How a cancer diagnosis inspired a Barrie woman's creepy doll business

An eye for all things creepy, Victoria Potter sells her weird wares online. (CTV NEWS/FACEBOOK)

Victoria Potter knows how to creep people out.

An interior designer known for her murals and canvas work in Barrie's galleries morphed into a Halloween artist after a cancer diagnosis in 2017.

"I got in a funk, and I did the first three dolls and put a picture on Facebook, and people started liking it and sharing it," Potter said from her home studio in Barrie.

"I realized people wanted me to create more 3D stuff, so it was okay, forget about being sick, I've got work to do," she said.

Creepy dolls' heads with stitches holding their clothes, legs, and mouth together have unmatched button eyes and unwoven straw hats. Some wear too-tight twine necklaces, and others have dirty hair with messy braids sticking out.

Potter remembers one of her successful pieces that happened quite by accident.

"I was bringing a porcelain doll into the house and hit the door frame and the leg busted off. I turned around to pick up the leg and knocked the head right off. She's a beautiful doll on a horse, but now she's holding her head in her hand," she said.

It's a wonderful Halloween nightmare, and it's paying the bills, she said.

Not only has she sold to amusement parks, she has sold out of her stock completely during each of the last four years.

"One year, one lady bought everything I made. I had to work hard to create more inventory," she said.

Selling her wares on Facebook on her creepyoudafunkout site, she also runs the Holiday Store in Barrie, which she sets up for each holiday season in a dedicated room in her house.

"I like the other holidays, but I wish it was Halloween all the time - it's that cool," she said.