When a Michigan man went for a routine walk to his mailbox to collect unwanted supermarket papers and publicity, he discovered to his surprise he had some uninvited guests.

Two wooden dolls sitting on a miniature couch in the back of the box with a note between them that read "We've decided to live here. Mary and Shelley."

Don Powell first thought, as he told news outlets, the dolls had been placed there by mistake, but a quick and befuddled interrogation of the neighbors in his cul-de-sac, including one named Shelly, turned up nothing.

A psychologist by training and president of a company that organizes corporate wellness retreats, Powell is all about a pick-me-up, and when he moved into his current home five years ago he and his wife Nancy ordered a custom mailbox that would mirror their house-with ample windows and solar-powered lightbulbs that would illuminate the mailbox after dark.

Evidently, some trickster believed it a perfect place for a doll to make their home. Powell at first disagreed, and ordered Mary and Shelly's eviction-right into the garbage can. But a change of heart saw him put the dolls back to see what would happen next.

He was right to wait. The trickster returned bringing a dog, rug, and a four-poster bed for Mary and Shelly to sleep in.

By now, Powell was enamored with the game, and went on Nextdoor, a sort of Facebook exclusively for the people who live on one's street.

"The response (on Nextdoor) was just incredible," Powell told Hometown Life. "People were saying, 'This is so much fun to read, I was ready to get off of Nextdoor, but this makes me want to stay.'"

Then Halloween rolled around, and Powell found that the dolls had been replaced with skeletons wearing black robes.

By Christmas time, Mary and Shelly's Cousin Shirley with a broken leg had moved into the mailbox's hall decked with presents and a tree. At that point, Powell was having just as much fun as the mysterious trickster.

"Then, after the ice storm, I did a post that said the family was locked in the mailbox and couldn't get out," Powell said. "Somebody asked if they lost power, I said 'No, they don't have power to begin with, but they do have a wood burning stove and were working from home.'"

He said the whole ordeal has awakened the desire to author a children's book.

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