Benjamin Franklin famously quipped that nothing is certain but death and taxes. While taxes can be dodged, death remains unavoidable, and the Victorian era took its fascination with mortality to extraordinary heights. Below we dive into ten fascinating death facts that reveal how the Victorians planned, feared, and even celebrated the inevitable.
Why These Fascinating Death Stories Matter
1 People Died in Very Strange Ways
Victorians succumbed to the same illnesses we know today—heart failure, strokes, pneumonia—but they also fell victim to some truly odd circumstances that read like a macabre novelty catalog. Take the tragic case of Jane Goodwin, a 22‑year‑old who died in church after her corset was laced so tightly that it cut off her breath. Or Edwin Clayton, who choked on his own false teeth after swallowing them, the top plate lodging behind his throat and preventing vomiting. Even children were not spared: a youngster named Mullins was mauled by a pig that dragged him out of his house by the throat. Beyond these headline‑grabbing deaths, common scourges like scarlet fever, typhoid, cholera, and for women, fatal burns from open hearth cooking combined with flammable clothing, added to the grim tally.
2 There Were Many Superstitions Regarding Death
Victorians lived under a cloud of ominous folklore that turned everyday moments into eerie portents. Crossing a funeral procession head‑on was deemed disastrous—if unavoidable, one was supposed to cling to a button until the cortege passed. Stopping a clock in a death‑room invited bad luck, while thunder after a burial signaled the soul’s ascent to heaven. Holding one’s breath near a graveyard was thought to guarantee burial, and the presence of roses without a source foretold an imminent death. Dreams of oneself, sparrows landing on pianos, pictures falling from walls, or a lone snowdrop in the garden were all interpreted as harbingers of mortality.
3 Survivors Obsessively Coveted Mementos of the Deceased
Mourning Victorians hoarded keepsakes like lockets, brooches, rings, and even locks of hair, turning grief into a relentless hunt for tangible reminders. Photography, still in its infancy, gave rise to the macabre practice of post‑mortem portraiture—known as memento mori. Families would photograph the deceased in settings that reflected their occupations: a carpenter in his woodshed, a priest amid church pews, or an infant posed with relatives. To achieve a lifelike appearance, photographers sometimes propped open the eyes or painted pupils onto the prints, even adding a rosy blush to cheeks. In the most unsettling cases, a deceased infant could be kept until mummified, then dressed and displayed as a morbid objet d’art.
4 Funeral Etiquette Was Rigorously Observed
Victorian funerals were governed by a strict code of conduct. Guests first received a formal written invitation—unless the deceased had died of a contagious disease, in which case a simple newspaper notice stating “funeral private” sufficed. Attendees were expected to arrive precisely an hour before the service, remove hats upon entering, and refrain from speaking loudly or laughing. The deceased’s remains were displayed so that mourners could view the coffin by passing single‑file from foot to head. Six pallbearers—three on each side of the hearse—accompanied the procession, while ladies were forbidden to follow the coffin to the grave. At the conclusion, the master of ceremonies led the mourners to the carriages, positioning the physician’s carriage directly behind the nearest relatives.
5 Mourning Periods Were Strictly Regulated
Queen Victoria turned personal grief into a national fashion, codifying mourning into a precise timetable. When someone died, curtains were drawn, clocks stopped at the moment of death, and mirrors were covered to prevent the spirit from becoming trapped. Mourning split into deep and half mourning. A widow endured two years of deep mourning, wearing only black and attending church exclusively. Parents who lost a child mourned deeply for nine months, then entered half mourning for three months. Siblings, in‑laws, and extended relatives faced mourning spans ranging from six weeks to six months. Consequently, many Victorians spent a large portion of their lives draped in sorrow.
6 Mourning Attire Was Very Strict
The dress code for mourning made it easy to read a person’s grief status at a glance. For the first six months, a widow wore a full‑length black crepe dress with white crepe collars, cuffs, and a crepe bonnet topped by a veil. Black fur, seal‑skin accessories, and black kid gloves complemented the ensemble. After six months, the heavy crepe was replaced with lighter fabrics like silk gabardine or plain black grosgrain, and the veil became less cumbersome. Doctors warned that prolonged wear of black crepe could release dye into the nostrils, causing catarrhal disease, blindness, and cataracts—yet fashion prevailed. Men, by contrast, simply wore their usual dark suits, black gloves, and cravats.
7 Churchyards Overflowed With Burials
Before the advent of modern cemeteries, the dead rested in cramped churchyards often located in the heart of towns. Bodies were buried in shallow pits beneath chapel floors and schoolyards, turning entire neighborhoods into health hazards. A modest 200‑square‑foot churchyard could hold sixty to seventy thousand bodies. By the 1830s, the unsanitary situation spurred the creation of commercial cemeteries modeled after Paris’s Père Lachaise. In 1831, London’s first grand cemetery—Kensal Green—opened on a 55‑acre plot, offering a park‑like alternative to overcrowded churchyards.
8 Different Rules Applied for Dressing the Dead
While mourners adhered to elaborate dress codes, the deceased themselves were dressed with a contrasting simplicity. Men were typically clothed in the habit they wore in life, whereas women were wrapped in a white robe and cap, and children in white cashmere garments. Coffins were usually hardwood or cast iron, especially for those who died of contagious diseases like diphtheria or cholera. The exterior of the coffin remained plain, draped only with a black cloth, while the interior was lined with satin. To guard against premature burial—a real fear when comas were misdiagnosed—coffins often contained a bell that could be rung from within, alerting attendants that the occupant was still breathing.
9 Queen Victoria Started It All
Queen Victoria’s personal grief after Prince Albert’s death in 1861 set the national standard for mourning. She ordered his rooms to be kept exactly as they had been, arranged for hot water to be brought for his morning shave, and wore black for three years, ultimately never abandoning the somber attire. Statues of Albert, displays of his mementos, and prolonged seclusion at Windsor Castle turned her private sorrow into a public ritual. The British public, captivated by the monarch’s devotion, adopted her exhaustive mourning practices, cementing the Victorian era’s reputation for elaborate death customs.
10 Nightclubs Existed to Celebrate Death
Even amidst the solemnity, some Victorians chose to revel in mortality. In Paris’s Montmartre district, establishments like the Cabaret du Néant (The Cabaret of Nothingness) invited patrons to sip drinks named after diseases while seated atop coffins. The Cabaret de l’Enfer (The Cabaret of Hell) offered a theatrical inferno experience with devil musicians suspended over flames and imps serving drinks amid volcanic fumes. Directly opposite, the Cabaret du Ciel (The Cabaret of the Sky) provided a celestial counterpart, where angels, Dante, and Father Time entertained guests. These nightclubs turned the contemplation of death into a theatrical spectacle, proving that even the most morbid era had its party‑goers.