They keep them locked in cases for a reason.

Ventriloquist dolls give me the horrors. I think they may be worse than clowns. And now that I think about it, I don't think I could tollerate seeing a clown with a ventriloquist doll. Mine is a sad life. [Link via The Cartoonist.]

Update: There's a Metafilter thread on the creepiness of ventriloquist dummies.