's a creepy doll
That always follows you
It's got a ruined eye
That's always open...

And there's a creepy doll
That always follows you
It's got a pretty mouth
To swallow you whole...

And when you come home late, the doll is waiting up for you
And when you fix a snack, the doll says it would like one too
The doll is in your house and in your room and in your bed
The doll is in your eyes and in your arms and in your head – and you are crazy.

Now it's late and you head downstairs
'Cause you just can't sleep so you make some tea
And the doll disapprovingly asks
If you really need that much honey.
You decide that you've had enough
And you lock the doll in the wooden box
You put the box in the fireplace
Next to your bag of big city money.

As the smoke fills up your tiny room there's nothing you can do
And far too late you see the one inside the box is you.

And there's a creepy doll
That always follows you
It's got a ruined eye
That's always open...

And there's a creepy doll
That always follows you

It's got a pretty mouth
To swallow you whole...

Overall Meaning

The song “Creepy Doll” by Jonathan Coulton has a haunting melody and lyrics that tell an eerie story. The song begins with the singer buying a deserted house on a hill with a bag of big city money. At night, they hear a noise from upstairs and find a creepy doll that seems to follow them wherever they go. The doll has a ruined eye and a pretty mouth that they feel is waiting to "swallow them whole."

The singer soon discovers a strange old man who hands them an old wooden box with a tarnished silver key, which has their name carved in it. The creepy doll is now a constant presence in their life, waiting for them at home and even talking to them disapprovingly when they try to make tea. The singer, unable to take it anymore, locks the doll in the wooden box and puts it in the fireplace, only to realize too late that the one inside the box is themselves.

The song's chorus emphasizes the doll's omnipresence and its aura of doom as it always follows the singer, with an open ruined eye and a pretty mouth to swallow them whole. The song's spookiness comes from the idea of a possessed doll haunting someone, adding an extra layer of fear to something that is supposed to be completely innocent.

Line by Line Meaning

In a town in the woods at the top of a hill
Describing the location of the creepy house

There's a house where no one lives
The house is abandoned and is deemed haunted

So you take a big bag of your big city money there
The singer, being from the city, has the wealth to make the purchase

And buy it.
The artist buys the creepy house

But at night, when the house is dark
The house is not safe and comfortable at night

And you're all alone, there's a noise upstairs
The house seems to have a presence of something that causes noises

At the top of the stairs, there's a door
The source of the noise leads to a door at the top of stairs

And you take a deep breath and try it.
The artist approaches the door with fear

And the flashlight shows you something moving just inside the door
The flashlight reveals something moving behind the door

There's a tattered dress and a feeling you have felt somewhere before.
The dress behind the door resembles a feeling of nostalgia and fear

And there's the creepy doll
The doll is the haunting presence in the house

That always follows you
The doll is constantly and unnervingly present

It's got a ruined eye
The doll has a damaged eye, adding to its disturbing appearance

That's always open...
The open eye contributes to the doll's lifeless and eerie impression

And there's a creepy doll
The chorus repeats the haunting presence of the doll

That always follows you
The doll never leaves the artist alone

It's got a pretty mouth
The doll's mouth is described as disturbingly pretty

To swallow you whole...
The mouth seems to represent the doll's desire to consume the singer

So you scream and you close the door
The singer, understandably, reacts with fear and attempts to leave the situation

And you tell yourself it was just a dream
The artist tries to rationalize the fear as a dream

In the morning you head into town,
The artist leaves the house and heads into the town for some distance from the haunted house

'Cause you want to go antiquing.
Antiquing is pursued as a relaxing and distracting activity

In the store there's a strange old man
The store houses some strange and unsettling people

With a wandering eye and a withered hand
The old man has physical deformities which add to his unsettling nature

When he hands you the old wooden box
The strange man gives the singer an old wooden box

You can hear his old bones creaking.
The man seems unsettling and adds to the creepy atmosphere

And you know what you will find inside the moment that you see
The singer has a gut feeling about what is in the wooden box

That someone's carved your name into the tarnished silver key.
The key has been personalized for the artist

And when you come home late, the doll is waiting up for you
The doll seems to be tracking the artist's movements

And when you fix a snack, the doll says it would like one too
The doll seems to take on human-like behavior, making it even more unsettling

The doll is in your house and in your room and in your bed
The doll has permeated every aspect of the singer's life and surroundings

The doll is in your eyes and in your arms and in your head – and you are crazy.
The haunting presence of the doll has taken a toll on the artist's mental state

Now it's late and you head downstairs
The artist tries to distance themselves from the doll by leaving their room

'Cause you just can't sleep so you make some tea
The character has resorted to making tea for comfort and distraction from the creepiness

And the doll disapprovingly asks
The doll's comments sound smug and almost disapproving

If you really need that much honey.
The doll takes on human-like dialogue, commenting on the artist's choice of tea sweetener

You decide that you've had enough
The singer has reached their breaking point with the presence of the doll

And you lock the doll in the wooden box
The singer tries to contain the doll in the wooden box it came in

You put the box in the fireplace
The singer resorts to burning the box with the doll inside, hoping to destroy the doll for good

Next to your bag of big city money.
The artist's wealth is now beside the object they tried to contain and destroy

As the smoke fills up your tiny room there's nothing you can do
The artist is trapped in the burning room with the smoke and fire

And far too late you see the one inside the box is you.
The burning box and doll symbolize the singer's realization that they cannot escape the haunting and that they, themselves, may be the haunted