Every Goth Needs a Frozen Charlotte Doll

There are little small white porcelain dolls that have survived years of elements although sometimes worse for wear missing heads, limbs, etc. These little dolls are called Frozen Charlotte dolls and have been around since the mid 1800s and were in a way, a mistake that worked. 

The concept of “Frozen Charlotte” was made popular by a ballad and a poem by Seba Smith. “A Corpse Going to a Ball” was based on a story in the New York Observer on February 8th, 1840. It was the story of a young woman who had frozen to death on a 20 mile carriage ride to a ball in New York on January 1, 1840… what a way to start a new year. The ballad and poem became a success because it preached against vanity and was a mother’s reason why children needed to heed their advice. 

Coincidentally, in Germany, porcelain “bath dolls” were being made; little naked white bodies in small tubs. These dolls quickly became known as Frozen Charlotte dolls because of their stiff little bodies and corpse-like appearance. The dolls became so popular that some were even sold with little caskets. Others were baked into cakes and deemed good luck if you got a doll in your slice (which makes me think of the little plastic dolls in King Cakes today). 

When I first heard about these dolls, I was so inspired by the story that I wrote a song for my band, Isabelle Helle and The Hell’s Bells, named after our gal Charlotte. In my version, her lover is waiting to meet her at the ball and when she arrives he eventually realizes she’s a ghost. However, he is convinced to lay in the snow with her which leads to his own demise, joining her in an untimely departure. 

The story of Frozen Charlotte has also inspired the book Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell. In her story, there is a creepy doll room and an old haunted school turned family home. What could go wrong? 

The good news is that if you’re interested in these little dolls, they are still fairly available out there in the world today! For no other reason than they’re great companions, I have these little dolls at home, at work, in my purse, etc. My goal is to find an original one with a coffin, quite the goth necessity!