Creepy Catherine: A Frozen Charlotte Doll at Minute Man National Historical Park

Among the collections of Minute Man National Historical Park is a small ceramic figurine, a little more than an inch tall, in old-fashioned clothes and with a face utterly without expression. Park staff call her "Creepy Catherine." She was found during an archeological survey, and little else is known about her — which may be for the best.

Creepy Catherine. Image from the National Park Service

What is a Frozen Charlotte?

Catherine is a type of ceramic doll known as a frozen charlotte — popular children's toys from the 1840s until the mid-1900s.

• On December 28, 1843, Seba Smith published a poem, "A Corpse Going to a Ball."
• In it, a young girl named Charlotte heads to a ball on a freezing winter night. When her mother begs her to wrap up in blankets, she refuses — she would "never be seen" that way. By the time the sleigh arrives, Charlotte has frozen to death.
• The poem inspired countless folk ballads about "Young Charlotte" — and tiny solid ceramic dolls, a few inches tall, that served as a warning to children to listen to their parents.

Catherine's travels

Catherine has become a kind of mascot, letting staff show the public corners of the park they can't usually visit.

The vault under Hartwell Tavern. In the basement of the 1733 part of Hartwell Tavern is an arched vault at the base of the chimney, used to store dairy and other perishables. A staircase in the tavern room — long since removed — once led straight down to it, suggesting it also held wine, cider, rum and beer. Now it is empty and dark, and only Catherine goes down to check on the spiders.

The vault, briefly lit "with Creepy Catherine's grudging permission." Photo by the National Park Service

Among the concealed objects. Curator Nikki found several curious items during the restoration of some of the park's historic homes — tucked near windows, doorways and chimneys, places early New Englanders considered vulnerable to evil spirits. People believed shoes, or pieces of them, placed there could trap a spirit, and that iron offered protection. Catherine sits among them quite safely. Maybe she isn't evil after all.

Creepy Catherine and her "creepy friends." Photo by the National Park Service

Sources

Based on "Creepy Catherine~ A Frozen Charlotte Doll in Minute Man's Collection," National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain.