Gothic Sunday

Overview

Find yourself constantly daydreaming of corsets and spotted dick? Then don your top hat, grab your favourite Edgar Allan Poe novel and take a stroll back into yesteryear with Sydney Living Museums' (who were, until recently, the Historic Houses Trust)  Gothic Sunday. Following the rollicking success of Regency Sunday, the newest instalment in the Vintage Sundays series has opted for a decidedly darker and more macabre historical trip: the twisted world of mid-1800 Victorian mourning customs.

The rules remain the same as last time - period dress is encouraged, and faux Mr Darcy accents are compulsory - but the game is quite different this time round. Tours through a fully decked-out Vaucluse House by the undertaker of William Wentworth's mausoleum will have you immersed in the Victorian era's dark and decadent mourning process, and the sombre tones of an all-male choir will have you feeling like you have stumbled into a time machine. If you prefer a more hands-on approach to history you can try your hand at jet jewellery making or baking funeral biscuits. And if the doom and gloom of all this becomes too much to bear, then hop into your dancing shoes for your very own Victorian polka lesson.