Bela Lugosi is Dracula: Lugosi's impact on the legacy of Dracula

When asked to describe Count Dracula, most would mention his famous high collar, pale skin, Transylvanian accent, and the aristocratic appearance. These iconic aspects became the staple of Dracula starting in 1931 with Bela Lugosi and would appear again and again in the decades to come. If not for the Hungarian actor's stellar performance,the character perhaps would not have become as cherished as he is even into the 21st century. 

Lugosi as Dracula 1927 (4)

Lugosi's First Appearance as Dracula
The Count that would become the icon of vampire culture actually did not make his first appearance in the film Dracula (1931). Lugosi was first in a Broadway play (which would eventually be adapted to the famous film) and he, of course, had the role of Count Dracula. The Bela Lugosi website states that Lugosi did the makeup, created the costume and added the accent for Dracula in this play (3). Once Universal Studios decided they wanted to make a movie, they originally did not consider Lugosi to play Dracula. The actor originally assigned the role was John Wray (6). In the book titled The Immortal Count, Arthur Lennig shares this telegram written by Lugosi pleading that he be cast as Dracula, "Spent many months to promote Dracula. Spent many cables with London to bring down price. Will you please express opinion to Universal for me being the logical choice to be cast for Dracula? Your kindness will be greatly appreciated" (6). His hard work (and persuasive telegrams) paid off and he was given the role that would go down in history.

Poster for film 1931 (1)

More on the Film 
The release of Dracula in 1931 can arguably be labeled as the first true horror movie. As John Oliver, a curatorial archivist, states in his article, people in the 30s were not used to seeing the supernatural in this way (7).  He says they were used to films where the unnatural could be "explained away" and "the phantom monster was always just a man"(7). For the first time, they were presented with a creature that was truly supernatural. Lugosi's performance in the film stupefied viewers even to the point of fainting in the theater. Although the film was scary, people continued to show up at the box office and the movie became Universal's biggest hit that year (8). They were probably patting themselves on the back with the decision to give Lugosi the part.

Lugosi's Life After the Film
While Bela Lugosi's role as Dracula was remarkable, it also came with some negative aspects. Because of how renowned Lugosi became as Dracula, many in the film industry only saw him as a dark, undead monster. This label made it challenging for Lugosi to branch out to other roles. In Lennig's book, The Immortal Count, he talks about Lugosi's performance in the film Broadminded. He says that Lugosi played the part well but many still threw the Dracula label on him. Lennig shares a critique
from Variety that states he "retain[ed] Dracula mannerism" which really was not true. His other successes, apart from Dracula, were usually other scary films. For example, he worked with Frankenstein's star Boris Karloff on the film The Ghost of Frankenstein, as well as a few others (5).  Other than that though, Lugosi did not have much luck in the acting industry after Dracula and soon Lugosi was only playing in low-budget, minor films until his death in 1956 (5)

The Impact on the "Universal Dracula"
After the release of Dracula (1931), there were many other memorable films that shared characteristics of Lugosi's. There was Dracula (1979) with Frank Langella, and Christopher Lee's slightly spookier characterization in Dracula (1958). There are significantly more than these two but each one typically shared something with Lugosi's version.

Song by bahaus 1979 (2)

In 1979 there was even a song written about Lugosi and his Dracula. The band Bauhaus released their song titled "Bela Lugosi's Dead". The lyrics talk about how Lugosi lives on despite his death with lines like "The count // Bela Lugosi's dead // Undead undead undead."
The immortal character still shows up every Halloween too. Whether he be an inflatable decoration in someones yard to scare the trick-or-treaters or be the trick-or-treaters themselves, the slicked back hair, pale skin, and fancy tux are usually part of the package.

Bela Lugosi's unforgettable performance as Count Dracula not only opened the gateway for horror films to come, (much like the book by Bram Stoker did for Literature), it also worked in bringing an immortal face to the beloved character. Lugosi's Dracula continues to be the face of vampires even into the 21st century.

Works Cited 

(1) "A Night Mare of Horror". filmsite.org, http://www.filmsite.org/drac2.html.

(2) "Bela Lugosi's Dead". wikiepedia.org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bela_Lugosi%27s_Dead.

(3) Bela Lugosi Facts.” Bela Lugosi, belalugosi.com/facts/.

(4) "Dracula". wordpress.com. https://beladraculalugosi.wordpress.com/1927-1928-dracula/.

(5) Kovari, Orsolya. “Mr Dracula - On Béla Lugosi.” Mr Dracula - On Béla Lugosi - Hungarian Review, May 2013, www.hungarianreview.com/print/mr_dracula_on_bela_lugosi.

(6) Lennig, Arthur. "Fame", "Dracula--The Flim". The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi, 2003, p75-181, Humanities Source. 

(7) Oliver, John. “Why I Love... Bela Lugosi's Dracula.” British Film Institute, Oct. 2016, www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/why-i-love-bela-lugosis-dracula.

(8) Vieira, Mark A. (2003). Hollywood Horror: From Gothic to Cosmic. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. p. 35. 

Dracula: A Theatrical Production

This is a photo of Dracula that has become one of the
most iconic and recognizable characters in entertainment! (Morris)

After researching much about the influence of the theatrical world on Bram Stoker and his pieces, it was only necessary that I continued to research one of the most famous 19th-century novels and its relation to theatre. The first Dracula script that was created was written by Bram Stoker himself, eight days before he published his famous novel Dracula. Surprisingly, Dracula was a hit on stage and even up until more recent years, but not when it first debuted. Then, fast forward to the early 20th century, Dracula would become one of the most memorable and significant characters known to entertainment (Buzwell, 1). Theatre became one of the first ways Dracula was formed into the iconic character he is portrayed to be today.

   The Creation of the First Script of Dracula: or The Undead

The Lyceum Theatre where Bram Stoker worked and Dracula: or the
Undead first debuted! (The Lyceum Theatre,)

When exploring the history of Dracula onstage, this journey starts at Bram Stoker's workplace, The Lyceum Theatre in London where he fulfilled the position: Theatre Manager. During Stoker's time as a manager at the theatre, he was working on his famous novel Dracula. However, a script version of this novel called, Dracula: or The Un-Dead was published just over a week before his novel. Stoker did this because he wanted to ensure he received the dramatic rights to his work and the process was lengthy. To receive the rights to his play, Stoker had to submit his work to the Lord Chamberlain's office and wait for the approval or disapproval for the license to his work. Stoker rushed to make this happen which left him with a mediocre play version of his novel Dracula (Buzwell, 2). Therefore, Stoker was the first one to produce a script of Dracula (which I find very interesting).

           Dracula Hit the Stage for the First Time

Dracula: or the Undead
script!
(Lugosi)

The advertisement for
Bram Stoker's show!(Lugosi)

After only a short-while, Stoker's Dracula: or The Un-Dead, premiered for the first time onstage and not in the way one would expect. The show had opened at the Lyceum Theatre in London on May 18th, 1897 and in fact, one of the actresses that Stoker managed agreed to act in his show. Edith Craig played the role of Mina Murray and although Stoker was anticipating the participation of Henry Irving, an influential person in Stoker's life, he denied the offer and described the show as 'dreadful" and he was not inaccurate. Dracula: or The Un-Dead had nothing more than an opening night as only two people showed up to the very first performance. The show consisted of a prologue, five acts, and forty scenes. Stroker critics believe this performance would have taken about five hours and it is likely the audience, no matter how interesting it is, would have sat through the whole thing. Another flaw that is believed to have led to poor attendance, is the lack of advertisement. The advertisement that was allowed for a show such as this was a hanging sign outside of the theatre a half hour before the show begins. In the 19th century, a show like this one was only a small advertisement (Skal, 373). While this performance was a bust, Dracula's life as entertainment was far from over

            Dracula's Comeback to Theatre and Entertainment

John L. Balderston (The Bride of Frankenstein)

Hamilton Deane (Hamilton Deane)

In 1924, nearly 50 years after Stoker but his show onstage, believers in Dracula in a theatrical form would make an attempt for success, and this time, it happens. Hamilton Deane, for the first time, would receive authorization to revamp Stoker's previous attempt at Dracula as a stage play. Later, in 1927, John L. Balderston revised it leading to its debut at The Little Theatre in London where Horace Liveright, a successful producer, was in the audience. After the show, Liveright asked Balderston to create the play into a Broadway production. After agreeing to such a prestigious offer, Dracula showed at Fulton Theatre's stage that same year (Dracula 1924,1). This event lead to the performance of Dracula all over the world as it became a great way of entertaining the public!

 Dracula on BROADWAY!

Specifically, in 1977, a Tony award-winning adaptation of Dracula hit the stage at Alley Theatre in Houston Texas. Gregory Boyd was the mastermind behind this famous creation as he was in charge of the scenic and costume designs. People and actors in this production were amazed by his design.Almost all the parts he created incorporated bats that symbolized that Dracula is everywhere even before the show introduces him. As for the scenery, most of it was three-dimensional which made its creation extremely intricate and without a question, this performance became a Broadway hit (Tran,1). So much so, that Dracula is still performed today, which, is quite impressive for being a complete failure at first

The library scene from a famous production of Dracula. (Tran)

To no surprise, the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker was a hit on the stage. Stoker spent his life immersed in the theatre, so it is not a shock that Dracula became that successful. It is believed by Stoker critics that his novel was written more like a script because he spent much of his life working in a theatre and picking up theatrical aspects to incorporate into his works. Overall, Stoker's works have been quite successful in the world of entertainment!

Works Cited

Buzwell, George. “Bram Stoker's Stage Adaptation of Dracula.” The British Library, The British                  Library, 13 Nov. 2014, www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/bram-stokers-stage-                      adaptation-of-dracula.

“Dracula (1924 Play).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Oct. 2018,                                                          en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula_(1924_play).

