The Victorian Ghost Phenomenon

The spring sun shows me your shadow,

The spring wind bears me your breath,

You are mine for a passing moment,

But I am yours to the death.

An excerpt from "Chimaera" by Rosamund Marriot-Watson

Imagine living your life in a dark fog filled with death, sadness, and pain. Sounds pretty terrible when you picture it. Sadly these themes often defined the daily lives of people living in the Victorian Era. Young people rarely made it to adolescence, men went off to war that would never return, people succumbed to a myriad of illnesses, and many endured daily pain due to the lack of modern medical treatment. Death slowly became a regular guest in many homes. The very fabric of popular culture became completely saturated by the act of mourning and an insatiable desire to breech the veil between this life and the next.

I found it interesting that in many reports of hauntings, people describe seeing a spirit dressed in Victorian clothing. Top hats, suits, and long ruffled gowns seem to dominate the paranormal sightings prompting many to question why. It is a good question to theorize about. Why Victorians and not spirits from literally any other time period? Why don't we see an influx of spirits from the 70's, 80's, 90's, or 2000's? These decades held tragedy, disease, drug epidemics, and war. The question is mysterious and perplexing. I have come up with a few personal theories of my own. Perhaps you might agree with one.

The concept of spirits hanging around due to unfinished business is a popular theory. While this can apply to any spirit, we can draw some connections to the magnitude of short life expectancies at this time. As I mentioned in my opening statements, folks did not live long healthy lives. Children died unexpectedly due to malnutrition, bacteria infections, and disease. Often times these deaths were brutal and sudden. The prospect of a child sticking around simply because they have no idea that they have died is a horrible thought, but perhaps a likely reason for the hauntings. When it comes to adolescents and adults perishing from similar circumstances, we can wonder what circumstances in their life could have left them feeling the need to hold onto the world they left too soon. Essentially departing with so much more to live for, perhaps many felt they had a long list of things that went unaccomplished.

Another idea that makes sense to me is the fact that people were very involved in seeking afterlife communication during this time period. Would it be so much of a stretch to conclude that this popular awareness caused many souls to linger around in order to remain in contact with living loved ones? The Victorian era ushered in a new movement known as Spiritualism. The rise of this contemporary spiritual trend swept the United States in the midst of the 1840's. Many spiritual mediums, psychics, and spiritually sensitive folks claimed to have insight into communication with the afterlife. Seances became a popular pastime across the country, as many would have done anything in order to have just one more communication with a dearly departed loved one. This practice was so common it even took place in the White House after the untimely death of President Abraham Lincoln. Countless deaths from the Civil war, disease, and untreated illnesses prompted families to partake in the macabre practice in their own homes. Americans were constantly met with tragedy and death on a regular basis, so could it be possible that the average psyche was so affected by death that people made conscious decisions to stay behind?

What if time spent on the other side has something to do with manifestations? Let me explain. There is an iconic scene from the popular 1990 film Ghost, starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore that stands out in my mind when it comes to this theory. The scene I am referring to is when Patrick Swayze's character meets another spirit who shows him how to move physical objects by channeling his emotions. I wonder if the Victorian ghost phenomenon is simply because these spirits have had more time on the other side to learn how to develop the ability to manifest themselves and harness their energy. It would make sense that a spirit who passed in recent times might still be learning how to hone these skills. Perhaps in 20 or 30 years we might begin to hear more reports of apparitions wearing sweatpants, baseball caps, and cardigans.

It is a common belief within the paranormal community that spirits can attach themselves to objects. This connection can be made with a favorite doll, beloved piece of furniture, or even a physical memento such as a lock of hair. Speaking of which, did you know Victorians had a macabre obsession with samples of deceased people's hair? Yep. You read that correctly, an obsession. It was extremely common for a lock of hair to be used to create a piece of ornate jewelry or wreath. Tiny flowers and intricate woven patterns were oftentimes made from the hair. These were either framed or added to brooches or lockets to provide a physical reminder for the mourning family. Another popular eerie funeral custom was to take post-mortem photographs which sometimes depicted the departed in lifelike positions alongside other living relatives. Other examples are more natural which display the corpse in a coffin surrounded by funeral flowers. These portraits would become a permanent fixture in the Victorian home after the service concluded to help remind family of their deceased loved ones. Would it be outlandish to think some of these personal items might just be the catalyst which link a spirit to the natural world? Remnants of these mementos are evident today on websites such as Etsy and Ebay.

My last theory is the concept that we are not witnessing spirits at all. Perhaps we are seeing a glimpse into the past. It is our understanding that time is linear with a clear timeline extending from the past to the present. But what if time was not linear and timelines exist independently of one another? What if the spirits we perceive to be in our space are not there at all. What if our timeline is somehow colliding with this era and we are perceiving it the only way our brains can compute? My reasoning for this is based on some accounts I have researched regarding paranormal interactions. A story that stands out to me is one from an old tuberculosis hospital. An investigator was walking through a dark corridor towards some operating rooms. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed a full-body apparition of a female nurse walking towards him in early 1900's clothing. She seemed to notice him too! They starred at one another for a moment in astonishment. Her reaction and expression suggested that he must have looked just as "out of place" as he felt she did. In an instant she was gone. As controversial as it sounds, many scientific minds are pondering this kind of prospect. There have been some recent studies suggesting that there is much to learn about how time works and if there is more to the topic that meets the eye. It is certainly a possibility that could turn the paranormal as we know it completely upside down.

Overall, there are countless theories floating around that could very well explain the root of our experiences with the paranormal. These are just a few ideas I like to lean towards. The phenomenon of the Victorian ghost may be unexplained, but we can all agree it is rather sad. It is a topic shrouded in tragedy whose haunting reminders echo throughout time. Perhaps one day we may have the answers to the perplexing possibilities. The more inquiring minds that focus on the paranormal will eventually push the field into realms of further understanding these great mysteries. Mysteries of the illusive and haunting apparitions that do not seem to be fading away.

Post Mortem Photography

Victorian mourning wreath made from human hair