Artifact History

Frozen Charlotte: A Macabre Folktale and a Popular Doll

Pediophobia is defined as an irrational fear of dolls. Many people find porcelain dolls, in particular, to be eerie or creepy. Despite their treasured status amongst doll collectors, the stiff but uncannily human features of these dolls are often likened to corpses. For those among us with this fear towards porcelain dolls, the Frozen Charlotte […]

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Biography History Mystery

The Fox Sisters: How a Prank Created the Modern Ghost Story

The year was 1848. It was nighttime in Hydesville, New York when a flustered Margaret Fox dragged a neighbor from their home to witness the frightening phenomenon that had scared her so badly. Upon entering the farmhouse, Margaret led the neighbor to the bedroom of her two young daughters, fifteen-year-old Margaretta “Maggie” Fox and eleven-year-old […]

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History

The Straw Hat Riot of 1922: The End of a Fashion Taboo

“Don’t wear white after Labor Day!” This popular fashion rule is not quite as relevant these days as it used to be, but the general sense of this old adage is that one should retire summer clothing by early September and begin wearing more “seasonally appropriate” attire for the incoming autumn and winter months. Such […]

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