A writer living in farm country notices an old sign under some brambles. "Word Doll Museum Open 10-5" He decides to stop by and meets a woman who is the last keeper of the knowledge of Word Dolls. Historically, a doll maker visited field-hand children and gave them a mental character to escape into when the work got too hard. They would keep working but their mind could escape.

This story is available on Nightmare Magazine.com http://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/word-doll/

{short story} ( )