While the Grimdower family can likely trace its roots back for generations, not much is known about them before Mordecai, whose demise is a matter of record. Hanged for grave robbery in 1803, Mordecai seems to be the first noteworthy ancestor in the Grimdower line. Always a bit strange, Mordecai became a doll maker in the American colonies just prior to the Declaration of Independence. Reclusive in nature, and sullen in disposition, Mordecai nevertheless succeeded in starting a family, and even sired a son, Erasmus, in 1769…..his only offspring

Enlisting in the fight for freedom, Mordecai was changed by the horrors of war. A survivor of bloody battles as well as the brutal winter at Valley Forge, Mordecai left the battlefield scarred both physically and emotionally. Upon returning to his trade, he became obsessed with designing his dolls not with warmth and cuteness, but as reflections of the inescapable horrors of the human condition. Not content with wood and fabric, Mordecai took to robbing graves, not as a body snatcher for profit, but to obtain hair, cloth, and it is rumored, even bone. Unfortunately, his grisly creations proved to be quite unpopular and before achieving any kind of success, Mordecai was caught excavating an old grave, was tried, and hanged for the offense.

Mordecai Grimdower (1741-1803)

Too young to fight in the war, Erasmus grew up learning the doll-making business from his father and grew the business modestly. A lifelong sufferer of porphyria, Erasmus’ mere existence provided its own horror. Unable to go out in the sun, anemic, weak, and plagued with skin lesions, doctors had no cure for him. Their only advice was to try to compensate for the deficiencies in his own blood by drinking healthy blood from slaughtered cows. But despite his condition, Erasmus, being quite intelligent, managed to marry and have a son of his own, Eustace. After his father was hanged, a spectacle he personally witnessed, Erasmus withdrew from family and friends. His dolls began to reflect his own pallid appearance, painted in near alabaster hues rather than ones of peach or warm ochre.

It is said that around 1830 he eventually grew frustrated by the limited efficacy of drinking cow’s blood for his condition, and began instead to stalk human donors. Unable to bear sunlight, he hunted at night, seeking out those on the fringes of society who would likely never be missed, and being too weak to overpower them, instead relied on a small, flintlock pistol to incapacitate them. Though no evidence was ever gathered against him, and while no charges were ever brought, it should be noted that upon his death in 1848, his grave was desecrated by unknown locals who proceeded to decapitate the corpse and drive a wooden stake through its chest. His dolls were also burned based on the belief they were all cursed.   

Erasmus Grimdower (1769-1848)

Eustace Grimdower was born in 1806, and as was the custom, also learned the trade of his father and family. He eventually married and had a son of his own, Alistaire, born in 1828. While practically a prodigy in doll-making, Alistaire also showed signs of possessing a personality obsessed with the occult and supernatural. Having such a bizarre child while also being the son of a suspected vampire, brought about daily challenges. But if the horrors of his own family life weren’t enough, a brewing war ensured Eustace would have experiences even his grandfather couldn’t imagine. Having moved to Georgia after his father’s death and mutilation to start fresh, Eustace found himself embroiled in a conflict he barely understood and fighting for a side he happened upon only by the accident of where he settled. After losing an eye in the Battle of Cold Harbor, Eustace was transferred to Andersonville Prison as a guard. There it is said he lost whatever was left of his humanity. One night in 1864, Eustace’s body was found murdered in a sewage pit at the edge of the camp. No inquiry was ever made as to who was responsible and theories proposed that the perpetrator could easily have been a prisoner or a fellow guard.

Eustace Grimdower (1806-1864)

During Eustace’s time in the army, the Grimdower Doll business naturally floundered, and if it was not for the talents and efforts of the young Alistaire, it would have surely gone under completely. Instead, as time went on, Alistaire understood that there was a growing subculture hidden beneath the proper trappings of Victorian society. Rather than produce mainstream dolls for cheery little girls, or like Mordecai and Erasmus, try to unsuccessfully sell morbid dolls to regular clients, Alistaire embraced his family’s bizarre legacy and created truly macabre pieces, each a work of art in its own right. All one had to do then was travel in the proper spheres to find aficionados eager to procure such delectably twisted figures. And in that regard, Alistaire was as adept as he was when designing a new creation. Alistaire took the business to new heights, even traveling abroad to offer the unusual dolls to an appreciative market in Central Europe, where in the Autumn of 1883 he disappeared with no body ever being recovered.

Alistaire Grimdower (1828-? )

Alistaire’s obsession with his dolls coupled with his frequent trips made him a financial success, but a familial failure. His one son, Lemuel, born in 1859, resented his father’s absences so much that he never took an interest in doll-making. As he got older he took up butchering and opened a shop. Unfortunately, the Grimdower legacy had a strong hold on Lemuel as well, and it is rumored his shop sold ‘long pig’ in addition to the more usual selections. He remained estranged from his father throughout his life.

Lemuel Grimdower (1859-1918 )

Lemuel’s one joy was his son. Edwin, born in 1890, was everything the Grimdower Family was not. He was sweet, pleasant, and despite hearing the rumors about his father’s meat business, remained upbeat about life. While working in the T. A. Gillespie munitions plant in Sayreville, NJ, Edwin felt he wanted to reopen the family doll business after World War I ended with an eye for more typical and charming creations, However, before he could act on this dream, his life was cut short. On October 4, 1918, for reasons still unknown, an explosion devastated the plant and surrounding area, leaving almost 100 people dead. Vaporized by the blast, Edwin left this world before ever having married or fathering children. His tragic death so affected his father, that shortly after Edwin’s funeral, Lemuel committed suicide in his own meat shop. The Grimdower line and family doll business had come to an end. Or had it?