Creepy Death Rites of Yesteryear
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Vintage Death Rites That Seem Creepy Today

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Creepy Death Rites of YesteryearTo celebrate the release of Pretty Evil New England (yay!), I feel it’s my duty to share some creepy death rites of the past that at the time seemed perfectly normal.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, death stalked peaceful communities.

Rapid urbanization and industrialization led to increased pollution and overcrowded cities. Prior to 1860, the public lacked knowledge about hygiene practices. They didn’t know about germ theory: microorganisms invade the body, which causes certain diseases, organisms too small to pinpoint without a microscope. And so, poor hygiene led to the spread of diseases like scarlet fever, typhoid, consumption (tuberculosis), diphtheria, and cholera.

Infant and child mortality rates skyrocketed. In 1850, the death rate for children under ten wavered between 38 – 40 percent. The outlook for adults was just as grim. An average adult who survived till “old age” died at 40 years for men, 42 for women — a stark contrast to present-day statistics of 80 years for men, 84 for women. Because of the mortality rate, folks walked with death by their side.

Beaked Plague Masks

Creepy Death Rites of Yesteryear
WikiCommons

Talk about creepy!

In 17th-century Europe, physicians who cared for plague victims wore a sinister costume.

Outfitted in an ankle-length overcoat covered in scented wax, breeches connected to boots, a tucked-in shirt, and a wide-brimmed hat and gloves made of goat leather, they topped the ensemble with a long bird-like mask. Plague doctors also carried a rod, used to instruct the family on how to move the patient while the physician stood at a safe distance.

According to Charles de Lorme, a plague doctor who treated the royals,

“Plague doctors wore spectacles and a mask with a nose half a foot long, shaped like a beak, filled with perfume with only two holes, one on each side near the nostrils, but that can suffice to breathe and carry along with the air one breathes the impression of the [herbs] enclosed further along in the beak.”

The menacing appearance wasn’t meant to cause fear. Rather, it protected the doctor from miasma (an unhealthy, oppressive odor or vapor). Sweet and pungent herbs, dried flowers, and perfumes stuffed into the nose of the beak fumigated plague-stricken areas and protected the mask-wearer. Or so they thought.

Death Photography

Death photography
WikiCommons

Death Photography might seem morose to us, but if we view the practice through the eyes of our ancestors, it’s clear they did it for love.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the unconventional practice of photographing the dead wasn’t unusual. It’s how family members mourned, the photographs treasured remembrances of departed loved ones.

Most people only had their photo taken once or twice in a lifetime due to the high expense. Some only had their picture taken after the photographer posed their corpse for a “memento mori.”

University of South Australia photography lecturer Mark Kimber said the practice started in the Victorian era with the people who invented photography.

“Between 1839 and 1860, in the United States alone, 30 million daguerreotypes were made. They were the iPhone of the day . . . everyone had to have one.”

Before the invention of daguerreotypes in August 1839, only the wealthy could afford to hire an artist to paint a portrait or sculpt a bust of their family or close friend. The invention of this first publicly available photographic process enabled those from lower socio-economic backgrounds to capture a moment in time.

To create the image, a daguerreotypist would polish a sheet of silver-plated copper to a mirror-like finish. He’d then treat the sheet with fumes. This process prompted its surface to become light-sensitive. The exposure time varied from anywhere from a few seconds for well-lit subjects to several minutes in poor lighting.

Death photography
WikiCommons

A liquid chemical treatment would fume the final image with a mercury vapor while removing its sensitivity to light.

Similar to the photographic process today, the daguerreotypist would rinse and dry the image before squeezing the photograph behind glass, surrounded by a protective case.

Mindset also played a key role in postmortem photography.

 

“Death was very much of the world. [It was] around everyone at that time,” said Kimber. “The very high infant mortality rate, the idea that there were no drugs, there were no antibiotics. You could cut yourself on a rusty nail and be dead within a few days. Death was something that actually stalked people on a daily basis.”

Snapping photos of a deceased loved one became the norm. Experts today claim postmortem photos were the most common type of photography back then. No one considered it weird or creepy to display a postmortem photo in their home.

The photographer often arranged the body to look like s/he lay in a peaceful slumber. Or in some cases, the dead looked alive. Daguerreotypists applied makeup to the face or painted the corpse to conceal the classic signs of death — sunken eyes, sallow skin, decay — to give the illusion of life. They used rouge to flush the cheeks. Or, if the daguerreotypist had a steady hand and enough skill, he painted an opened eye on the corpse’s closed eyelid.

Death Jewelry

Death Jewelry

If death photos didn’t do the trick to help the bereaved, mourning jewelry kept the dead close to their heart. Imagery depicted on the front bore symbols of death, faith, or grief.

Common motifs included anchors, crosses, or a disembodied hand clutching flowers or pearls. They incorporated physical reminders of dead loved ones within the jewelry. Strands of the deceased’s hair was the most popular keepsake.

Oddly enough, this practice is making a comeback. Ever see cremation ashes molded into necklace or bracelet charms, earrings, or keychain? They’re beautiful. Need I mention the blood vials worn by a certain celebrity couple?

But wait — there’s more!

This post wouldn’t be complete without a creepy talking doll.

Any guesses who invented this freakshow? Our ol’ pal, Thomas Edison — always the overachiever — created a phonographic doll, released commercially in 1890. I’m at a loss for words. But you’re in luck. There’s video! The voice is the stuff of nightmares.

I don’t know about you, but if my parents brought this doll home, I might not be the well-adjusted crime writer you see today. 😉 Or maybe they did, and I’ve blocked it out. Might explain a few things. Hmmm . . .

 

Pretty Evil New England by Sue ColettaWelcome to the world, book baby!

