Gothic Revival: The Architectural Style Inspiring Tim Burton

The striking 19th-century style defining many of Burton’s films and TV shows needn’t be ghostly, writes Elizabeth Fazzare

Sandwich, Massachusetts | Sotheby’s International Realty – Sandwich Brokerage

This fall, the character of Beetlejuice is back—and so is the iconic Gothic-inspired farmhouse on a hill that starred in the original 1988 film by director Tim Burton. Its sequel, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” is Burton’s latest creative endeavor to explore Gothic and Gothic revival architecture, an aesthetic that has come to define his work. His 2016 film “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” was set at the Castle Torenhof, a neo-Gothic home in Belgium designed in the 19th century with turrets, spires and steeply pitched roofs. To achieve the vampiric “Dark Shadows” (2012) house, Burton filmed at the Trafalgar Castle School in Ontario, Canada—built in 1859 with elaborate gables, towers and arches borrowed from late-Gothic styles. And Nevermore Academy in Burton’s Netflix hit “Wednesday” features towers, steeply pitched mansard roofs, and pointed-arch windows. 

While the Gothic style defined European architecture from the 13th to 16th centuries, seen in elaborately decorated, pointed-arch churches and castles, the Gothic revival architectural style took hold in the 1800s—particularly across Europe and North America—as a nostalgic tendency colored by Romanticism and religious reform.

London, England | United Kingdom Sotheby’s International Realty

There is a “real sense of grandeur” to the style, explains Becky Fatemi, a Sotheby’s International Realty agent in London whose Lyndhurst Terrace listing is a standout exemplar of Victorian-era Gothic revival architecture. “This style is quintessentially British and reminiscent of some of the country’s grand, iconic buildings… and, as such, can be in high demand,” she adds. Designed by Charles Buckridge, a pupil of the prolific Westminster Abbey architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, the apartment is preserved inside and out, and features the quintessential large pointed arched windows, coffered ceilings and steeply pitched roofs. 

Burton’s Connecticut “Beetlejuice” abode—before being transformed by the residents with postmodernist modifications—was defined by its Victorian-era wraparound porch, pitched roof and striking tower topped by a lookout known as a “widow’s walk,” in a particular Gothic revival style known as Carpenter Gothic. This mid-19th-century U.S. derivative is distinctive for its board and batten vertical siding, steeply pitched volumes and playful interpretation of the scale and proportion of its revivalist relatives’ features.

Branford, Connecticut  | William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty

Today, Gothic revival and Carpenter Gothic houses are beloved by many in the contemporary set of collectors, historians, and architecture aficionados. “They are true heritage pieces,” says Fatemi. As such, they “require an owner who is willing to be something of a custodian and care for the complex design details that may require specialist and more regular upkeep. But certainly, the impactful architecture and intricate interiors make it a home that is sure to prove rewarding for owners and their guests.”

Though the Deetz family in “Beetlejuice” may have felt differently about their home’s iconic neo-Gothic design, through that lens, Burton’s titular ghost was really just a good preservationist.

Gladwyne, Pennsylvania | Kurfiss Sotheby’s International Realty

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