One of Mama's acolytes who preferred to not give her name pictured holding her Luk Thep. Photo courtesy Alexander Hotz/ alexanderhotz.com

“Luk Thep is a doll who is alive.” Mama Ning explained. “I created a soul to live in the doll, and owners can raise them as their own children, taking them out in public, just like a normal kid.” Photo courtesy Alexander Hotz/ alexanderhotz.com

“People look for happiness. They want a better life, luck and wealth,” Mama Ning said. “Their happiness is their interaction with their dolls.” Photo courtesy Alexander Hotz/ alexanderhotz.com

Today many Luk Thep dolls have been adopted by celebrities and earnest individuals who believe these factory-manufactured dolls will bring them blessings and wealth. Photo courtesy Alexander Hotz/ alexanderhotz.com

Chutipat Siripoh, one of Mama's acolytes said her Look Thep or “Child God,” had changed her life. Photo courtesy Alexander Hotz/ alexanderhotz.com

One of Mama Ning's customers/devotees poses with two of her Luk Thep. Photo courtesy Alexander Hotz/ alexanderhotz.com

Mananya "Mama Ning" Boonmee holds "Petch," the first Luk Thep doll she created in her west Bangkok home and shop. Photo courtesy Alexander Hotz via alexanderhotz.com

BANGKOK, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Guys and now "supernatural" dolls are to be allowed seating on a Thai airline – provided their owners purchase a ticket on their behalf.

The dolls, considered lucky charms by Thai women, are known as Luk Thep, Child Angels, or "god dolls." They have been selling for hundreds of dollars after celebrities began promoting them on media, Bloomberg reported.


Photographer Alexander Hotz composed a photo essay featuring the haunting dolls and their creator, Mananya "Mama Ning" Boonmee, who says the dolls are "infused with a child's soul."

The dolls' owners prize them for possessing the spirits of child angels and indulge them with expensive clothes and accessories.

Better treatment of the doll is believed to bring good luck, which is perhaps why some women are willing to pay extra cash for the dolls to be seated like other passengers. Otherwise, the dolls are to be put away, like carry-on luggage, the Bangkok Post reported.

Even when brought on board as carry-on, the dolls get priority cabin space, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.

Thai Smile Airways, a member of national carrier Thai Airways International, recently issued a staff memorandum, advising flight attendants to treat the dolls like children.

The dolls have gone through a "spiritualization" process that invites a child's soul into the doll. They are reminiscent of an ancient Thai household divinity called Kuman Thong, represented by a decorative child figure that contained the remains of an unborn fetus.

But that's not all they are infused with, according to police. Thai police recently seized a Luk Thep doll being used as a drug mule to smuggle "yaba," an amphetamine pill, at Chang Mai airport.

Like child passengers, the dolls are banned from being seated in exit rows, though their owners are required to fasten their seat belts during take off and landing.

The new policy for the dolls comes more than two months after at least 40 passengers began boarding Thai Smile flights with their dolls.

Woranate Laprabang, the chief executive of the airline, said the changes were made after flight attendants noticed the majority of doll owners would place the large dolls on their lap, or place them on an adjacent empty seat.

During turbulence, the dolls' placement would pose risks to passengers' safety, Laprabang said.