Look at those cute widdle fangs! Vampire, zombie 'reborn' dolls delight collectors
Morgan Brasfield
TODAY contributor
Feb. 15, 2013
When Lexi Friberg saw her baby for the first time, it was love at first sight.
“The
eyes, glowing and without a pupil, really captured that vacant,
infected feel for me. But the happy, smiling face juxtaposed with the
black sludge coming from her mouth is what really stole my heart.”
Not exactly the words you’d expect to hear from a doting new mother. But we’re not exactly talking about normal babies.
Remember
reborn babies?
These shockingly realistic-looking baby dolls have captured the hearts
of grown women, men and doll aficionados alike, even at a cost of up to
$5,000 apiece. Add glowing eyes, teeny-tiny vampire fangs and a healthy
dose of dark humor, and you're entering a whole new territory of the
dark side.
Bean Shanine, owner of The Twisted Beanstalk Nursery
in Bellingham, Wash., is one of several independent artists helping to
fuel this new wave of zombie and vampire reborns. A former hairdresser,
Bean never got into the reborn craze or even the vampire and zombie
obsession fed by “Twilight” and “The Walking Dead.”
Her entry into the underworld came while searching for the perfect
Christmas gift for a friend whom Bean describes as “a bit darker.” She
stumbled across a reborn kit. With a little creativity, Bean turned a
normal reborn baby into a zombie baby. What better way to celebrate the
season, right?
“I never in a million years thought I would be making reborns, and
especially monster reborns. I don’t even LIKE monster things!” says
Bean, who is surprisingly bubbly for someone who spends her day
recreating undead babies. “After I made my friend her doll, I decided to
make another with zombie eyes, just for fun. I listed it on eBay for
$125 and it sold within 10 minutes. I couldn’t believe it.”
That
was a little over a year ago, and now Bean’s business is booming. “Last
year I made 50 dolls, and sold them for $650 and up. My Claudia doll
inspired from the movie ‘Interview with the Vampire’ sold for $2,500.”
Lexi
Friberg, a 35-year old psychology student from Dallas, Texas, is one of
Bean’s best customers and has three of her dolls. “Bean has a talent
for making monster babies that are subtle, not shocking or scary. She
strikes a perfect balance between creepy and cute.”
Easy for Lexi
to say: the self-described horror movie buff is rarely scared by
zombies, monsters and the like. “If you’re a person that’s squeamish,
it’s scary. To me, it’s cute! If I could adopt a real vampire child I
would!”
Lexi has 20 reborn dolls, all of whom are monster babies. Unlike many
collectors of realistic looking reborns, Lexi does not treat these dolls
like they are real children. “I don’t have time to care for them like
they’re real babies.”
Like Lexi, the average customer of a monster reborn isn’t trying to
fill a void, such as the loss of a child or an empty nest. In fact,
Shanine shies away from this type of customer and tailors her creations
to collectors seeking an artistic, albeit gory twist to their
innocent-looking dolls.
“People who have realistic reborns buy
them for all different reasons. But the ones seeking to fill a void are
not my customers, and that’s the misconception. I recently had someone
ask me to make them a normal-looking reborn to replicate a baby they
lost. I always wonder if that’s healthy and if I’m really helping them
to grieve. I have to be very careful and almost always say no.”
That
doesn’t mean collecting vampire or zombie dolls comes without judgment.
Bean is known as “Monster Girl,” which makes her laugh. And she has
definitely fielded her fair share of angry emails.
“Your dolls
are so creepy and disturbing. Such a waste of talent!” one dissatisfied
non-customer wrote to her. “Why don't you put it towards something good
and useful like painting prosthetic limbs?"
Lexi also understands the social stigma attached to having monster reborns, so she chooses to keep her babies indoors.
“Men
are allowed to collect cars or model trains, but when an adult woman
collects dolls, there’s this attitude of ‘you’re too old to be doing
that.’ And when you add to it the fact that your doll is a monster, it’s
way too weird. I’ve seen some comments and not everybody gets it. You
have to be into the horror genre or else you won’t feel comfortable
having a baby vampire at home sitting in the chair next to you.”
For
collectors around the world, the reborn craze seems to be lurching
steadily along. Bean is currently working on five custom orders, with
one customer as far away as Latvia.
Whatever the reason for
collecting and no matter the artistry involved, it’s important to
remember that these really are just dolls. For instance, please don’t
try to nurse your monster baby. Those fangs could really hurt.
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