My Victorian Nightmare – Ep. 80

The MYSTERIOUS Exhumation of Elizabeth Siddal

Host: Genevieve Manion
Date: February 2, 2026

Episode Theme & Purpose

Genevieve Manion explores several vivid tales from Victorian England, with a special focus on the life, death, and legendary exhumation of Pre-Raphaelite muse Elizabeth Siddal. The episode blends the tragic, the mysterious, and the morbidly fascinating—ranging from legal cases about haunted houses, the myth of hair growth after death, spiritualist fraud, and the chilling Bradford Sweets arsenic poisoning. Manion’s signature mix of poetic melancholy, dark humor, and empathy for the era’s sufferers suffuses the telling.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Haunted House Law and the “Ghostbusters Ruling”

[03:11-07:40]

• Strange Legal History: Only four U.S. states (NY, NJ, MA, MN) require haunted home disclosures during property transactions.
  • Origin Story: Listener shares that NY’s requirement was sparked by the famous Stambovsky v. Ackley case, a.k.a. the “Ghostbusters ruling.”
  • Helen Ackley, the Haunted Homeowner: Ackley publicly claimed poltergeists resided in her Nyack, NY home; stories included lost and found rings and full-bodied apparitions.
  • Buyer's Lawsuit: Ackley’s buyer, Jeffrey Stambovsky, attempted to have the sale rescinded after learning of the hauntings, but the court ruled against him, setting disclosure precedent.

Memorable Quote:
"Plaintiff hasn't a ghost of a chance. I am moved by the spirit of equity, and the notion is a hobgoblin, which should be exorcised from the body of legal precedent." — Quoted from the court’s majority opinion, [07:11]

2. Elizabeth Siddal’s Life, Death, and Exhumation

[09:32-14:06]

• Who Was Elizabeth Siddal?:
  • Model for Millais' painting Ophelia—famously posed in freezing water, possibly harming her health.
  • Married to Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Pre-Raphaelite painter and poet, who created hundreds of images of her.
  • Suffered from depression, two stillbirths, laudanum addiction, and possible tuberculosis—ultimately dying at 32.
• Seven Years Later—A Morbid Retrieval:
  • In 1869, Rossetti had her body exhumed to retrieve a manuscript of his poetry placed in her coffin.
  • Rumors spread (by art dealer Charles Howell) that Siddal’s hair had grown fantastically and filled the coffin, and her body was well preserved.
• Debunking the Hair Myth:
  • Genevieve clarifies: Hair does not grow after death; it only appears longer as skin shrinks.
  • The “hair like Ophelia” myth was a fabrication—but it reignited interest in her as a poet.

Memorable Quote:
"Charles would go on to spread this detail… ignited interest in her again as a poet, which is good. But this, it was just a lie." — [13:07]

3. Elizabeth Siddal’s Poetry: “The Silent Wood”

[14:12-15:14]

• Host reads full text of Siddal’s “The Silent Wood”
  • Lush, forlorn, gothic mood highlighting the show’s reverence for Victorian poetry.

4. First-hand Victorian Ghost Hunt — “With Their Own Eyes”

[15:21-20:03]

• Reading from the Jeffersonian, 1859:
  • Reporter and his servant spend a night in a haunted house: eerily behaving dog, childlike footprints materializing in dust, self-opening/closing doors, and a floating, glowing “ghost globule.”
• Host’s Observations:
  • Empathizes with the dog’s terror; muses on ideas of ghosts attached to art and family heirlooms.

Memorable Quote:
"Great use of the word globule. I'll say ghost globules. I can see in my mind exactly the spirit glob that he's describing." — [20:15]

5. Seance Room: The Truth of Spirit Photography

[21:11-27:09]

• 1870 Article on Spirit Photographer William Mumler:
  • Mumler creates “spirit photos” (double exposures), duping clients including Abraham Lincoln’s widow.
  • Spiritualists speculate on how spirits might imprint images via invisible rays.
• Fraud Exposed:
  • Host explains Mumler’s hoax (double-exposure), trial against P.T. Barnum, and legal acquittal.
  • William Hope, another famed spirit photographer, is revealed as fraudulent, despite defenders like Arthur Conan Doyle.
  • Early X-rays also believed to reveal the human spirit.

