From undead brides and broken wedding vows to the historical realities of marriage, gender, and death, we trace the origins of one of gothic fiction’s most haunting archetypes. Why are cultures so obsessed with dead brides? What did these stories warn people about? And why do these tragic women continue to linger in our imagination centuries later?

Join us as we explore myth, folklore, religion, and the unsettling history behind the stories we know.