Chilling doll in a 3ft tall stick cage will now be used as the centrepiece of a ... trends now
A creepy doll in a wicker cage which was bought for £100 from a charity shop will now be used as the centrepiece for a pagan festival its new owners say.
Laurence Mitchell, 54, told Mail Online he plans to incorporate the prop, which he has nicknamed 'WickerBoi' into his annual pagan Krampus festival.
The bizarre doll, which was bought from a YMCA in Hove, will be at the Heart of Whitby Krampus Run.
Organisers Mr Mitchell and partner Elaine Edwards originally saw the doll on Facebook and with the help of two friends raced almost 50 miles to collect it.
The festival at the start of December, where Whitby locals dress as the Austrian krampus, a half-goat, half-devil that punishes misbehaving children, has been going for 10 years.
Sam Keylock, 54 (left) and Lara Young, 50 (right) in their car on the way to collect the creepy doll after the charity shop said they would only reserve it for them for two hours
Mrs Keylock and Ms Young dressed in their Krampus festival costumes posing with the doll in a wicker cage in a forest
The creepy doll in a 3ft-tall stick cage was on sale at a YMCA charity shop in Hove. The doll was covered in light brown paint and was finished with a shaggy mousy-brown wig
Mr Mitchell and Ms Edmunds first spotted the wicker mannequin on a Facebook group called Folk Revival and thought it would make a good prop for their festival.
The group, which has 70-100 members, gathers every year to celebrate the folklore and history of Whibty by dressing up.
The graphic designer from Whitby said: 'So it appears up on this site. And obviously we thought it was just an interesting thing to probably have a look at, we probably could recreate one, and we just showed our friends on some of the others in the in the group.
'We started to see it pop up in a lot of other kind of like sites as well. So obviously it got a bit viral that way.
'I mean, we'd all basically just assume something like this, it would be one of those things that would be snapped up, I mean? Who wouldn't want one.'
The festival organiser contacted his friend Sam Keylock and asked if she would be be able to get hold of the unique doll.
'Sam Keelock gave them a ring to see if it was still available.
'She zoomed in to see what shop it was. Tracked it down. Found it was in the Y.M.C.A. in Hove and gave them a call.'
