Grossest Thing I have EVER Seen
 

Seriously, I almost threw up a little in my mouth when I saw the

wreath made out of dead peoples' hair

Ewww, I definitely would not want that hanging in my house!

I think they're gross - but they were very popular in the late 1800's. Even worth (to me) were rings that women would wear of their late fiance or husband's hair - blech.

Another really weird thing they did then was if they had a family photo made - they'd airbrush anyone who happened to pass away into the photo! So you'd see this perfectlly normal family, wearing 1890's clothing, and a War Between the States soldier hovering in uniform!

How did they do that back then?

That is beyond nasty. Like chopping off a finger as a souvenir - the only difference is that the hair won't rot. http://www.websmileys.com/sm/mad/boese061.gif

I honestly don't know - I imagine that they cut out the photo, then put it where it "belonged" on the family photo, and took another picture. Sometimes, they're in the corner, like an angel or other presence. I think it's really gross - and you can ALWAYS tell!

I'm a museum curator, and we have one of those hair wreaths in our collection. I've always thought it was a bit creepy! I've also seen bracelets, brooches, etc. made of human hair.

As far as creepy pictures go, it was also fairly common in the Victorian era to take pictures of dead people and collect them in albums. I've seen books published with these images, and most of the time the person looks asleep, and someone who isn't aware of the custom would never know that the person is dead.

Both of these customs are manifestations of the (overzealous and quite creepy, in my opinion) Victorian fascination with death and the afterlife.

Amanda

Yeah...glad I missed the Victorian era. Those were creepy times, indeed. The "book of the dead" was brought up in the Nicole Kidman film The Others. I had never heard of it until then.

Yes, the Victorians were a little messed up. The first time I saw one of those hair wreaths was when I was on a tour of a local historical home, and I was like, "Oh, how pretty!" until the guide told us what it was. Then looked a whole lot different!

My mother's mother died before I was born, but I was always told that I looked just her. The fact that the only pictures I had ever seen of her was when she was in her casket, I was absolutely horrified as a kid!!

Now, having learned that there's a magnetic field between the Irish and an open casket, I just figure that I know what I want the undertaker to do (or not to do) with my body when I die! Cremation is sounding pretty good, but after my grandmother was viewed, she was cremated. Talk about "wanting it all"!


ps - I have now seen pictures of my grandmother when she was alive, and see the resemblence - including why my granddaddy always bought her sexy hosiery!

Actually, that's a bit of a joke on the Irish, and how they have some major wakes. I've only been to one wake in my life, where someone stayed with the "honoree" 24 hours a day for the two days prior to her burial, and almost everyone was trashed. I was offered more flasks than at a tailgate party! This one was for my mother's friend from school, and as we left, my mother said, "You just know that Mary Jane's going to be standing in the corner by the end of the night!"

Correct me if I'm wrong, and I'm sure y'all will, but the Irish almost embrace the concept of death - they understand that no one gets out of here alive. So, the death of a decent person is not to be mourned, but to be celebrated (well, within limits). When my daddy died, my brother (who's a pastor) did the service, and had me do "the color", and everyone loved it, laughing and crying at the same time. We talked about his handiwork, how you turn spigots on backwards in our house, hot water comes out of the cold spigot etc, the lighting works backwards, how much he loved us and doing anything he could for us, and that, since "In My father's house, there are many mansions," he's gone ahead of us, to make sure that the spigots are working, and the lighting, and making sure that we'll recognize our heavenly mansions - things like that. An Irish funeral is much like laughter through tears, like you're in a lifeboat with the deceased and all who loved him. I don't know how else to describe it, but as horrible as you feel, you know that everything will be okay. Eventually. But it doesn't mean you don't miss him horribly at times like this...

Some people still do this - but not in the exact same way. They take pictures at the funeral and put them in albums. WHen my grandmother passed, some of my relatives did this. I never looked at the pictures.

When I saw "The Others" that really creeped me out. They actually took the time to pose the dead bodies. :(