Post 2 / Research / Why Victorian Houses Look So Haunted

 My fascination with Victorian houses goes far beyond their architectural style. While my previous article, “Victorian Houses: Everything You Need to Know,” details various styles like Gothic Revival, Queen Anne, and Italianate, it didn’t really capture the reason I’m compelled to paint Victorian homes for my BFA. 

The intricate carvings and their unique features are beautiful, but their true allure lies in what they represent. They are filled with history and ghosts. As someone who has lived in an old brick Victorian house and am a very firm believer of the supernatural, I’ve come to appreciate these homes for their spiritual weight. The 19th century was, in fact, a time of both prosperity and poverty in the states. Home owners wanted to show their prosperity, and these elaborate Victorian houses were seen as arrogant and immoral, later on, to be known as “wooden monstrosities." They lacked safety codes which included shallow foundations that led to structural problems (cracks in the walls, uneven floors, and doors that don’t close properly), arsenic in wallpaper which released toxic compounds in the air and lead pipes. At the time, asbestos was heavily used in the construction process for insulation and fire-proofing, and this led to respiratory diseases (it was fatal). During The Great Depression, wealthy families couldn’t afford to maintain their homes. These homes were left abandoned, but, of course, residuals of the lives that lived there, linger. 

A revival of historical preservation began to emerge in the 1960s and are celebrated for their historical significance. Their reputation was heightened by pop culture portrayals in films like “Psycho”, Gothic soap opera, “Dark Shadow”, and “The Addams Family” which made Victorian homes a symbol of horror. Abandoned Victorian homes create a Gothic and mysterious ambience for ghost stories. People may think these houses are spooky, but to me, that’s what makes them so special. I had very bizarre experiences and encounters during my time in a Victorian house in Jersey City. I remember when I first moved in, the house felt very unwelcoming. My mother can attest to this, since she witnessed many of these strange encounters with me. Years later, as we were moving out, we both heard the sound of a weeping woman coming from one of the upstairs bedroom. I miss living in a haunted Victorian home; you never feel alone.

Sources:

https://driehausmuseum.org/blog/view/ghoulies-ghosties-long-legged-beasties-horror-fiction-of-the-victorian-era

https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/anthropology-in-practice/why-are-victorian-houses-haunted/#:

~:text=The%20world%20had%20become%20a,critics%20appeared%20to%20have%20agreed:

https://www.adrianflux.co.uk/victorian-homes/construction-problems-victorian-homes/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/home/2022/10/27/why-victorian-houses-look-haunted/

Art Intervention

I would like to create a poster of a  spooky Victorian house with a personality shaped by its own history.
While abandoned vintage homes aren’t common in Hudson County, this poster can serve as an art
intervention to encourage a specific type of change. The poster is an intervention to pull in homebuyers
to consider buying a fixer uppers, especially a Victorian fixer upper. The goal is to spark a conversation
about the beauty in urban decay and preserving these homes that are part of history. A great investment,
one home at a time.