Woman’s Silicone Babies Are Terrifyingly Realistic

If you’ve ever wondered how they get newborn babies on films and TV shows, it turns out there’s a very simple, and slightly creepy, explanation.

Susan is an artist who creates ultra-lifelike newborn dolls for film sets. Her dolls are made by pouring liquid silicone into a clay mould, which once set produces a rubbery doll that is flexible enough to move like a real newborn.

Once they’re painted and dressed, Susan said the finished product is so convincing that most people think they’re real when they first catch a glimpse.

It’s a pretty intensive and painstaking process – each doll can take up to six months to create – and it’s not cheap either, with the models costing up to $8,500 each.

The dolls have other uses too, with Susan saying that the lifelike newborn dolls have proven a helpful therapy tool for older people.

‘My mother-in-law had dementia… I put a doll in her arms and you could see, physically, her body just relaxed…she was looking at the doll and she was just spontaneously… it brought her back to the prime of her life,’ she recalled.

Susan said she’s had to develop a ‘thick skin’, with people online often criticising her for the ‘creepy’ dolls. ‘It’s my work and I love doing it and it’s my passion,’ she explained.