Momento Mori

The Age of Victoria was a weird time in human experience. Post industrial living brought the best and worst to the people. Listverse has a collection of some of the creepiest things about Victorian England but there are none creepier (well aside from the fascination with freaks like the Elephant Man) than the practice of taking pictures with one's recently deceased relatives. Photography was in its infancy and thus was too pricey to become an everyday thing. Only the most special or traumatic occasions called for such a remembrance. These 'Momento Mori' (Latin for "remember you shall die") were taken with a recently deceased loved one. To further enhance the effect that the person was still alive they would often prop them up in chairs or open the eyes. For many Victorians this was the ONLY picture they would have taken of them in their lifetime. I find it particularly ghoulish to have a child pose with a deceased sibling, especially a twin. More such photos can be seen HERE.







http://listverse.com/2009/08/29/top-10-creepy-aspects-of-victorian-life/