Ever longed for a baby – without the dirty nappies? Ever dreamt of cradling a newborn – without the broken sleep? Ever pined for a child of your own – without the cost of actually raising one? Well, reborn dolls are for you. Mesmerising, intriguing and for some, deeply creepy, “reborns” are hyper-realistic dolls, painstakingly handcrafted to resemble flesh-and-blood babies, complete with fat rolls, inscrutable expressions and silky hair. They are dolls, but this isn’t child’s play, unless you are David Cronenberg.

Dolls like this from Aussie Reborn Supplies are hyper-realistic but come without the realities of bringing up baby. Credit: Annette Kravchenko

Lifelike porcelain dolls date back to the 1800s and were regarded as both toys and art, but the “reborn” phenomenon is thought to h

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