Memorable Quote:
"P.T. Barnum himself sued Mumler out of sheer disgust for what he was doing." — [24:52]

6. Victorian Food Horrors: Bradford Sweets Poisoning, 1858

[27:34-38:56]

• Event Summary:
  • Over 200 poisoned, 20 dead (mostly children), after arsenic-laced peppermint “humbugs” sold on Halloween.
  • Cause: a pharmacy apprentice accidentally sells 12 pounds of arsenic instead of sugar filler (plaster of Paris) to local candy seller “Humbug Billy.”
  • Arsenic candy distributed widely; initial symptoms mistaken for cholera.
  • Newspapers halted presses to warn: “Don’t eat the candy.”
• Aftermath:
  • All involved nearly died themselves but survived with life-altering guilt or injury.
  • No criminal convictions; prompted the Pharmacy Act of 1868 and the Sale of Food and Drugs Act of 1875.
  • Public shocked to learn candy (and other foods) frequently adulterated with fillers like plaster of Paris.

Memorable Quotes:
"They were already not great to ingest… Each candy had enough arsenic to kill two people each." — [30:55]
"The police were in complete shock and terror at the thought and didn't know what to do straight away other than run into the streets, begin ringing bells and screaming don't eat the candy." — [32:42]

7. Christina Rossetti’s Poem “In an Artist’s Studio” — On Siddal

[39:06-40:48]

• Poem reflects Siddal’s role as muse, her suffering, and perhaps the blindness of her husband, Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
• Genevieve interprets the poem as both elegy and subtle critique.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “Plaintiff hasn’t a ghost of a chance. I am moved by the spirit of equity, and the notion is a hobgoblin, which should be exorcised from the body of legal precedent.” — Court opinion on haunted house case [07:11]

• “She lay close to death for several weeks after that.” — Genevieve on Siddal after modeling for Ophelia [10:27]

• “Charles would go on to spread this detail… ignited interest in her again as a poet, which is good. But this, it was just a lie.” — On the hair-growth-in-coffin myth [13:07]

• “Great use of the word globule. I can see in my mind exactly the spirit glob that he’s describing.” — Genevieve after ghost hunt account [20:15]

• “P.T. Barnum himself sued Mumler out of sheer disgust for what he was doing.” — On spirit photography fraud [24:52]

• “Each candy had enough arsenic to kill two people each.” — On the Bradford sweets poisoning [30:55]

• “The police… were literally running down the streets ringing bells and telling everyone who could hear them to spread the word.” — [32:42]

  See [39:40-40:48] for Christina Rossetti’s poem, “In an Artist’s Studio” — read in full, with Genevieve’s interpretation.

Flow & Tone

Genevieve maintains a voice that’s equal parts wry, compassionate, and morbidly enthralled by Victorian tragedies. She immerses listeners, moving smoothly from dark anecdotes to historical context, poetic appreciation, and present-day observations. The show is both informative and emotionally resonant—appreciating not just gothic misery for its own sake, but as a lens on art, gender, social reform, and the strange comforts of shared human sorrow.

Suggested Listen Timestamps

• Haunted house law history: [03:11-07:40]
• Elizabeth Siddal’s exhumation legend: [09:32-14:06]
• Siddal’s poetry (“The Silent Wood”): [14:12-15:14]
• Victorian ghost hunting narrative: [15:21-20:03]
• Spirit photography hoax unraveled: [21:11-27:09]
• Bradford arsenic candy poisoning: [27:34-38:56]
• Christina Rossetti’s “In an Artist’s Studio”: [39:06-40:48]

If you are drawn to a blend of Victorian true crime, gothic art, and the haunted, this episode is rich in atmospheric detail and surprising history, all delivered with Genevieve Manion’s uniquely comforting-yet-chilling narrative style.