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19th Century Ghosts

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The Lizzie Borden House

Sometimes I think about people who likely stumble upon this blog in search of nineteenth-century ghost stories. My apologies, paranormal fans, but I love metaphor and my intention was never to write about actual ghosts. Sure, it’s possible the historic houses I’ve posted about could very well be haunted, but that’s never been my main concern. My priorities have always been architecture and decor. But my recent visit to Fall River, Massachusetts wasn’t about architecture at all.

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Book Review: Confederates in the Attic

Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz was on my reading list for a while. This would be an enlightening read at any time since the book’s publication in 1998, but seemed especially relevant now in 2020, a tumultuous period of national reckoning.

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The Armour-Stiner Octagon House

Of all the historic houses I’ve seen, the Armour-Stiner Octagon House in Irvington, New York has become a new favorite. I am absolutely enamored by its bold color palette, stunning interior, and unique structure. Its preservation story is also quite heartwarming.

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The Victorian Society in America’s Summer Schools, AKA – Nerd Camp

How do two weeks jam packed with historic houses and museums sound? If you can enthusiastically answer yes, then you should consider attending one of the Victorian Society in America’s summer programs. The deadline for summer 2019 has passed, but I highly encourage anyone passionate about historical architecture to consider applying in the future.

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Olana: A Historic Painter’s Paradise on the Hudson

Only an artist could dream up a house like Olana, the Victorian Middle Eastern-style home of Hudson River School painter Frederic Church. The artistic oasis overlooks the Hudson River and it’s easy to see what drew Frederic Church to the landscape all those years ago. Today, visitors flock to the site to marvel at both the landscape and what lies within Olana’s beautiful archways.

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Book Review of Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything

A compendium of weird medical history? Yes please! (Disclaimer: if you just ate or are about to eat, you might want to read this later…)

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I’M PUBLISHED!

At last, two years in the making, the book I contributed to is finally out!

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Once Upon a Movember: Peter the Great’s Beard Tax

As I am enamored by both Russian history and beards, what better way to kick off Movember than with a post on Peter the Great, otherwise known as the Tsar who sheared a nation.

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Book Review of Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey

Here I am actually talking about ghosts! But make no mistake, Ghostland by Colin Dickey is more than a compendium of ghost stories. Rather, Colin Dickey treats each of these tales as a case study for examining different types of hauntings, their origins and development. Most of all, he is interested in what these stories say about America’s relationship to its past.

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