Simone Biles spots creepy mystical doll walking around in Hong Kong
The mystical doll totally messed Simone Biles’ head
What started as a casual stroll through the streets of Hong Kong turned into something straight out of a fever dream for Simone Biles, and she and Jonathan Owens have the internet spiraling.
The Olympic gold medalist was sightseeing during a recent trip to Asia when she stumbled upon what appeared to be a group of stuffed dolls, carefully displayed on the sidewalk. But these weren’t your average plush toys.
Dressed in traditional Chinese robes, with exaggerated features-wide, unblinking eyes and unsettlingly toothy smiles-they looked more like something from a haunted temple than a gift shop.
Biles couldn’t help but document the eerie moment, posting a short video to her Instagram Stories with a question that perfectly captured the mood: “Cute or creepy?” Her followers, as expected, had thoughts.
Simone Biles can’t unsee the creepy dolls
The dolls, which resemble mystical Chinese masters or monks, had an oddly spiritual presence-except their faces seemed frozen in a state somewhere between wisdom and horror. Their tiny, child-sized bodies and immobile postures made the contrast with their faces even more jarring. The combination of the serene and the surreal created a vibe that’s hard to shake off.
Reactions poured in. Some fans insisted the dolls were “adorable in a weird way,” while others admitted they couldn’t sleep after seeing the clip. “Nope. That’s a hard no. Those things are possessed,” one comment read. Another said, “This looks like the start of a horror movie where only Simone survives.”
It turns out these dolls are part of a local street art tradition or spiritual display-common in certain neighborhoods of Hong Kong. They’re often meant to honor mythical figures or ancestors. But their intentionally exaggerated facial features are meant to ward off evil spirits… which ironically, made them look even more like something from the spirit world.
