Anomalous computer architecture burst across the state , whereregional quirkscan offer everything from ember parachute to female parent - in - law bottom that descend from the cap . InVermont , one trademark blueprint is easily pick out from the street : It ’s a colored gable window installed at a seemingly haphazard slant , and it ’s known as a “ witch windowpane . ” What is it , and , well , just why ?
concord toVermont Public Radio , the angled windows are typically seen in 19th - century farmhouses that supply a one - story living area after the initial structure . Depending on how the level was constructed , it might be obscured by a lot of the cap . The builder or homeowner , eager to get more natural sparkle in the addition , would opt to instal a window at an slant rather than have no window at all .
Why not usage - order a window ? That wasuncommon , as Fannie Farmer typically made do with stock modeling they could order through catalog . And if your remodel involved taking out an former window , then you were probably tempted to reuse it in another emplacement — even if you had to cram it in a tight space .
But why call it a “ witch windowpane ” ? The answer may stanch from some lingering superstitions overwitchesin New England , as it would be hard for one to wing in when a windowpane is tap . They ’ve also been referred to as “ coffin windows , ” as there was a belief that it would be easier to get a coffin out of asecond - story windowand skid it onto the roof through a more horizontal opening rather than down a narrow stairway . Realistically , though , if one had to move a consistency , you ’d probably waitress and site it in the coffin on the first trading floor .
Witch windows are also known as Vermont windows or lazy windows , though as any DIYer will tell you , building an addition to one ’s house is barely a undertaking for the idle .
[ h / tVermont Public Radio ]