“Hamilton Deane.” Classic Monsters, 27 Sept. 2015, www.classic-monsters.com/hamilton-deane/.

Lugosi, Bela. “Staged Reading Of Dracula At The Lyceum Theatre In 1897.” The Bela Lugosi Blog,             7 Feb. 2018, beladraculalugosi.wordpress.com/2011/05/17/staged-reading-of-dracula-at-the-                lyceum-theatre-in-1897/.

McCormick, Mike. “Dracula Alley Theatre.” Production Notebook, vol. 32, no. 2, 2015, pp. 36–36.              EbscoHost, eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=8def75d3-a7ea-46d4-              9c60-6afe3d4bcb9e@sdc-v-sessmgr03.

Morris, Nigel. “Bram Stoker Based Dracula on Scientific and Medical Research.” Inews.co.uk,                      Inews.co.uk, 31 Oct. 2016, inews.co.uk/culture/not-just-horror-story-dracula-based-scientific-              medical-research/.

“The Lyceum Theatre, Wellington Street, London.” The Lyceum Theatre, Wellington Street, London,             www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/LyceumTheatre.htm.

Stoker, Bram, et al. Dracula: Authoritative Text, Backgrounds, Reviews and Reactions, Dramatic and            Film Variations, Criticism. W.W. Norton, 1997.

“The Bride of Frankenstein.” Scifist, 1 Feb. 2017, scifist.wordpress.com/2014/11/19/the-bride-of-                  frankenstein/.

Tran, Diep. “Getting Gorey with Alley Theatre's 'Dracula'.” AMERICAN THEATRE, 3 Apr. 2015,              www.americantheatre.org/2015/02/06/getting-gorey-with-alley-theatres-dracula/.

Elizabeth Bathory

Who is Elizabeth Bathory?

Countess Elizabeth (Erzebet) Bathory, or the "Blood Countess" is famously known as the most vicious female serial killer in all recorded history. She was born August 7th, 1560 and died August 21st, 1614. She was born into a wealthy Hungarian family who ruled Transylvania. She was the niece of King of Poland, Stephen Bathory a long with many other royalties in her family such as her parents siblings who were voivodes of Transylvania. Elizabeth's brother was also the judge royal of Hungary. Elizabeth grew up wealthy, intelligent, and was known to be very beautiful. She was married around the ages of 13-15 to to Ferenc Nadasdy for political reasons. His family was one of the wealthiest and most influential in Hungary. Together they had four children.

The Blood Countess

Elizabeth became famously known as the Blood Countess as well as the female Count Dracula because of her lust for blood. Because of her royal status she had many servant girls and like most royals, she whipped her servants for misbehavior. Elizabeth became obsessed with the idea to find a way to maintain her youth and beauty. It is said that as she whipped one of her maids and blood splattered on Elizabeth's skin and made her skin look younger. This convinced her that blood was the key to keeping her youth. The maid was then killed and it is believed that she bathed in the blood of the maid after. She would also drink the blood of her victims to maintain her youth. Her blood thirst lead to many more murders and torture of women within her castle, the murdering of virgins, and also killing women of nobility. Some of the torture would include her making her servants cut and eat their own flesh if they were hungry, if they were thirsty, she forced them to drink their pee. She also rubbed honey on the body of one of her servants and made her lay outside to get stung by bees and bothered by other animals until she died. She would stick pins and needles in the fingers of her servants and also stuck hot iron rods in their vaginas. In total, about 650 women were torture and killed by Elizabeth.

The End of Elizabeth Bathory

Elizabeth's blood thirst became even more extreme around the death of her husband who lost his life at war. Her fear of old age grew. She became even more powerful and wealthy with the money and land her husband left her. Due to how powerful and wealthy she was for a woman, most believe that Elizabeth crimes were false, and instead there was a plot to destroy her reputation and take everything that she owned. Investigations of her crimes began in 1610. Her cousin conducted a raid on the castle in which she lived ordered by the King. Her cousin found dead bodies of women, some were imprisoned, and some that were waiting on death. Elizabeth and her accomplices were arrested and her accomplices were put on trial. Elizabeth never made it to trial or ever spoke on her behalf because of her royal status. Instead she was locked away in a room in her castle for the last four years of her life with just enough space for air and food to be allowed in her room. With all of the stories and accusations that were made of her, it is no doubt that she murdered women, but it is still questionable as to what is actually true or false due to her royal status and very little evidence that remains.

                                                         



                                                              WORKS CITED:



Clark, Josh. “Was a Hungarian Countess the World's Most Prolific Serial Killer?” HowStuffWorks, HowStuffWorks, 1 Apr. 2008, history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/hungarian-countess-serial-killer1.htm.

“Death of Countess Elizabeth Bathory.” History Today, www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/death-countess-elizabeth-bathory.

“Elizabeth Báthory.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Oct. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_B%C3%A1thory.

Erzsebet Bathory, departments.kings.edu/womens_history/erzebet.html.

Restraints in a Victorian Insane Asylum

Life in a psychiatric facility is not without its challenges. With the stigma that stills surrounds mental health, being admitted to one of these facilities comes with shame and humiliation. Basic freedoms that we take for granted every day become a privilege to these patients. However, the psychiatric hospitals of the Victorian age are unrecognizable to what they are today.

A ward for non-violent women
West Riding Asylum, Wakefield, England (1)

Psychiatry is a fairly new branch of medicine compared to other branches. There is still a lot to discover about the human brain and mental illness, and there are some mental illness that does not ever get cured, but merely managed.

Before asylums, people suffering with mental illnesses were left solely to the care of their families, and faced things such as starvation and homelessness. It wasn't until the early 15th century that facilities to house the mentally ill were constructed. These were built and maintained by Christian institutions, (4) so treatment was more religious than scientific. Treatment did not become more scientific until the late 18th early 19th century. The Madhouse Act of 1774 was a step in the right direction for reform, but terrible conditions still persisted. In the year of 1814, thirteen women were crammed into one cell in York Asylum. Later that same year in Bethlem hospital in separate side rooms, patients were found chained to the wall. One case of a patient named James Norris was especially bad. Kept in a place typically saved for "troublesome and dirty" patients, he was locked in an iron bar device and chained to a pipe. He died only a few days later. It was not until 1828 that a more established law and group of commissioners was created to inspect asylums. Five of the commissioners had to be doctors. (3)

Patient in a restraint chair.
West Riding Asylum, Wakefield, England (5)

The number of asylums tripled in the 19th century due to the Lunacy Act, which made it a requirement for every county to have an insane asylum. By the end of the century, there was more than 120 asylums across England and Wales, housing about 100,000 patients. (6) From 1853 to 1880, things seemed to look up when people believed more and more in going restraint free. Without the mechanical restraints, other terrible practices rose up to replace it like more locked seclusion, cold baths, and chemical restraints. Although these do not seem as terrible as the mechanical restraints, it did not take long for facilities to abuse these practices, that led to trauma and death to some patients. Finally, after much talk about whether mechanical restraints should be used or not, they started using them more. In some cases, the mechanical restraints were a better solution than other methods they employed. This method would take us out of the Victorian age. (3)

Now, we have a more progressive mindset toward the mentally ill. There are still hospitals that have restraints to this day, but more are going restraint free. The restraints that are used now are more ethical, and there are better practices to ensure they are not abused. Though the hardships the patients in the Victorian age had to endure were not right, it moved us forward into more ethical standards when treating the mentally ill. Though the stigma still persists, we continue to understand more, which leads to more effective treatment. 

Late 1840s "Utica Crib" carved from wood. (2)

Work Cited

1. Burns, Stanley B. "An 1860s Mental Hospital." CBS News, www.cbsnews.com/19th-and-20th-century-psychiatry-22-photos/12/, Accessed 17 October 2018.

2. Burns, Stanley B. "Utica Crib." CBS News, www.cbsnews.com/pictures/19th-and-20th-century-psychiatry-22-photos/12/, Accessed 17 October 2018.

3. Fennel, Phil. Treatment Without Consent: Law, Psychiatry, and the Treatment of the Mentally Disordered People Since 1845. Routledge, 1995.

4. "Mental Institutions." Brought to Life Science Museum, broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/themes/mentalhealthandillness/mentalinstitutions.

5. News Dog Media. "Haunting Photos of Insane Asylums from Decades Past." Wellcome Library, London. All That Is Interesting, www.allthatisinteresting.com/mental-asylums#2, Accessed 17 October 2018

6. "The Growth of the Asylum - a Parallel World." Historic England, 2018, www.historicengland.org.uk/research/inclusive-heritage/disability-history/1832-1914/the-growth-of-the-asylum/.

Insane Asylum- West Virginia Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

During the 19th century- Insane Asylums were no joke. Well, they never have been. One of America's most well known Asylums, "West Virginia's Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum" has been a topic of interest in the past eleven years for it's facility has reopened for the first time in 2007 since being closed down in 1994. This West Virginian Asylum was opened in 1863 and was built to house up to 250 patients comfortably, each with their own room and plenty of space for them to walk around and get fresh air.

image source (1)

The building itself was incredibly stable, with long pillars and luxuriously long windows, it was hard to see a bad future for this Mental Health Asylum. On the Asylum's grounds, there was a working dairy and vegetable farm, there were waterworks and even an active gas well and cemetery. Life for the patients wasn't half bad until society became more warped in 1881. The diagnoses for mental health became incredibly warped and grew in numbers for the most peculiar things- including "Novel reading", "Female imaginary trouble", and "Spinal irritation".

In 1881 more than 750 patients crowded the facility which was only suited for 250-300 patients, and health standards declined extremely fast. Nurses and staff were swamped with the mentally unstable, and their mental conditions were only declining when the patients weren't getting the help and support they needed. It got so bad that they were holding up to 2,600 patients in the 1950s.

This neglect continued until 1994, when the cemetery couldn't get any bigger and conditions couldn't get any worse, the Gazette's Exposed movement got the doors to shut down for good until the doors reopened in 2007 to become a tourist attraction. Now the old hospital for the clinically insane hosts tours and ghost investigations, and is well known to create insulting and crude events like 'Zombie Paintball' and 'Crazy for Barbecue' on the very same grounds where the mentally ill lay on freezing cold floors and rotted away in rusty cages.



Works Cited

• (1) Evon, D. (2016, February 9). Reasons for Admission to Insane Asylums in the 19th Century. Retrieved from https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/reasons-admission-insane-asylum-1800s/
• Evon, Dan. “Reasons for Admission to Insane Asylums in the 19th Century.” Snopes.com, 6 Feb. 2016, www.snopes.com/fact-check/reasons-admission-insane-asylum-1800s/.
• Serena, Katie. “The Horrifying History Of The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.” All That's Interesting, All That's Interesting, 2 Feb. 2018, allthatsinteresting.com/trans-allegheny-lunatic-asylum.
• Barnes, Jim. (2018, May 25). In West Virginia, a moving, respectful tour of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/in-west-virginia-a-moving-respectful-tour-of-the-trans-allegheny-lunatic-asylum/2018/05/24/03d476e6-5937-11e8-858f-12becb4d6067_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.056a85945b21

Asylums...

When it comes to insane asylums in the modern age it is viewed as a sort of safe haven for the admitted in hopes of reinvention, rehabilitation or even just as a place for needed isolationist from the outside world. Though yes these institutions surly face criticism or even mockery of their purpose and/or, the benefits are to be noted. However, it should be known that asylums today are far different than what they were in the 19th centenary, and the issues that people have from today's world would have even more truth to it if they were in that time.

Insane asylums in the 19th century were nightmarish to say the least. The patients there were subjected to horrible mistreatment and downright abuse from the staff. They would do things to cause the patient physical distress such as have their hair ripped out, or even have their heads held under water. A lot of times even emotional abuse was inflicted such as the staff constant belittling of the patients (Ranker.com).

Physical abuse did not end there; if the staff found out that the patient was too far gone in there "illness" then they would sometimes subject them to the extreme procedure of lobotomy. According to allthatsinteresting.com, "Likewise, the growth of psychiatry meant more doctors developing more procedures that seemed increasingly radical throughout the early and mid-20th century, which gave us electroshock therapy and the lobotomy, among others." Most people who had worked at a mental institution in the 19th century more than likely tortured the patients wheter they realized this or not.

The living conditions in insane asylums were horrendous. The patients lived in worn out dreary rooms which, from the looks of it, were also partly torn down. Patiens were always grouped together for treatments and other reasons.

Overall, living in a mental asylum in the 19th century should be regarded as one of the worst things any human has had to endure. From extremely poor living conditions to the outright abuse towards was truly the stuff of nightmares. A lot of asylums in this day in age are not considered as bad, but the roots that they came from was issued a much needed change.








                                                                               Works Cited
          Myers, Christopher. "Life in a 19th Century Mental Institution Was Basically Torture." Ranker, https://www.ranker.com/list/life-in-19th-century-mental-institutions-and-insane-asylums/christopher-myers.

Kuroski, John. "Haunting Photos Taken Inside Mental Asylums Of Decades Past." Allthatsinteresting, https://allthatsinteresting.com/mental-asylums.

Dracula

19th Century Psychiatric Hospitals

Medical procedures have been changing and will continue to change as we are a progressive society. In order to reach the most effective and morally acceptable procedures, we had to start somewhere. Unfortunately, in the 19th century,

State Lunatic Hospital, West Side: Taunton, Massachusetts (Blazavich)

insane asylums were the beginning of understanding the human body and mind, and malpractice occurred behind closed doors. These were places that were trusted to medically explain away "abnormal" behaviors, but were not the most effective in treatment. The harsh conditions and societal perceptions that were involved with asylums furthered the cruel treatments. Many normal, everyday behaviors today would deem us "clinically insane" if we were living within the medical standards of the Victorian Era. Fortunately for us, we as a society and medically have developed from what these "hospitals" once were. 

Who were in the asylums?

A woman, restrained in an asylum (Myers)

Anyone who was deemed insane, by the 19th century medical definition, was admitted. If one was deemed unable to take care of oneself, one became property of the state whether one wanted to or not (Myers). These people included "laziness, egotism... female disease, mental excitement... jealous, religion, asthma, masturbation," ("Reasons for Admission"). These are all causes for entry that modern-day medicine would not consider symptoms of the "insane". These are normally, everyday diagnosis or behaviors that landed people in a place of neglect and torture. If this were true today, a large portion of our society would be considered insane.
In addition, women were more often admitted than men. Many women were immediately thought of as 'mad' when they would disagree with the religion of Christianity or disobeyed their husbands. The actions that these women made in order to these social norms were what characterized them as insane and then placed in an asylum. Unfortunately during this time, one of our basic rights as a United States citizen, freedom of speech, seemed to not apply to women and resulted in extended amounts of medical care that was unneeded. Many medical records display a "social or political narrative" (Butchireddygari) for women's reasoning for admittance. During this time period, the conclusion can be made that women's behavior was restricted through medicine and the possibility of being placed in one of these institutions. (Blazavich). 

