History Profile: Victoria Woodhull

The following is the text from episode 20 of the Spooky Stitches podcast, where we discuss the life and times of Victoria Woodhull. To listen to the full podcast, please visit my youtube page. Last episode we talked about Kate and Maggie Fox, who accidentally started the Spiritualist movement back in the 1840s, and despite…

The New England Vampire Panic

This essay is taken in part from Episode 14 of the Spooky Stitches podcast, where we talk knitting and ghost stories. If you want to see more content like this, please check out the podcast, or the Patreon, where stories like this are posted regularly, often before they show up here on the blog.  Today,…

Would this Kill Me in the 1800s: Strep Throat

I don't know about the rest of you, but strep throat was the bane of my existence in middle school. I think I caught it 4 times in sixth grade, and there was talk of having my tonsils removed. But what is strep? What causes it and how dangerous is it if untreated? The Disease…

Failures and Starting Again

Some of you might remember a project I posted about a while back, a set of summery Victorian undergarments I was hand sewing and planned to make hand knit/crocheted lace for. I wanted to start on the lace, so I went back to that project, only to discover I hadn't finished assembling the chemise. I…

Victorian Hairstyles (with tutorials!)

Thank you to @TheModernDayVictorian on Instagram for inspiring this post. Here on the blog, I've talked a lot about late Victorian fashion, but I haven't talked very much about hair and makeup. I will be the first to admit that I am super awkward when it comes to doing hair and makeup, which is why…

Would this Kill Me in the 1800s: Anemia

Feeling tired? Run down? Memory problems? Muscle aches and weakness? You might have anemia and not know it. There a many different forms of anemia, so I won't be able to delve into all of them here, but basically anemia is a shortage of red blood cells. This can have many causes from outside factors…

Let the Insanity Begin

Clearly, I should not be allowed to watch Youtube. It always gives me horrible, wonderful ideas. After watching series from Bernadette Banner, and this series from Engineering Knits, I decided to take a stab at making my own Victorian undergarments: chemise, drawers, petticoat, stockings, and skeleton corset. By hand. No machine. With hand knitted/crocheted trim and…

The Last Witch Trial in America

Normally when you think of witch trials in the United States, the first thing that comes to mind is the Salem trials of 1692. But did you know Salem had another trial nearly two hundred years later? In 1878, Lucretia Brown accused Daniel Spofford of using mesmerism on her. Both Brown and Spofford were members…

The Creepiest Dolls in History

I've said it before, and I will say it again: The Victorians were weird. They had some crazy traditions, from medically prescribed vibrators to electric corsets, but probably the most well known of their weird ideas is their obsession with death. Entire books have been written about death and mourning culture in the 19th century, and…

What’s in my bag: 1890s

It's that time of year. Time to break out the corset, pin up my hair, and go about in my best Gibson Girl style (which, admittedly, isn't very good. I've never been able to master that updo). Opening day at the village is tomorrow, and it's time to sort through my basket. I thought I'd…