Creepy dolls popping up around Missouri county

"It is a little creepy," Tamera Pruett told KSDK.

Some dolls, that are being found in the towns of Festus and Crystal City, are headless. Others have no teeth. Residents said the dolls are life-like, and from a distance could be mistaken for a small child.

"They're getting pretty good where they are putting these; putting them where they are going to be seen. This one was at a major intersection," Festus police Chief Tim Lewis told KTVI.

Crystal City police Capt. Mike Pruneau said one doll has been found in his city, MyMoInfo.com reported.

Some county residents believe the toys bear a resemblance to Annabelle, the haunted doll in the 2013 movie, "The Conjuring," and the franchise's most recent installment, "Annabelle Comes Home.'

"When we found this one, it was laying in front of our building. We picked it up and it was the doll, they've been hanging on top of stop signs, laying in front of the license office," resident Angela Ravellette told KTVI.

As quickly as the dolls have popped up, they have disappeared. Police are looking into the matter but have no leads.

Jefferson County resident Logan Galczynski subscribes to the "Annabelle" theory.

"You know like the new Annabelle movie that came out? Like, kind of ties into that," Galczynski told KSDK.

Lewis believes the dolls are a harmless prank but worries the toys' realistic look could lead to someone getting injured.

"(It) looks like a little girl, the hands are sewn to the face, no face on it. If you were to see it from behind it looks like a little girl. If you're out and about and you see that, it looks like a little girl crying, against a pole and someone is going to stop," Lewis told KTVI. "We think it's a joke but if someone thinks it's a child, and they take steps to get that child out of traffic and they get injured, it's not a joke anymore."