Amanda Taylor, a Democratic candidate for the Missouri House of Representatives, described receiving an envelope containing a creepy child-like drawing with no other information.

Outside of her political life, Ms Taylor is a film blogger, and the anonymous letter formed part of the marketing campaign for horror prequel The First Omen.

However, her campaign team believed the unsettling drawing might have been a threat related to her support for liberal abortion laws and reported it to police, Business Insider reports.

The truth only came to light when a second, similar drawing arrived in an envelope which also contained a press release and information about the film.

The perceived link to abortion was not entirely unreasonable, as the film deals with themes of bodily autonomy and was described by the director as a response to Roe v Wade.

“That was the best promotion I’ve ever seen — but it’s also the one that’s affected me the most,” Ms Taylor said.