The Vermont witch window, also known as a slanting window or a coffin window, is a unique architectural feature found in some older homes in the state of Vermont, United States. These windows are tilted or slanted at an angle, usually about 45 degrees, instead of being installed vertically like regular windows. The origin of the term "witch window" is unclear, but there are a few theories. One theory suggests that the name originated from the belief that witches cannot fly their brooms through slanted windows. Another theory proposes that the term was coined because the windows have a strange and mysterious appearance, resembling something that a witch might use. The practical purpose of the Vermont witch window is to maximize the amount of natural light entering a room.

Witch Windows: Vermont's Spooky-Ish Architectural Anomaly

Matt Hickman is an associate editor at The Architect’s Newspaper. His writing has been featured in Curbed, Apartment Therapy, URBAN-X, and more.

A common feature of older farmhouses in certain parts of Vermont, the true purpose of so-called witch windows is somewhat of a mystery. (Photo: Larry Lamsa [CC BY 2.0]/Flickr)

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The vernacular architecture of Vermont, the erstwhile independent country-turned-14th state with one area code and nary a roadside billboard, is a study in rural New England self-sufficiency: sturdy, no-nonsense and demonstrating a strong reliance on familiar, locally available materials.

We're going to make it through another harsh winter and we're going to look damn photogenic while doing so, Vermont's farmhouses, covered bridges and picturesque white-painted churches all seem to scream from along winding country roads. It's truly something straight out of architectural central casting.

Vermont, particularly central Vermont and the Northeast Kingdom, is also home to a curious example of folk architecture that's rarely found elsewhere in New England. And it's one that comes up a lot around Halloween.

Meet the witch window, a Green Mountain State-exclusive phenomenon rooted in both superstition and cold climate practicality — it really depends on who you ask and when.

Witch windows — sometimes referred to as "Vermont windows" during times of the year when pointy black hats and facial boils are less in vogue — are hard to miss: They're full-sized and usually double-hung windows installed on the gable-end of the upper floors of older Vermont homes at a 45 degree angle. Translation: The windows are positioned sideways, running parallel to the slope of a home's rooflines.

For the superstitious, these diagonally oriented second-floor windows function as a practical home security measure — witch-proofing, if you will.

Looks weird, right? To many Vermonters, diagonal windows are a common feature of older homes. They're believed to keep both witches and winter drafts at bay. (Photo: Piledhigheranddeeper [CC BY-SA 3.0]/Wikimedia Commons)

You see, it's incredibly cumbersome for broomstick-mounting enchantresses to make direct approaches and landings through a sideways window. Just as any self-respecting witch wouldn't attempt to brew a potion sans newt's eye, attempting to gain entry through a titled window while airborne just doesn't happen. Ever.

"It was thought that a witch could not fly at an angle on its broomstick and she could only fly straight up on her broomstick, so if you angled a window she couldn't fly into a window," architectural historian Britta Tonn recently explained to Burlington-based WCAX News. Referring to witch windows as an "example of regionalism and regional architecture," Tonn goes on to make a very good — if not blatantly obvious — point: "If people were worried about witches coming in through their house, they would have done every window angled, likely not just the one or the two."

It's all very Sarah Winchester meets Normal Rockwell, really.

Whether or not spooky folklore-rich Vermont has historically been home to a disproportionately large number of broom-reliant witchcraft practitioners is largely irrelevant: It's just a funny name for a funny-looking architectural feature.

And as it turns out, "witch" isn't the only Halloween-appropriate descriptor used when referring to these peculiar slanted windows. In Vermont parlance, some natives opt to call them "coffin windows."

As Kathryn Eddy wrote for the Barre Montpelier Times Argus, the coffin backstory is rather hazy, although it likely has to do with the window's rectangular shape. However, some folks claim that the windows were purpose-installed so that 19th-century undertakers could hoist coffins outside and slide them down the roof as an alternative to carrying them down a narrow or twisty interior staircase. How a coffin might wind up on the second story of a home to begin with is anyone's guess, though.

Just like vampires need to be formally invited inside, superstition dictates that broom-straddling witches can't enter a home through a window unless it's vertically positioned. (Photo: Piledhigheranddeeper [CC BY-SA 4.0]/Wikimedia Commons)

Alas, the decidedly more realistic supposed reasons (everyone seems to have a different answer) for Vermont's wealth of wonky windows has little to do with witch deterrence and coffin transport logistics.

. the windows were often placed at the point where an outbuilding or addition was constructed. With the loss of wall and window space, sometimes the only space for an upper-floor window required that it be built at an angle. It allowed for light and ventilation where there would otherwise be none.
The sideways window was generally the window that had to be sacrificed from the old wall and simply reused. Add it to the extensive list of reasons why Vermonters deserve their practical reputation and were going ‘green' — recycling and repurposing — long before it was the trend to do so.

This makes sense for the most part but it still doesn't truly explain why witch windows are something only seen in older buildings in Vermont and nowhere else.

