The Victorian era brought us classic books, such as Dracula and Jane Eyre. It brought us beautiful fashions, such as corsets and ball gowns. However, there’s a dark side to the Victorian era you might not know about. If you need to brush up on your history, here are a few disturbing facts about the Victorian era.
Dentures aren’t a recent invention. They’ve been around for quite a while, except they weren’t always as hygienic as they are today. During the Victorian era, dentures were made out of actual human teeth. Once a person died and no longer needed their chompers, they would be torn from their gums to be used in someone else’s mouth.
The men and women from the Victorian era wanted to get one last moment of their loved ones before they died. That’s why they would pose with dead bodies to get one final picture with them. However, they would try their best to make it look like their loved one was still alive during the photograph.
Everyone’s worst fear was getting buried alive. That’s why safety coffins were created. They contained cords attached to bells, so that a person who woke up in a coffin could ring the aforementioned bell to alert the people above ground they weren’t actually dead. Of course, there were many variations on this design. Some coffins had escape hatches and feeding tubes. Some even had windows to allow light inside.
The men and women of the Victorian era didn’t let their food go to waste. If they caught an animal, they would make it last for as long as they could. They ate every part of the creatures they killed, even the heart, brains, and stomach. Nothing was off limits.
There were extremely strict practices for mourning during the Victorian era. You could not attend a funeral unless you were invited. You were required to wear certain attire. A widow could not even wear jewelry, unless it contained the hair of her loved one who had just died.
Taxidermy, which is the act of stuffing dead creatures in order to make them look like they’re still alive, was incredibly popular during the Victorian era. While it’s something you still see today, it was even more frequent back in the day. Houses were not only filled with terrifying Gothic novels, but they were also filled with terrifying pieces of taxidermy.
Corsets were used for more than creating the illusion of a thinner waist. They were also used to actually create smaller waistlines. If a woman wore one for long enough, her body would actually adjust to the hourglass figure she wanted. One unlucky woman even died from her corset being laced too tightly.
Which of these customs do you find the most disturbing?