How were they treated?
The original purpose of the asylums was to treat the insane medically and with moral practices, but that was not the case. At this time, medicine was not modern, and was in the early stages of development. One treatment called the "Spinning Chair Treatment" evolved during the 19th century. This machine, pictured right, would involve constant twirling for hours until vomiting occurred. This sickness would be perceived as the treatment "working" as toxins are being released from the body (Myers). Another treatment would involved being forcefully stripped and dunked into freezing cold water. Women were specifically prescribed this to treat "hypersexuality" (Myers).

Aside from the harsh medical treatments, abuse of these helpless patients was an everyday occurrence. "The asylums frequently abused their patients, beating and whipping them," (Butchireddygari). Not only was there physical torture, but negligence by the caretakers was also frequently found. They were kept in cold and comfortless rooms similar to prison cells. Many patients were often observed unclothed and restrained with chains. Nellie Bly, a journalist who experienced the asylums from the inside, reported first hand accounts of abuse."Patients were strangled, had their hair ripped out, and even had their heads held underwater" (Myers). These reports are disheartening when people of medical authority should be caretakers for the patients.

How could they be released?
Many patients within a hospital stayed long-term, or until their death. If the rare possibility arose that they were considered "sane", they could be released. However, transitions from hospital patient to the real world were not aided in any manner (Popova). It was considered that there were no real cures to insanity. Therefore, patients were admitted for life and were considered "chronic" (Myers). It often went that doctors had the final say and arguing against one's diagnosis of insanity would create worse circumstances. 

Works Cited

Blazavich, Jenna. "How Victorian Women Were Oppressed Through the Use of Psychiatry." The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 2017, www.theaatlantic.com/sponsored/netflix-2017/how-victorian-women-were-oppressed-through-the-use-of-psychiatry/1607/.

Butchireddygari, Likhitha, et al. Behind Closed Doors: A Look Inside Insane Asylums of the 19th Century. YouTube, YouTube, 11 Nov. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtgzpAbxcRl

Myers, Christopher. "13 Unforgivable Facts About Life In 19th Century Insane Asylums." Ranker, www.ranker.com/list/life-in-19th-century-mental-institutions-and-insane-asylums/christopher-myers.

Popova, Maria. "Asylum: Inside the Haunting World of 19th-Century Mental Hospitals." Brain Pickings, Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, 2 Nov. 2015, www.brainpickings.org/2011/09/08/asylum-christopher-payne/.

"Reasons for Admission to Insane Asylums in the 19th Century." Snopes.com, Urban Legends Reference Pages, www.snopes.com/fact-check/reasons-admission-insane-asylum-1800s/.

Importance of the Telegraph and Morse code

Telegrams

Before Telegrams

Before the telegram, forms of communication were a lot less complex. According to the History Channel website editors, simple ways of communicating in ancient civilizations were by use of smoke signals or drumbeats to convey different messages. Methods like these were effective but could easily become less reliable due to changes in weather or line of sight. Creative Displays states, "Drums and smoke signals were also used by primitive man, but were not the most practical means of communicating."  This is what makes the telegraph so special huh? What a great invention.

 History of the Telegram

The telegram was a new and interesting way of communicating in the 19th century and essentially "revolutionized long-distance communication" according to History Channel editors. The man who invented this way of communicating along with Morse code was Samuel Morse. Morse code was a sort of way of communicating that involved a series of dots and dashes as many of us may know; and this system of code made it a lot easier to portray complex messages over the "telegraph lines". The first telegraph was done by Samuel Morse himself and was sent from Washington D.C to Baltimore, Maryland stated by the editors.

From Telegraph to Cell Phones

The human ways of communication have changed a lot over the years. From spoken language to texting and video chatting, our ways of communicating have changed a lot over the years. The telegraph was one of the first advances however where we could communicate over a long distance more quickly and efficiently rather than writing or typing a letter and using a pigeon to communicate the message or whatever we used to do back in the day. Nowadays we have much more effective ways of communicating such as cell phones where we can at the click of a button call someone and have access to conveying a message within seconds. in 1876 the first telephone was invented leading the way to a new way of communicating and instead of telegrams we could now do long distance communication in an easier fashion. Imagine that! As Avatel said in their blog, "With today's technology, communications can span the globe and carry voice, data, and video". That proves that we've come a long way since the 19th century forms of communication and especially from the forms of communication before that time.

