The Janesville Baby

In the small town of Janesville, Minnesota, a legend has been growing. For over 50 years, in the attic window of a house on old route 14, a doll has kept a silent vigil over the town. Countless rumors, myths and urban legends have been spread from rural Minnesota to cities nationwide. The mystery of the doll has fascinated and frightened all who have seen it, spoken of it, or even heard of it.
Since US 14 was converted to freeway and moved outside of town, the doll goes relatively unnoticed except to those who know where to look. The purpose of this film was not to unlock the mystery, but to spread it; to perpetuate the myth; to celebrate American folklore.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Janesville
• Baby
• janesville
• MN
• Minnesota
• doll
• dolly
• babydoll
• creepy
• scary
• documentary
• thriller
• horror
• short
• film
• student
• doc
• hell's
• half
• mile
• SVSU
• Saginaw
• Valley
• State
• Daniel
• Kettler
• Ward
• Wendt
• Basil
• Clark
• in
• window
• attic
• folklore
• urban
• legend
• mystery
• small
• town
• USA
• frightening
• heartwarming
• funny
• jansville
• bird
• award

[cody2819]

One question, has anyone tried to remove the doll and/or tried to move in?

[staceydan45]

To anyone with bad ideas: PLEASE do not attempt to enter the house, remove the doll, or vandalize it in any way!! The man who put the doll in the window STILL lives there. He is a nice man, we all love the doll, and it would be a shame to ruin it for the rest of us.

[alainaALARMING]

oh my god people...

its a doll

i live in janesville , i live about 5 houses down from that house its not scary its cool

its like a gaurdian angel to me cause it always watched over me at a park when i was little.

its just a porclain doll!!!!!!

this video is dumb

theres no ghost.....they guy that lives there is a trickster

he likes to play pranks on people

if ya dont believe me just go talk to the guy!!!!

[staceydan45]

Whoa whoa whoa!

This video never claims there was a ghost. We never made any claim that any of the stories were true. Anyhow, all the people we interviewed were Janesvllle residents and they had a lot of fun sharing the stories (real or not). We wanted to celebrate the folklore and the rumors. Nobody knows the truth. Ward invited us in and told us everything he could without telling us why he put it there.

The "guardian angel" thing is a great angle. I wish we could have interviewed you.

[staceydan45]

Also, I think the doll is cool, too. That's why we made the video.

[reddoorpaintedblack]

They could have checked the town library for birth/death certificates from 50 years ago. Or asked if that old guy ever had a wife or lady friend who could have bore the child. Or asked senior Doctors or Priests who might have attended an undocumented birth/death. I have a feeling the answers would all point to no and nothing. Besides, hes a known collector of odd items. It looks to me to be nothing than a child mannequin forgotten up in an old attic.

[staceydan45]

We did a lot of background checking, but looking over birth/death certificates from 50 years ago would have been quite a daunting task. Some say 50 years ago, some say less, but some believe the baby has been there even longer. No one is sure of anything when it comes to the doll.  Even Mr. Wendt seemed unsure of the exact year he put it up.

All we know is he put it there for a reason; that reason is buried in a time capsule.

But that's not the point is it?

We love the mystery.

[Cr4zyP3ach]

why doesnt someone take a ladder and climb up to the atic window and smash the window and take the doll

[hohlflute]

Like many people who grew up in the region and had reason to travel through Janesville, I knew about the doll, where and when to look when driving, etc. I am pleased to know that it is still there. Evil or not, it is just one of the wacky "only in America" things that make the back roads so much fun!

[PenClapp]

I think the video is great! I grew up in the region and ever since I was young I have wondered about it. When I was attending college in Owatonna, I drove through Janesville every weekend to go home and always looked up at the doll, wondering where it came from. Thanks for answering my questions after so mnay years! It may have just been a little girl who had a favorite doll and wanted to display it. Anyway, the folklore stories like this are what make our past interesting! Great job!

[mamatmurphy]

wardy, the owner, is a sweet man. He was the florist in town and drove to our church with our wedding flowers in his hearse! my husband and I have been married for 30 yrs so it must not have been a curse!

[poetsandra]

Same here. I lived in Mankato and grandma lived in Waseca. We would drive by the doll house every other week and I felt quite reassured by seeing the doll. I had always heard it was hung there in memory of a dead child and I liked the idea that she wasn't forgotten. And this is from a very superstitious child.

[jessprager]

I live in Mankato, MN and we always drive through Janesville and it wouldn't be the same if that doll wasnt there!!

[lilbitofhome]

The doll has been in the window as long as I can remember, I'm 46 and grew up just outside of Janesville. Guess we'll never know the reason he put it there, because when they open the time capsule we'll all be dead and gone.

[yoskisaccount]

i heard a little girl got picked on and no one helped her so she put the doll in the window and hung her self

[xMINDFREAKv1]

get a bb gun pump it up 50 get the head good shot or a real .22 mag rifle

[MrTan452]

lol i live close to there about a couple bolcks down its kind of weird lol heheheheh