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victorian

A collection of 12 posts

a halftone line drawing of a ghost with the words "ghost hoaxing"

Victorian Ghost Hoaxers: Part 4

Note: This post contains mentions of physical attacks, vigilantism, mental asylums. In the last post, I wrote about some of the men who dressed up as ghosts in 19th century Australia in order to commit crimes. But women did it too, albeit more often for crimes that you might describe

a halftone line drawing of a ghost with the words "ghost hoaxing"

Victorian Ghost Hoaxers: Part 2

Note: This contains mentions of colonialism and people being attacked. Dr. David Waldron, a folklorist and historian at Federation University in Ballarat, Australia, is an expert in the subject of Victorian ghost hoaxers. In his paper "Playing the Ghost," he talks about the disaster of colonialism in Australia, as well

a halftone line drawing of a ghost with the words "ghost hoaxing"

Victorian Ghost Hoaxers: Part 1

Note: This contains mentions of vigilantism and angry mobs. Did you know that in late 19th century Australia, ordinary people would dip sheets in toxic glowing paint and run around at night pretending to be ghosts? I dug up this oddball story way back in 2020, and my then-cohost and

A pixel drawing of a green book entitled Book of Spirits

Fluffy Ghosts: Allan Kardec's Orders of Spirits

An 1850s spiritualist classification of various spirits.

Digital drawing of an automatic writing planchette.

Following a vintage automatic writing planchette ad down a rabbit hole

Digging into the backstory of an ad in Mystic magazine.

A black and white digital drawing of an automatic writing planchette with halftone shading and a grungy border.

The History of Automatic Writing Planchettes

The story of the planchette, a predecessor of the Ouija board.

A digital drawing of a fish-shaped airship with "1897 mystery airships" as repeated text in the background.

The 1897 UFO Flap in North Texas

In 1897, a series of mysterious airships were sighted all around the United States. This is a look at the flap in general, with a particular focus on some of the North Texas UFO sightings.

A trippy digital drawing of a figure in the yellow beam of a green UFO, with the text "human or alien" swirled behind it.

Thoughts on some Victorian aliens

Musings about the appearance of the airship crews during the 1897 UFO flap.

The Roosevelt Island Lighthouse, or The Blackwell Island Light, NYC

The Roosevelt Island Lighthouse, or The Blackwell Island Light, NYC

A look at the mysterious Gothic lighthouse that stands at the tip of New York City’s Roosevelt Island. Did a lunatic named Thomas Maxey build the lighthouse? If so, why did a now-missing stone say that an unknown person named John McCarthy built it? Or was it designed by

A Victorian Lunatic's Fort: Fort Maxey, Blackwell's Island, NYC

A Victorian Lunatic's Fort: Fort Maxey, Blackwell's Island, NYC

In the mid-19th century, Thomas Maxey, a patient at the New York Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island, built Fort Maxey, a strange structure complete with cannons, a garden of tall flowers, and mysterious carvings. The infamous New York Lunatic Asylum has its share of chilling stories. But one odd,

19th Century Ouija Board Stories / Early Ouijamania (Ouija Boards Part 4)

19th Century Ouija Board Stories / Early Ouijamania (Ouija Boards Part 4)

19th century Ouija board stories: Chris digs up some early stories of people getting waaay too obsessed with their Ouija boards. Highlights include: • a rare story of a 19th century black woman’s experience with Ouija • a couple destroying their home to (supposedly) convert the world to Masonic principles • Presidential

Playing the Ghost in 19th Century Australia

Playing the Ghost in 19th Century Australia

Did you know that in late 19th century Australia, ordinary people would dip sheets in toxic glowing paint and run around at night pretending to be ghosts? Neither did we, but Chris dug up this oddball story from Jen’s home state of Victoria and was excited to tell Jen