Updated

Twenty-one dolls on bamboo stakes have been found in an Alabama swamp.

Why they were there is a mystery. With no explanation, some people say they're creeped out.

Autauga County sheriff's deputies traveled by canoe into Bear Creek Swamp on Tuesday to recover the dolls, whose faces and hair were painted white.

The Montgomery Advertiser reports that most of the dolls are porcelain and have the appearance of being antique.

Autauga County Chief Deputy Joe Sedinger said authorities tried to contact the timber company that owns the land, but no one got back to them.

The Montgomery newspaper reports that it has been a rite of passage for generations of teenagers to enter the area at night looking for creatures said to roam the swamp.