In an exhibit last year, the Jefferson Historical Society & Museum explored the eerie side of 19th-century life in “Sitting Up with the Dead: A Victorian Mourning Exhibit,” which highlighted the period's funeral customs and touched on the truly bizarre world of Victorian photography. Victorians, for whom death was a constant presence, developed some chilling photographic trends far beyond the familiar post-mortem portraits.

The museum highlighted three spooky photo fads that are perfect for revisiting this Halloween:

One of the creepiest trends arose from a practical need: keeping a baby still for the long exposure time of a photograph. The solution? The mother would hold the baby in her lap. She was then covered entirely with a black cloth so she wouldn’t appear in the photo. The resulting image makes the baby appear to be floating or held by an invisible entity – a truly unsettling effect!

Want to capture a ghost? Victorians thought they could. Spirit Photography used techniques like double exposures to make an apparition "appear" in a photo. The most famous example is Mary Todd Lincoln’s photo, where her assassinated husband, President Abraham Lincoln, appears as a ghost behind her. The image is widely believed to be a hoax, though the photographer never admitted how the image was created.

Perhaps the strangest trend of all was “headless photography,” a short-lived but popular fad. These playful, yet gruesome, portraits show the subject's severed head displayed in various unsettling ways. The subject often held the weapon of their "murder" in their other hand. Apparently, with death always close by, some in the Victorian era found comfort in dark humor.

We hope you are as “haunted” by these fascinating images as we were. Happy Halloween!

The San Antonio Conservation Society Foundation received a grant in support of restorations to the 1870 Anton Wulff House, an Italianate-style mansion in the King William Historic District south of downtown San Antonio. 

Gonzales Main Street received funding for its "Legacy In Lights" film, an immersive retelling of the 1835 Battle of Gonzales. Held earlier this month, the facade of the Gonzales Memorial Museum was transformed into the story of the famous battle, with narrations based on historical records. See photos

The Texas Fluted Point Survey is the recipient of THF's 2025 Annual Grant. The project documents and maps Clovis and Folsom projectile points found in Texas to expand our understanding of our state's earliest inhabitants.  Don't miss our September blog if you would like to learn more about the project!

Sugarloaf Productions was awarded funds for “Tonkawa: They All Stay Together”, a documentary film exploring the tribe's past and present cultural traditions as they return to their ancestral Red Mountain home in Central Texas (view photos of the filming).

The Flower Hill Center earned second place in the 2024 Duda Preservation Awards for its work at the Smoot Homestead, a significant site in Austin's history. The award funds will support stabilization efforts for the main house, which will become a historic house museum. 

Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum received funding for its Cowboy Camp, an annual summer youth program. The museum also earned 3rd place at the 2024 Duda Preservation Awards in Dallas for its preservation work in Cuero and South Texas. The funds will go towards renovations to their building (see photos).

Preservation Texas received support for Phase 1 of the Preservation Texas Institute Operations and Business Plan. The Institute will serve as a statewide hub for preservation education and training and will be based at the former Trinity University/Westminster College Campus in Tehuacana (photos). The organization will also renovate the 154-year-old Texas Hall. Learn More

Harold Prasatik

Cynthia Toles

Jon Venverloh

At its recent meeting in San Angelo, the Texas Historical Foundation approved three new directors: Harold Prasatik of Fair Oaks Ranch, Cynthia Toles of Houston, and Jon Venverloh of Highland Park. Their expertise and passion for preservation will help advance THF’s mission across Texas. The meeting was held at the historic Cactus Hotel in downtown San Angelo, where Chair Eric Griffin requested a moment of silence in memory of two board members who passed away over the summer: Bill Sibley and Norma Schmelling. In addition to board business, members enjoyed a tour of Fort Concho National Historic Landmark led by Director Bob Bluthardt, participated in a butterfly release at Heritage Park’s Monarch Waystation, and had dinner on an 1860s ranch. It was the perfect blend of history, nature, and Texas charm! 

Join us November 20–21 for the 2025 Duda Forum on Historic Preservation and Sustainable Development, spotlighting Texas’s iconic historic courthouses. The event kicks off with a keynote at the Travis County Probate Courthouse in Austin, followed by a full day of panel sessions at the Comal County Courthouse in New Braunfels. You can view the agenda and register TODAY on our website!

The Duda Forum III is coordinated by the Texas Historical Foundation, the Michael Christopher Duda Center for Preservation, Resilience, and Sustainability at the University of Notre Dame, and the Texas Historical Commission Courthouse Preservation Program.

Russell Busby, Boerne
Jeff Newman, Midlothian
John Speegle, San Antonio

D.B. and Susannah Donaldson, Midland
Howard and Brenda McClurkin, Weatherford

Richard Millan, Austin

Scott Petty, San Antonio

Austin Theatre Alliance
Glenwood Cemetery Historic Preservation Foundation, Houston
Jasper County Historical Museum, Jasper
Junta Patriotica, Lubbock
Lone Star Heritage Foundation, Fredericksburg
Texas General Land Office, Austin
View all Institutional Partners

James Harkins
Michael Marchant
Michael Marz
James Minmier
Dale Sellers
Elizabeth and Jerry Susser
Cynthia Toles