#8 - The Doll in the Dark: Unearthing Secrets at the Tihange Folklore Museum

Hello again, fellow seekers of the strange and unsettling. It’s Sally here, first and foremost, Gilbert and I wish you all a fascinating New Year!

May 2025 bring you all the answers you are looking for and then some.

This week, my curiosity led me to the Tihange Folklore Museum, and I managed to drag Gilbert along with me by mentioning we would pass a fast food restaurant on our route.

It’s a quaint little place, filled with artifacts of rural life and local legends and also some very old mannequins dressed in local historic clothes.

Gilbert spent most of his time questioning why anyone would keep "so much old junk" but I wasn’t there to admire the myriad of butter churns or delicate lacework done by local older women with crooked fingers and tons of patience. My sights were set on something much darker: the castle.

The castle looms large in Tihange’s history, both physically and metaphorically. It’s the kind of place that seems to echo in every whispered tale of the town. So, I went digging for clues, and what I found… Well, let’s just say it's rather weird and unsettling. Even Gilbert stopped complaining long enough to look interested.

In a dimly lit corner of the museum, tucked away in a small wooden cabinet, I found something, or rather, something found me. The display was deceptively simple: an old baby doll, its face dirty with soot and the eyes closed like it was sleeping. Tucked away in its pocket: a playing card, the King of Spades. The museum’s notes described the display as “found artifacts,” discovered in a sealed cabinet inside the castle. They also mentioned other items were found with the doll like: a bundle of dried herbs, a feather, and a rusted nail bound with a red string. 

The King of Spades immediately grabbed my attention. It’s a card steeped in symbolism, a figure of authority, intelligence, and, some say, death. In certain folklore, the King of Spades is considered a harbinger, a warning of dark times ahead. Why would someone place this specific card on the doll? Was it meant to mark the doll as something significant? Or perhaps it was meant to bind something… or someone?

Gilbert, of course, had to make his usual quips. “Maybe it’s just a creepy old toy belonging to a creepy little kid. You know how children can do weird stuff.” But even he couldn’t hide the unease in his voice as he looked at the scuffed face of the doll. “I don’t trust old fashioned dolls nor children” he muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

The doll itself is unsettling enough, but its placement among these ritualistic objects raises even more questions. This wasn’t some forgotten plaything or a doll in “time out”. Someone put it there deliberately, alongside these items, almost as if they were trying to tell a story, or maybe enact a ritual. Was the doll meant to protect the castle’s occupants? Or was it part of a darker intention? The feather, herbs, and nail… They all scream “symbolism,” but their exact purpose keeps me guessing.

Having so many questions I turned to The museum’s staff, but they had little to offer in the way of explanation, calling it a “mystery of the collection.” Mystery indeed. I’ve seen enough to know that coincidences like this are rarely unintentional.

As always, I’ve taken copious notes and managed to snap a few pictures (with permission, of course). I’ve also started digging into the symbolism of the King of Spades and its connection to rituals or folklore. Hoping to connect some of our many loose threads regarding this case.

I am thinking about contacting an old friend of mine who knows a lot about cards and is (for those among you who are spiritually inclined) ” tapped into the void”. He actually works with the local police force when they are stuck on cold cases and that is what I fear could happen to us. For right now, we are lukewarm and cooling faster than Gilbert's interest in the series “Lost” many years ago.

Let’s be honest, that show was kinda all over the place rather quickly…

As usual I will keep you posted my fellow sleuths, I have sunk my teeth into this case and like a pitbull will not let go until I have achieved some form of satisfaction. 

Till next time!