Fire Witch

New York’s past holds millions of forgotten stories, but few are as fascinating as the tale of Kate Claxton, the “Fire Witch.” Kate was one of the most celebrated actresses in nineteenth-century America. A central figure of American theater in New York’s Gilded Age, she was a remarkable woman who spent her life challenging conventions and flouting expectations. Kate Claxton was a successful businesswoman just a few years after women were granted the legal right to their own wages. Not only was she one of the most lauded actresses of her generation, but she held American theatergoers in her thrall through her portrayal of a single dramatic role: Louise, the sixteen-year-old blind heroine of the French melodrama The Two Orphans. Kate debuted the part when she was thirty, playing to sold-out houses and critical acclaim for over thirty years and more than five thousand performances. Despite her supernatural nickname, Kate was no witch. But after the stormy night of December 4, 1876, when Kate stood onstage amid the panic and flames as the Brooklyn Theatre burned around her, she became inseparably connected with the disaster. This tragic event, and multiple subsequent fires that occurred in hotels and theaters where Kate was present, branded her as “Fire Witch” and “Fire Fiend”—labels that followed her for the rest of her days. Like many legends of stage and screen, Kate’s life was tinged with tragedy. But she continually persevered. She outlived all six of her children, carrying on through each tragic loss; her two marriages were awash in scandal, yet she emerged with her reputation intact; she was often on the brink of financial ruin, but each time was saved from destitution. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 killed 146 people and is firmly ingrained in the history of the city. But the Brooklyn Theatre fire, which killed 300, has been almost completely forgotten. This Brooklyn inferno was the tragedy with the highest peacetime death toll in the New York area until 9/11. The fire, its victims, and its heroine are an integral part of New York’s history.