Sources:

https://avatel.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/the-evolution-of-long-distance-communication/

https://www.creativedisplaysnow.com/articles/history-of-communication-from-cave-drawings-to-the-web/

https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/telegraph

Insane Asylums in the 19th Century

When discussing mental health it has always been a hushed subject, even in today's day and age.  This holds especially true within the Victorian Era.  Although we have come a long way in medical advances and treatment of patients, this discussion of mental health continues to be one that people often avoid.  In the 19th century new thinking lead to what later became the asylums that we all know of today (4).  However this new idea of housing the mentally ill fell short of all the utopian goals that were expected of these mental institutions.  This started simply with the administration process to be placed into one of these facilities.  During the 19th century any person that had a mental disorder or simply should signs that were abnormal during this time period were whisked away from their daily life and put into an asylum.  This means that people who could have been having an off day or just merely acting out could be put in these mad houses.


Formation

Layout plan of Trenton State Hospital 1848 (Gallery)

Before large scale institutions were put into place the mentally ill would put either taken care of in the confines of their own home or put into, what was known as, a private madhouse.  These homes were run by the parish of the county or state and had doctors which were referred to as mad doctor (5).  These doctors were rarely licensed or fit to be treating any patient.  With the little care that went into patients and their care, the Lunacy Act of 1890 was eventually put into place.  This act provided a wider role on patients and those who were admitted to these houses.  Reformers would claim that this was a new and safe haven for treating lunatics and teaching idiots (5).  This started the trend of what would become the new mental institutions of the day and turn into torture chambers for these patients.

The asylums themselves were set to look as though they were in a utopian society.  They would be set in rural areas, usually with farms or nothing in the distance.  Patients would work on these farms as a form of labor treatment.  The buildings stood tall and majestic in the middle of these country sides.  The idea of the construction of the buildings was that there would be a central hub area and then two long wings that jutted out from each side (4).  The two wings were sectioned off by sex and then by symptoms of illness.  The most well behaved were housed along the upper floors, while the more troublesome stayed in the bottom level.  The idea was that the the maximization of natural light and the fresh air would become curative for these patients.


Treatment

19th Century Spinning Chair Treatment (Jones)

In the 19th century the treatment of these patients was new and faced many moral dilemmas.  In today's day and age it's known that mental illness cannot always be cured but more so set up with a long term treatment.  In the 1800's all they were searching for was a way to cure these patients.  Diagnosing patients was often based upon whether they could care for themselves or not.  Once they would be diagnosed as mental unstable they would then become a ward of the state and live the rest of their days in the asylum.  Becoming a patient often meant that they would be a patient for the rest of their lives (4).  The way that patients were treated in the 19th century is now found as inhumane and torturous.  Treatments of the patients could include being put in the Spinning Chair, which suspended the patients in a chair and then spun around for hours on end.  If the patient threw up this was seen as them having toxins leave their body.  Other treatments included being restrained, isolated or beaten.  Hydrotherapy frequently occurred and patients were forcibly stripped into the bathtubs and restrained during the duration of the therapy (4).  The treatment itself would be more of a torture tactic to try and understand how patients would receive the treatment and what was actually wrong with them.

Women in Asylums
An important aspect of the 19th century asylums was that women were more often that not whisked away from their families and put into these treatment centers.  The cause of their admittance to an asylum could simply be that they were being too hysterical.  The would be committed for stress, overwork, post-natal depression and epilepsy.  Straight to the point is that they could have been committed for simply just being women.  Husbands had the power of their wives and could commit them at their own will.  The idea that women were more frantic or hysterical was seen as a mental illness that needed to be treated.  They would often times be subdued to the hydrotherapy as a treatment for hyper sexuality.   Female organs were also seen as having mental illness imbedded inside them.  Having menopause or a healthy sex life were grounds for women to be put in an insane asylum.  Nellie Bly wrote Ten Days in a Mad-House, where she faked insanity to get an inside look into what was happening in the asylums.  She found that many of the women there were forced to live there and that when she looked around she only saw normal women locked up in a prison (4).




Works Cited

1.) “Gallery One: UK Victorian Asylums.” Mad, Bad and Desperate - Crime and Insanity in Historical Britain, criminalunacy.blogspot.com/p/gallery-one-uk-asylums.html.

2.) Holtzman, Ellen. “A Home Away from Home.” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2012, www.apa.org/monitor/2012/03/asylums.aspx.

3.) Jones, Emma E. K. “The Chair of Moros.” Treatment of Mental Disorders : from the Stone Age till the Middle Ages., 1 Jan. 1970, the-chair-of-moros.blogspot.com/2011/06/treatment-of-mental-disorders-from.html.

4.) Myers, Christopher. “13 Unforgivable Facts About Life In 19th Century Insane Asylums.” Ranker, www.ranker.com/list/life-in-19th-century-mental-institutions-and-insane-asylums/christopher-myers.

5.) “The Growth of the Asylum - a Parallel World.” Historic England, historicengland.org.uk/research/inclusive-heritage/disability-history/1832-1914/the-growth-of-the-asylum/.

Mourning, Funerals, and Superstitions: Deathly Victorian Traditions

In an era that defined the individual based on adherence to proper etiquette, not even death proved to be an exception to this rule. There was a certain way in Victorian England in which everything was to be done, even when it came to laying the departed to rest. 