Thank you to all who hosted me on the blog tour for Pretty Evil New England. I’m in the process of listing all my stops under “Appearances” to send some blog love your way.

Did you notice my new website banner? The former one I’d had since I started blogging. Though I believe in consistency, my brand has changed a bit. I’m hoping this new image captures the essence of true crime and thrillers. Thoughts?

 

Sue Coletta is an award-winning crime writer and an active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Feedspot and Expertido.org named her Murder Blog as “Best 100 Crime Blogs on the Net.” She also blogs on the Kill Zone (Writer's Digest "101 Best Websites for Writers"), Writers Helping Writers, and StoryEmpire. Sue lives with her husband in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Her backlist includes psychological thrillers, the Mayhem Series (books 1-3) and Grafton County Series, and true crime/narrative nonfiction. Now, she exclusively writes eco-thrillers, Mayhem Series (books 4-9 and continuing). Sue's appeared on the Emmy award-winning true crime series, Storm of Suspicion, and three episodes of A Time to Kill on Investigation Discovery. When she's not writing, she loves spending time with her murder of crows, who live free but come when called by name. And nature feeds her soul.

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23 Comments

    • Sue Coletta

      November 3, 2020 at 11:07 AM

      Hahaha. Imagine a doctor dressed in that get-up coming at you? Yet, no one blinked an eye at the time. Crazy!

      Thanks, Debbie! The eyes reminded me of a dead female serial killer (or victim) peeking in from the spirit world. And the crow, well, it fits my thrillers. 😉

  • Patriciaruthsusan

    November 3, 2020 at 10:01 AM

    I like the new banner for your blog, Sue. It fits right in with the subjects. One of my grandmothers has a piece of black veiling in her Bible. I’m guessing it was from a funeral, perhaps the one for her little boy who died when a toddler. My mother was born in 1901 and it was before that. —- Suzanne
    Patriciaruthsusan recently posted…The United States of IdiocracyMy Profile

    • Sue Coletta

      November 3, 2020 at 11:09 AM

      Thanks, Suzanne! Yes, I bet that’s exactly why she saved that veil. Oddly enough, female killers also wore a black veil at their trial.

  • Garry Rodgers

    November 3, 2020 at 8:57 AM

    The new banner caught my eye as soon as I opened this post. Love it, and wouldn’t be Sue if there wasn’t a crow in it. 🙂

    True story about death photography. In 1902, the new Speaker of the British Columbia Legislature, John Paton Booth, suddenly died on Saltspring Island. They were about to bury him when someone in the government realized his official Speaker portrait had never been taken. So they boxed the guy up, rowed him across to Vancouver Island, horse-carted him down to Victoria where they dressed him in his Speaker robes, propped him up in the Speaker’s chair, and took his pic. Booth’s death portrait still hangs in the Legislative galley today and is a bit of a tourist attraction.

    So happy for your Pretty Evil release and your break into true crime! One last thing. Does that beaked plague doctor mask look like Gonzo from the Muppet Show, or is it just my imagination? Wouldn’t be surprised if those clever puppeteers did that on purpose.

    Oh, and that Edison doll is too creepy for comment.
    Garry Rodgers recently posted…NXIVM — THE CRAZY SEX CULT OF KEITH RANIEREMy Profile

    • Sue Coletta

      November 3, 2020 at 11:12 AM

      Haha. It does look like Gonzo!

      Wow, Garry. Fascinating story about Booth. It seems odd to us, but death photography was the norm back in the day.

      Thank you! It took me FOREVER to find an image that worked for both genres. Love the eyes. And you’re right. I couldn’t post a new banner without a crow. 😉

  • Mae Clair

    November 3, 2020 at 8:42 AM

    I like the new branding, Sue. The header is awesome.

    I loved this post, too. I’m fascinated by most things Victorian and have done a ton of research related to many of the bizarre undertakings of that era.

    As for the doll? Way too freaky!

    Congrats again on the release of Pretty Evil New England. It’s a fabulous book from a fabulous author!

    • Sue Coletta

      November 3, 2020 at 8:26 AM

      Thanks, Staci!

      Haha. So could I. Once I found it, I had to share. You’re welcome. Sweet dreams tonight. 😉

  • CS Boyack

    November 3, 2020 at 7:37 AM

    I like the new banner. We need to freshen things up from time to time. The Victorians had all kinds of weird goings on. I always wanted to write about the mummy unwrapping parties they held.

    • Sue Coletta

      November 3, 2020 at 8:23 AM

      Thanks, Craig! I always followed the traditional advice of sticking to one image, like a logo of sorts, so it becomes recognizable. It’s also more time-consuming to change the header on a self-hosted site. But yes, I agree. As our brand evolves, so should our websites.

  • Margot Kinberg

    November 3, 2020 at 6:58 AM

    I find it so fascinating, Sue, that people were so fascinated by death. I don’t just mean those bigger questions of what happens after we die, etc.. But they were really fascinated by the process of death, if that makes any sense. I’ve read that, in Victorian times, people were terrified of being buried alive (because there were reports of people who were seemingly dead, and woke up – from a coma perhaps, or something else we’d recognize today). So they had bells and other alarms put in people’s coffins, so that f they did wake up, they could pull on the bell or sound the alarm to get attention. Strange, creepy, but fascinating.

    • Sue Coletta

      November 3, 2020 at 8:16 AM

      I’m fascinated by that too, Margot. Imagine working as a bell watcher in the graveyard? Windy nights must’ve freaked them right out. LOL

  • Priscilla Bettis

    November 3, 2020 at 6:54 AM

    Nope, I wouldn’t want to wear death jewelry. No death photography either. At least I understand the beaked mask. It’s misguided, but it makes sense.

    I love the new website banner image!