London Month of the Dead celebrated its 13th year in October, bringing the capital’s history of death, burial and Victorian mourning traditions into focus.
Founded by Suzette Field and Stephen Coates, the festival explores London’s historic relationship with death through events that uncover forgotten stories and traditions surrounding mourning and remembrance.
For the 13th year in a row, the festival has offered an insight into the darker side of London’s history, from folk magic workshops to gothic theatre performances.
Field’s work centers on bringing these histories to wider audiences and encouraging people to reconsider their understanding of death and its place in society.
Field, a taxidermist, event organiser and writer, said: “The idea was to bring together historians, writers, scientists, artists and performers to explore death from every conceivable angle.
”Even the first festival sold out, there was a strong response right from the beginning.”
London’s Victorian cemeteries provide an insight into how attitudes towards death changed during the 19th century.
London Month of the Dead chose to highlight these spaces as they have become important for remembrance and reflecting the social differences of the period.
Field added that death remains a difficult subject to discuss openly, despite being a universal part of life, and she felt that the festival provides an opportunity to explore how society has approached mortality in the past and how that compares to modern attitudes.
Field said: “Victorians were very theatrical about mourning.
“I think we’re drawn because that kind of expression and showing mourning and how you feel is becoming increasingly absent from modern life.”
Field’s perspective offers a link between London’s historic burial traditions and contemporary discussions about rememberance.
By bringing these stories to public attention, the festival encourages audiences to look beyond the surface of familiar places and explore the different areas and stories London has to offer.
Field said: “It’s great to get Londoners to go to places they put off seeing.”
For more information on London Month of the Dead go to the website.
Featured image credit: Rodion Kutsaiev on Unsplash
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