As Halloween approaches, my mind drifts to pumpkins, witches, full moons... and old Victorian houses. While I don't like to associate our new home with all of the creepiness of the season, I cannot deny that houses of this style are deep in folklore and superstition. For centuries, houses have been key characters in horror stories, taking on human qualities and adding to the mystery and eeriness of a tale. But did you know that the Victorian house did not actually gain its spooky reputation until the 1930s? Prior to that time, castles were the prototype for haunted houses, with their dungeons, catacombs, and grand medieval exterior. It is all thanks to pop. culture and a movement towards a more clean and simple design of architecture at the turn of the century that the Victorian is now a staple of the horror genre. Compared to the newer houses of the 1920s and 1930s, the Victorian house was seen as anti-Modern and over-dramatic. Then Hitchcock began to use the Victorian in films like Psycho, and other filmmakers and artists quickly followed suit. Haunted Houses in Literature: The Turn of the Screw Rebecca Wuthering Heights The Haunting of Hill House The Yellow Wallpaper Haunted Houses in Movies: Psycho House On Haunted Hill The Others (a version of The Turn of the Screw) Amityville Horror The Shining Below, are some frightful pictures of our "haunted house" this Halloween ;):
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About MeKyle and I just became new homeowners. The house we purchased is not what one would classify as "move in ready"; in fact, it is quite the opposite. Built at the turn of the 20th century, our Victorian style house is both beautiful and terrifying in its ancient status and will be a project in renovation. This is a documentation of our triumphs and lessons learned, as we deconstruct and reconstruct this house. The end result? A space that we can proudly say we created. Archives
December 2016
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