FREDERICTON -- Some people may think porcelain dolls are already a little creepy, but one Fredericton artist has taken it to another level.

Shannon Browne has channeled Dr. Frankenstein by giving a Halloween makeover to old toys.

Browne has a talent for making porcelain dolls even more petrifying -- it just takes a little paint and creativity.

“I’ve always been repurposing things and visiting thrift stores and doing crafts and stuff, and I noticed there were a lot of porcelain dolls in the thrift stores,” says Browne. “They’re already kind of creepy, so I thought it might be a good idea for Halloween to try and repurpose those.”

They’re not pretty, and they’re not supposed to be. She even dyes and distresses their clothes.

She says she finds crafting to be calming, even if her creations creepily stare back at her.

What started as a Halloween hobby has now turned into a side hustle, with dozens of requests gushing in.

“I posted one on Facebook Marketplace and a woman from Dartmouth contacted me and wanted 10 for her yard,” recalls Browne. “I was shocked. I did them, and my partner lives in Nova Scotia so I went and delivered them to her, and then she ordered another 20.”

She’s had orders for a custom creepy nurse, and has turned Anne of Green Gables into a nightmare.

Browne even uses the dolls as part of her work as a youth counsellor, including them in art therapy.

“Some think it’s crazy and terrifying, but some teens really love it,” says Browne. “It just kind of relaxes people when they do something with their hands while they’re talking, and some of them think it’s really fun for Halloween to make these dolls over.”

Whether they calm you or creep you out, Browne loves to give dolls an afterlife.