While there are many classic children's toys, such as Lego, Barbie, or Action Man, others are slightly less orthodox.
You may already be familiar with the baby dolls, which were designed to pee and poo themselves, and even throw up just like a real baby. What better way to prepare girls for motherhood than at as young an age as possible?
That's before we even get into the Barbie who was designed to give birth, but was ultimately withdrawn because the idea was just too weird.
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In addition to the weird and slightly gross, there are also children's toys which are extremely eerie to look at. There's a reason that Victorian-style funfairs and clowns are such a big trope in anything scary or horror-related.
However, a video has emerged of one doll released by Mattel that looks like it belongs in a horror movie rather than a child's bedroom.
This doll might not crap itself, but it has a feature which may make you do exactly that.
The doll was called 'Baby Secret', and was released in 1966, with its commercial featuring a smiling child playing with the doll.
Now, it's a thing that children like to share secrets, so why not have a doll that can whisper secrets to your child?
Because it's like something out of The Exorcist, that's why.
Yes, that's right, 'Baby Secret' was designed to whisper a selection of pre-recorded 'secrets' to the child. Not only that, but the doll's mouth would also move while a hoarse whisper recording played one of the pre-recorded messages.
It's when it starts saying something that's not on the doll's list of messages that you need to start worrying.
And the message themselves? They're not eerie in the slightest.
They include 'I want to tell you something', 'I like to sleep with you', 'hold me close and whisper', 'I'd like to whisper in the dark'.
There's also: 'don't talk so loud', 'I know a secret, do you?', and of course 'et cum consummati fuerint mille anni, solvetur Satanas de carcere suo, et exibit'.
Okay, that last one was a joke, but the other ones are all actual things that Baby Secret says.
But despite the doll clearly being possessed, many people posted that they didn't find it scary at all, but actually liked it.
One person wrote: "It was NOT scary at all! It was very soft and intended to be taken to bed, and the idea was that it was almost like having a friend for a sleepover -- you could whisper and giggle together after bedtime."
Another said: "I had this doll in '65, she was adorable, not creepy, not scary. I loved her so - great memory to see her again."
A third wrote: "I loved my Baby Secret! She was my friend, she helped me feel more comfortable in the dark."
Each to their own, now can someone please pass the holy water?
Kit Roberts