The Tails Doll
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About
The Tails Doll is one of six unlockable characters in 1997's Sonic R first released for the Sega Saturn console, and later re-released on PC and as part of Sonic Gems Collection for the Nintendo GameCube in 2005. Due to the doll's vague backstory, unsettling appearance, and soundless levitation through each racetrack, the character became an urban legend online, spawning creepypastas and horror-themed videos around it.
Origin
The character was created by SEGA background artist Yoshitaka Miura, who joined the company in 1997.[1] According to SEGA art director and character designer, Kazuyuki Hoshino, their design was originally inspired by a shooting gallery doll of Tails from Sonic Adventure; as both games were initially in development around the same time. [2][3]
In Sonic R, the Tails Doll is unlockable by collecting five Sonic tokens in the Radical City course, finishing at least third, and beating the character in a race.[4]
Spread
The earliest known example of the "Tails Doll Curse" comes from the Quacker and Bowen 2005 "Sonic R Horror" page also known as “Tails from The Crypt”. [5][6] This page is a compendium of stories from user discussions on the Sonic HQ forums, one of the oldest Sonic The Hedgehog fansites. These tales would go on to be updated all the way until 2011, with the site going defunct sometime around 2013.
Common tropes in the stories include:
- References to "Can you Feel The Sunshine?" from the game's soundtrack.
- Stealing the souls of players.
- The doll coming out into the real world to enact harm.
- Curse activation methods
– The game's tag mode activating the curse when beaten with the doll.
– Playing "Can You Feel The Sunshine?" or the ACID remix from Sonic Gems Collection in reverse.
– Beating the game 100% on Sega Saturn or PC. - A seal on the Gems Collection version which makes the curse harder to activate.
Elements from these stories became common staples for the creepypastas and other fanworks that would follow. Such as "The Tails Doll Curse," by Rebekah G. which features the doll abducting a child (shown below).[7]
"A man came home from work with a gift for his son. He had picked up a new video game for him, Sonic R. It was a racing game and when he gave his son the gift, he was so excited to get it and play it right away. That night he played the game with his son and they had a great time. A couple of days later the boy was almost finished with the game. His dad was there in his room when he beat the last boss and he roared in excitement when he finially did it. He smiled and asked him how he liked the game as he watched the credits screen. “W-what’s that?” He asked the boy when The Tails Doll appeared on the screen. The boy said it was the Tails Doll, that was all he knew.
He told his son it was time for bed. During the night, the curious father went into the boy’s room and turned on the TV very quietly to play the game for a while himself. He noticed that he now had the option to play as “Tails Doll.” He chose him to tag up with some of the gang.
The game was fun until he tagged him up with Sonic. The screen went black when the game system shut itself down. The man decided it was time for him to go to sleep since he had to work in the morning so he crept out of his son’s room and went to lay in bed with his wife.
At around 2:00am he woke up when he heard thumps on his door. He assumed it was his son getting up to ask him to get him something. He told the boy to “Stop go back to bed.” The thumping kept happening and at one point he noticed a little shadow coming from under the door.
“Tails” kept popping into his head. He got out of bed and slowly opened the door. Then he heard someone say this very softly, “You are coming with me… forever.” It was a doll. An evil, blood-covered, possessed little doll. It was the doll from the game, it had to be."
The popularity of the Tails Doll as an urban legend also inspired numerous YouTube videos, flash movies, and artwork centered around the doll's eeriness.
Artwork
Artwork of the doll was most common on Newgrounds and Deviantart. Some opted to depict the doll as the supernatural killer the stories described. Others decided to take a lighter tone with their portrayal, displaying the character as cute or misunderstood. (Examples shown below)
Flash Movies & Games
On February 7, 2008, the first entry of Sonic Paradox’s flash series “Sonic Shorts: Volume 1” (YouTube upload shown below, left) was uploaded to Newgrounds. [8] The entry included an easter egg involving a creepy Tails Doll which led to subsequent entries including more of the same.
The most famous of them was created by Deviantart user Comickpro, which was used in Sonic Shorts Volume 2. [9][10] (seen in compilation shown below, right) Not counting reuploads, Sonic Shorts: Volume 1 has accumulated more than 1.8M views on Newgrounds alone.
October 30, 2008 saw the release of a flash game by TheBlox called “Tails’ Nightmare” in which the player helps Tails navigate through a nightmare conjured by The Tails Doll. [11] The game culminates in a boss battle versus the doll. (full playthrough shown below.)
YouTube
YouTube was also a popular place for The Tails Doll curse, with common types of videos shared being:
Tributes
Numerous tribute videos were made of the doll, often using the previously mentioned artwork and screenshots from flash movies; though some did have original art. (Examples shown below)
The most popular of those tributes was an AMV uploaded by YouTuber mettamaxie using the song “Psycho Teddy”. Uploaded on July 31, 2012, it has since accrued over 10M views.
Curse related
Other videos were made showing attempts at summoning the doll, as well as recreations of what would supposedly happen if one tried the curse. (Examples shown below)
Parody/Skits
As much as the doll was an icon of fear for many, they were not exempt from the internet’s tendency to poke fun or prod at culture. So the Tails Doll then also became a YouTube Poop-esque cast member of internet comedy. (Examples shown below)
Narrative
Some would also try to integrate The Tails Doll into larger stories. As with the rest of the work surrounding the doll, the interpretations can vary in tone. (Examples shown below)
On March, 9, 2009, Youtuber SomecallmeJohnny would incorporate the character into his Sonic Genesis review. (shown below, left) In the video Johnny unwittingly wears a sonic hat that is possessed by the doll, brainwashing him into praising flawed Sonic games. This appearance led to the character becoming a recurring antagonist in his videos. (compilation shown below, right)
On January 23, 2012, YouTuber and artist Lord Kiyo posted a trailer for a movie centered around their Deviantart works of The Tails Doll, gaining over 1.6 million views (shown below, left). On April 9, 2018, the first part of this movie was released. (shown below, right)
The doll has been the subject of several 3 AM Challenge videos as well. On February 13th, 2019, YouTuber imJaystation uploaded a 3 AM challenge video about the character, gaining over 4.2 million views (shown below, left). On May 12th, YouTuber AldosWorld TV made a similar video, gaining over 1.4 million views (shown below, right).
On October 23rd, 2020, YouTuber SplashDash uploaded an abridged history of the character and its impact on the internet (shown below).
On October 29, 2022, YouTuber TheMentok uploaded a video summarizing both the ingame and online origins of the Tails Doll. (shown below) In their research they discover the Quacker and Bowen site, which then eventually leads them to the Sonic HQ forum thread that may have started the curse. Unfortunately, aggressive moderation made it so that many of those posts did not survive into the modern era.
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[2] YouTube – Summer Of Sonic 2013 Live Part 3/5
[3] YouTube – Sonic Boom 2013 Q&A [part 3]
[4] Sonic Retro – Tails Doll
[5] Quacker and Bowen – Sonic R Horror
[6] Quacker and Bowen – Tails from the Crypt
[7] Creepypasta Wiki – The Tails Doll Curse
[8] Newgrounds – Sonic Shorts: Volume 1
[9] DeviantArt – Tails Doll
[10] Newgrounds – Sonic Shorts: Volume 2
[11] Newgrounds – Tails' Nightmare
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