Death was a big part of life.
Richard Ellis/Wikimedia Commons
Richard Ellis/Wikimedia Commons
Every society has beliefs and rituals surrounding death, but Victorians took things to new extremes with their elaborate rituals. This was embodied by the death of Prince Albert in 1861, to which Queen Victoria responded by wearing black for the remaining four decades of her life.
Mourning attire was commonplace, and many people had garments or pieces of jewelry that they’d only wear within the context of mourning. This fascination with death led, in turn, to the rise of Gothic novels and poems, along with interest in the supernatural realm.