'Haunted' Ventriloquist Dummy Moves Head Seemingly of Its Own Volition

Michael Diamond, 48, an entertainer from Liverpool who travels England performing stunts with his collection of oddities—including taxidermy animals, spiritual props, skulls and ancient weaponry—claimed last month to have captured one of his recent acquisitions moving on its own.

The item, a ventriloquist dummy's head named Mr. Fritz, was filmed via a GoPro camera Diamond said he set up after he noticed the door to the dummy's glass display case opening overnight.

When filmed, the dummy’s eyes and mouth moved seemingly on their own, as the door to its display case slowly opened.

"When I first watched the video back I had a weird feeling in my stomach," Diamond said. "I wasn’t completely surprised because what has been happening with the door. At least once or twice a week I noticed the door kept coming off its latch. I decided to set up the camera for fun just to see if anything would happen. When something actually did I got a weird feeling in my gut, it’s hard to describe."

"I was really taken back by it and I did have a strange feeling. I wouldn’t say I’m scared of Mr Fritz but I am wary of it," he added.

Mr. Fritz was said to have been made by an American prisoner at Stalag II-B, a German World War II camp. The dummy's head made its way to the United States after the war, where it resided at a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, antiques shop prior to coming to the United Kingdom. Diamond received the head from a local militaria collector last July, and keeps it in his "freak room" with the rest of his collector items.

According to Diamond, he isn’t sure what's behind the potentially paranormal phenomenon, but he does know that his wife and daughter don't like it.

"The door was being opened once or twice a week and I knew it was strange," he said. "You can see on the first night the door swing open. On the next night you can see the eyes move before the door opens and again afterwards. The eyes flicker and his mouth moves up and down slightly."

“My wife and daughter [Sally, 46, and Amber, 19] both hate it. I get why people don’t like it and think it might be scary but I’m not intimidated by it," Diamond continued. "I want to give it a permanent home. I get emotionally attached to my collections."

Diamond said he believes the dummy could be haunted, and has locked the display case, wrapping it in chains and placing a blanket over it.

"What’s the explanation is the one million dollar question isn’t it? I have no idea myself. I don’t even know where to start. There are no open windows in the room and no airflow. The door is on a latch so shouldn’t just swing open," he explained. "I have told Sally and Amber about it and they don’t like it at all. To stop it from happening I’ve chained the box up and covered it in a blanket.”

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