Long exposure times made smiling difficult (and by long we mean several hours. There are many theories as to why Victorians always look so dour in pictures. But as these rare vintage photos prove, that wasn't always the case.

Everybody looks so severe that it seems as if people in the 1800s just didn't have the time, or strength to have fun.

With life this pleasant, it's no wonder that nobody was smiling in the creepy pictures taken in the Victorian era.