• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Heartbreaking reason dad buried his four year old daughter in a giant doll’s house

Home> News> US News

Published 15:54 22 Oct 2024 GMT+1

Heartbreaking reason dad buried his four year old daughter in a giant doll’s house

Tragedy struck the Earles family in 1933 when their daughter passed away as a result of illness

Tom Earnshaw

Tom Earnshaw

In one cemetery in rural Alabama, USA lies the grave of a young girl - but it's no ordinary remembrance of the life that was lost, as it is in the form of a giant doll's house that has been stood for almost a century.

For little Nadine Earles, life ended quickly in the small town of Lanett and tragically so, with the child not seeing in her fifth birthday.

The year was 1933, Christmas was just one week away.

The Earles family outside the completed giant doll house (TikTok/@adventuresintohx)
The Earles family outside the completed giant doll house (TikTok/@adventuresintohx)

Advert

All Nadine wanted for the festive period was a doll house to play with her toys in, but the little girl sadly never saw the big day come, with Nadine dying from diphtheria exactly one week before on 18 December, as per Mausoleums.com.

Despite not being able to receive her doll house on Christmas itself, her dad Julian Earles went one step further and gave her the ultimate send off.

Gone was the wooden toy and in its place, a giant doll house made out of brick, fit with proper windows and a door, all of which took her father 18 months to complete.

On what would have been her fifth birthday on 3 April, 1934, crowds gathered outside the doll house to celebrate Nadine's life, with cake and ice cream on offer to those present.

Nadine Earles father built the house to honour his daughter (TikTok/@adventuresintohx)
Nadine Earles father built the house to honour his daughter (TikTok/@adventuresintohx)

Inside, Nadine's personal items were placed, including a pram, tricycle, toys, and high chair, and they remain there to this day.

Her belongings are also alongside Nadine's actual burial spot and headstone, which have dolls placed on top.

Dad Julian maintained the grave until his death in 1976, with Nadine's mother, Alma, doing the same until she passed away in 1981. Both their graves are next to the doll house itself.

After the death of both of Nadine's parents, the grave was taken on board by Lanett city council, which maintains it to this day as a local historical landmark.

Inside the doll house, where Nadine's tomb lies (TikTok/@adventuresintohx)
Inside the doll house, where Nadine's tomb lies (TikTok/@adventuresintohx)

For locals, it has become something they involve in annual celebrations, with presents left for Nadine at Christmas and donations pushed through the mailbox.

To this day, a photo of the completed giant doll house remains inside the building itself, with Nadine's family and friends stood in front of it to celebrate the poignant moment on what would have been her fifth birthday.

A video of the grave has gone viral on TikTok, with people leaving their own comments to the Earles family.


"That is beautiful," one user wrote. "RIP little Nadine Earles. RIP to your parents as well."

Another said: "Windows sparkle. No cobwebs. White material looks clean. Someone maintains this very well."

A third said: "This is my home day, the locals decorate it for the holidays and kids take her stuff for her birthday to this day!"

And a fourth added: "Credit to whoever is still taking care of the grave. It still looks new."

Featured Image Credit: TikTok/@adventuresintohx

Topics: US News, TikTok

Tom Earnshaw
Tom Earnshaw

Tom joined LADbible Group in 2024, currently working as SEO Lead across all brands including LADbible, UNILAD, SPORTbible, Tyla, UNILAD Tech, and GAMINGbible. He moved to the company from Reach plc where he enjoyed spells as a content editor and senior reporter for one of the country's most-read local news brands, LancsLive. When he's not in work, Tom spends his adult life as a suffering Manchester United supporter after a childhood filled with trebles and Premier League titles. You can't have it all forever, I suppose.

X

@TREarnshaw

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Dad shared message after buying pet octopus for nine-year-old son that destroyed their home
  • Five-year-old boy detained by ICE on way home from school ‘falls ill’ in detention centre
  • Dad charged with killing his 14-year-old daughter's alleged rapist explains why he is running for sheriff
  • 62-year-old video could now change everything we know about JFK’s assassination

Choose your content:

9 hours ago
10 hours ago
11 hours ago
  • Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images
    9 hours ago

    Security expert explains ‘one of the most important clues’ in Nancy Guthrie's kidnapping

    A camera that was reportedly found on the roof of the missing 84-year-old's home could prove 'crucial', Dan Donovan said

    News
  • Handout
    9 hours ago

    British woman, 23, shot dead by dad in US after 'row about Donald Trump'

    An inquest heard how Lucy Harrison was fatally shot by her dad after an argument

    News
  • NRK TV
    10 hours ago

    Olympian's teammates speak out on 'tough' situation after he confessed to cheating on girlfriend live on TV

    Sturla Holm Lægreid poured his heart out after bagging a bronze medal at the Winter Olympics

    News
  • NRK TV
    11 hours ago

    Olympian explained why he decided to confess to cheating on girlfriend on live TV after medal win

    He won the bronze medal and decided he'd use that moment to admit he'd been cheating on his girlfriend

    News