How to Build A Haunted House

What makes a house haunted? Why do some buildings conjure up a reputation for being particularly creepy, while others leave us unmoved? Barring the possibility of a looming afterlife, what are the particular features, contexts and histories that lend a building the dreaded identity of haunted house?

**Caitlin Blackwell Baines** tours some of the world's most famously spine-chilling structures in search of answers. From Medieval Scotland to Enlightenment-era London; Victorian suburbs to pre-Civil War Louisiana, Blackwell-Baines, an expert in Gothic art and architecture, will explore that specific set of ingredients that captures our imaginations and contributes to our collective understanding of the eternally eerie. After all, whether a staunch sceptic or paranormal enthusiast, we all know a haunted house when we see one.

**Caitlin Blackwell Baines** is an art historian and author, specialising in Georgian art and architecture. Born in Toronto, she later emigrated to the UK to pursue an MA from the Courtauld Institute of Art and a PhD from the University of York in art history. Upon completing her studies, she moved to the Isle of Bute off the Western coast of Scotland, and worked as a curator at Mount Stuart, a late Victorian Gothic Revival palace. When she isn't visiting haunted houses and recording her ghost story-themed history podcast, Haunted Homes, Caitlin is based in East Sussex.

Presented by Conway Hall.

This is an all ages event. Under 16's must be accompanied by an adult.