THEY might look like they belong on a horror film set, but people are paying a fortune for these creepy WerePups dolls.

The brainchild of US creator Asia Eriksen, 34, the dolls are made to resemble a "real werewolf baby".

They are painstakingly handcrafted over several weeks in Ms Eriksen's "lab", with each doll's hair individually rooted into the doll's silicone skull.

And they don't come cheap - the largest and most expensive pups will set you back $1765, while smaller versions are sold for $859.

A range of add-ons are also available, such as glass eyes and tails.

The bizarre dolls have become an unlikely trend and boast a legion of celebrity fans, including Alice Cooper, actor Asia Argento and actor Robert Englund, who played Freddy Krueger in Nightmare on Elm Street.

The pups are so popular that Ms Eriksen, a horror movie fan and special effects artist, had to put a freeze on new orders for a year to keep up with the demand.

In an interview with The Wizard of Oz TV, Ms Eriksen said she adopts a mad scientist alter-ego named Dr Baxter while creating her masterpieces.

"The lab is filled with all kinds of medical oddities collected throughout the years - it creates an atmosphere that helps me get in the mood to create," she said.

"Dr Baxter is an alter ego I created and he sort of represents all of my obsessive thoughts, stress and passions.

"It can take a couple of weeks to over a month to make WerePups and I usually have a few on the go at once.

"They have real hair and they're in silicone, so they have more translucency to the skin - it's very lifelike."

She explained that for many people, the dolls represent far more than a simple toy.

"People buy these for a lot of reasons: some people are just werewolf enthusiasts like me, but others buy them to represent a lost loved one or a pet," she said.

"There are people who have going through terminal illnesses and have told me how much my work has helped them - it makes me very emotional to think about.

"I can't quite believe that I made something that means so much to people."

Ms Eriksen said some customers even asked for their dolls to resemble them, which requires the artists to carefully match the person's eye colour and skin tone to the dolls.

Some even insist on using their own hair on their WerePup.