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Memento Mori: The Victorians’ Obsession with Death

1890 House Museum exterior decorated with pumpkins and cornstalks.
When
October 11, 2025 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Where
1890 House Museum
37 Tompkins St
Cortland, NY 13045
Handicap Accessible
Partially
First floor only.
Costs
$15
Description
Step back into the shadows of the Victorian age at the 1890 House Museum during I LOVE NY’s Path Through History Weekend on October 11 and 12. This spine-tingling program, Memento Mori: The Victorians’ Obsession with Death, delves into an era when mourning was an art form and the afterlife was never far from mind. Discover the macabre beauty of memento mori—photographs of the departed, jewelry woven with hair, and art pieces meant to remind the living that death is always near. Learn how spiritualism, born in the Victorian parlor, opened the door to ghostly communication and laid the foundation for today’s paranormal investigations. Equal parts history and haunting, this event invites you to explore the eerie traditions that blurred the line between the living and the dead.
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