Columbus, OH – In 1998, the world saw the release of a toy that would set record-breaking numbers and entertain children from many different backgrounds. Tiger Electronics released Furby, a robotic owl-like creature, over 17 years ago and saw a giant success in the product. The electronic robot sold over 40 million units in its first three years that it was available for retail.
The toy was originally sold from 1998-2001 and has seen two revivals since then. The first revival was in 2005, introducing a newer Emoto-Tronic Furby. The revival only lasted until 2007 this time. A few years ago, in 2012, the Furby maybe it’s second return to the market. In 2012, Hasbro announced it would be releasing a new line of Furbys. In September, past fans and new fans were excited as they got to see a newer version of the toy.
It’s rare that a product-line like Furby leaves the market and makes comebacks as much as it has. With the help of Buzzfeed and forums, lots of other products have made their return lately to the market, but for Furby, it’s been a lot. It wasn’t until last week that we found out why it is that we have seen the disappearance and return of Furby so much.
Father Marcus, a priest in the capital of Ohio, is different than most other clergymen. The Indiana native is nationally known for performing exorcisms all over the country. Father Marcus has performed over 6,000 exorcisms in his career and he has stated that over a third of them have been on Furbys.
“I don’t have any exact proof,” Father Marcus told us. “But I strongly believe that demonic entities find their way into our world through Furbys.” The priest told us that out of all of the possessions he has dealt with, the ones on Furbys have been the craziest. “I’ve seen a lot of crazy things over the years, but the possessions of the Furbys still haunt me at night. I’m a God-loving man, I really am, but the amount of evil I’ve seen makes me believe that the Devil is just as present.”
The reason why Furby’s have come and gone so much has finally come to light. Father Marcus has told us that Hasbro has pulled the toy each time because of the stories of demonic possession. Brian Goldner, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the toy manufacturer, told us he thought it was a joke at first.
“We pull a lot of pranks here at Habro,” Goldner told us. “Eventually, the stories kept on coming and we had not other choice than to pull the product from the market.” Goldner told us that both revivals came after extensive work with Father Marcus to make a product that would be able to block any entity from entering the toy. “We failed the first time,” Goldner remembered. “And we’re failing so far with the second revival. More and more possessions have been reported.”
Furby is on it’s way out for the second time, despite the amount of money it is making. “We hate to see such a profitable toy leave the shelves and internet again, but we need to focus on what’s right. We can’t have any more of these instances over a product of ours’.” Goldner went on to say there will not be another Furby release and that the company will be focusing on revivals of other products.