Queen Victoria (1819-1901) ruled over
the UK and Ireland from the time she
was 18 years old (2). 

Victorian mourning traditions were largely ushered in after 1861; it was at this time that Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert died, succumbing to Typhoid Fever (2). Her extended mourning over her beloved prince brought about new conventions that are still seen today. For example, Victoria wore black and other muted colors for years after her husband's death, cementing black as the most appropriate color for those in mourning (7). 

A chart from the book Round About
a Pound a Week details the funeral
costs for a child who died from
cholera (3).

Life expectancy was quite low in England at this time. Diseases such as diphtheria, typhus, and cholera were common, and it wasn't abnormal for children to die at a very young age (1). As such, many families often began saving up for funerals while their loved ones were still alive and well. Families in the lower classes would often have to choose between daily essentials (such as heat or food) or setting aside funds to ensure they'd have proper funeral funding as per the standards of the time (3).  

Above is an example of
a wreath that could be placed
at the front entrance of a
home in mourning (4).

Once a family member had actually passed, there were many customs (driven by superstition) that would often take place. Regular life would be put on hold for a family as they prepared the departed for the public spectacle that was a Victorian funeral. Curtains would be drawn in the home and windows were covered to prevent the spirit of the dead from being "trapped" within a reflection (4). A wreath tied with dark fabric would also be hung on the front entrance to the home of the deceased,  ensuring that everyone who passed by knew that the family was in mourning (4). Additionally, the traditional "wake" that many families still hold today originated from this era, as the dead were watched over constantly in the days leading up to their public burial. Not only did this ensure that visiting family members were given enough time to travel, but it also helped confirm that the deceased was actually dead and not simply in a coma (4).  

Another common post-death practice that would be viewed as "creepy" today was the art of taking commemorative photos with the deceased loved one—after the family member was already dead. As photography technology advanced throughout the 1800's, having portraits done by professional photographers grew increasingly more affordable. According to the BBC, the catalyst for many families in deciding to get a photo taken of a family member was often their death. After all, this would be their last chance to create something to preserve their memory (1). These chilling images often show living relatives posing next to the corpse of a family member. As the subjects in these photos had to sit still for a long time while the photo was created, the deceased often appear much clearer in the photo than its living subjects.

A group of four children stand next to their deceased sister (left)
who was propped up in order for the photo to be taken (1).

The photo on the left provides a great example of how much
clearer the deceased appear in these photos next to living
relatives. On the right is an example of a memento that would be
given to family members of the deceased (1). 

A group of family members pose around a deceased child placed
on the floor. Another example of a distributed memento is
shown to the right (1).  

An image of the funural procession of
Queen Victoria exemplifies the way
a Victorian procession was set up
during this time (7).  

Funeral processions themselves were also very elaborate (and costly) affairs. Since processions were expected to be impressive public spectacles, funeral directors first appeared during this era. They would put together parades of horses carrying ornately decorated hearses (complete with glass panels to allow for those passing by to observe the body) (5). Professional mourners could also be hired to follow the body, giving the impression that the deceased was of great importance (5).








Even after the dead were buried and laid to rest, the same could not be said for Victorian superstitions. Although medicine and technology were advancing during this time period, there were still fears over mistakenly burying someone still alive. This common fear of premature burial led to many coffins designed with a built-in safety system. Such coffins included a string attached to a bell that would be placed above-ground so that anyone who was buried alive could simply pull on the string to alert passersby that they were, in fact, not actually dead (8). 

A sketch of a Victorian "safety coffin" (8).

Works Cited 

(1) Bell, Bethan. “Taken from life: The unsettling art of death photography.” BBC, 5  June 2016. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-36389581. 

(2) Biography.com Editors. “Queen Victoria Biography.” Biography.com, 27 February 2018, https://www.biography.com/people/queen-victoria-9518355.

(3) Cryer, Pat. “Costs of dying in early 20^th century Britain.” 1900s.org, https://www.1900s.org.uk/1900s-funerals-cost.htm. 

(4) Friends of Oak Grove Cemetery. “Victorian Funeral Customs and Superstitions.” Friends of Oak Grove Cemetery, https://friendsofoakgrovecemetery.org/victorian-funeral-customs-fears-and-superstitions/. 

(5) Lang, Leslie. 13 Fascinating Victorian Funeral Customs.” Ancestry, https://blogs.ancestry.com/cm/13-fascinating-victorian-funeral-customs/.  

(6) Russell. Queen Victoria's Funeral: Leaving Windsor Castle for the Royal Mausoleum, Frogmore. 1910, The Life and Times of King Edward VII, by Whates, Harry Richard, London Cassell, p. 7.

(7) Telegraph Financial Solutions. “A Short History of Funerals in Britain.” The Telegraph, 15 February 2018, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/financial-services/retirement-solutions/funeral-plans/history-british-funerals/. 

(8) Waugh, Lisa. “22 Morbid Death and Mourning Customs from the Victorian Era.” Ranker, https://www.ranker.com/list/victorian-death-and-mourning-customs/lisa-waugh.