Tonn's theory is very much along the same lines — witch windows are simply the "result of good old fashion Yankee ingenuity and resourcefulness, instead of designing new windows to fit into that space; just rotate an already made one 45 degrees."

Others believe that witch windows functioned as vents of sorts, giving rising hot air a place to escape during not-all-that-brutal Vermont summers. Just crack open your weird sideways window on the second floor and, ahhh, relief.

Dormer windows are relatively rare in older Vermont homes. This home, likely a new build, has both dormer windows and a witch window for a bit of added folk architecture cred. (Photo: piledhigheranddeeper [CC BY-SA 3.0]/Wikimedia Commons)

A commenter on WCAX supports this ventilation-centric hypothesis:

It was nice in summer because all the heat from daily cooking or just the heat of the day would rise from the 1st to the second floor venting much of the heat out through that window. Most of the old farm houses had steep pitched roofs which means the upstairs had slanted walls going half way down the walls usually leaving only one wall available for a widow. The stairwell to the 2nd floor was open which meant the little side window provided cross ventilation for the 2nd floor for the heat to escape. That's what my uncle told me.

As for those very-much-all-that-brutal Vermont winters, witch windows were thought to be installed back in the day as a low-cost, no-frills alternative to dormer windows, which are prone to snow and ice accumulation and can be a major source of heat loss during the colder months.

Plus, if you think about it, a tucked away attic-level dormer window is the perfect place for your typical broom-riding hag to gain entry during the middle of the night while the rest of the house sleeps.

What's The History Of Vermont's 'Witch Windows'?

You might have seen this architectural oddity on an old Vermont farmhouse, even if you didn’t know what to call it.

It’s one of those upstairs windows that’s set on a diagonal.

Or, as State Architectural Historian Devin Colman explains it, "It’s the crooked window tucked up under the eaves in the gable end — and it’s just tucked in there at a crazy angle."

A lot of Vermonters call them "witch windows." But why? Where does that name come from, and why are these windows installed in the first place?

This is what Aaron Troncoso, of Burlington, was wondering when he posed a question to Brave Little State, VPR's people-powered journalism podcast.

"What is the history of Vermont's witch windows? And why do they only exist in Vermont?" — Aaron Troncoso, Burlington

It's just one of the questions that Brave Little State took on in its recent episode: Your Vermont History Fix, From Gold Mines To Witch Windows.

Devin Colman, who works for Vermont’s Division for Historic Preservation, says there’s superstitious lore behind the name, "witch window."

"The story is that a witch on a broomstick can’t fly through a crooked window opening, which I guess physically is true," says Colman.

"But, it’s the only crooked window in the whole house. And if I were a witch, I would just use one of the other vertical windows," he adds with a laugh.

And Colman says there’s another theory that doesn’t quite add up.

"You’ll also hear them referred to as coffin windows," he says. "The idea being that it’s difficult to maneuver a coffin with a body from the second floor down to the first floor in these narrow staircases, so slide it out through the window and down the roof — which does not seem any easier. And, if you think about it, you wouldn’t carry a coffin upstairs to put a body in it. You would bring the body downstairs and put it in the coffin on the first floor. So, I don’t think that holds a lot of truth there."

Britta Tonn is an architectural historian in the Burlington area, and she's skeptical about that origin story, too. But she's willing to concede it might be "another convenient use of the window once it was developed."

"I think they’re just a really great piece of vernacular Vermont architecture that really kind of points to how unique Vermont is and how resourceful farmers were," says Tonn.

Colman says the real origin of the witch window is probably much less interesting: "My interpretation as an architectural historian is that it’s simply a really practical New England response to the need to get daylight and fresh air into a second-story room."

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You'll often see a witch window above a one-story addition to an old farmhouse.

"And typically, if you’re adding on a wing to a house, you’re covering up windows," Colman explains. "So you’ll have an extra window sitting around, and why not just angle it and tuck it in that little section of wall space?"

In a word, Colman says: "Frugality."

As to why the windows are only found in Vermont — well, they aren’t.

"It’s not specific to Vermont," says Colman. "I think it’s more prevalent, but you do find them in rural areas in New Hampshire and Maine and other parts of New England."

In other places, they’re simply referred to as crooked, or angled, windows. That being said, both Devin Colman and Britta Tonn agree that highest concentration of witch windows is in 19th-century farmhouses in north-central Vermont. And Colman says we might be the only ones to call them “witch windows” — and tell those stories associated with the name.

"It seems like the 'witch window,' and that explanation, might be unique to Vermont," he says. "Because none of my colleagues in other states had ever heard that, and thought it was an interesting theory."

Around here they’re also called Vermont windows, and lazy windows. And of course there’s endless fun to be had with the question of “which witch?” — as in this architectural history joke Tonn shares:

"Someone, a tourist, will be driving by and ask the local, ‘Hey, why does that window look so funny in that house?’ And the local will say, ‘Which window?’ And the tourist says, “Ok, great, thanks.’ And they drive off."

Or perhaps the crooked window just doesn't know which way to go.

Brave Little State has support from the VPR Journalism Fund. Our editor is Lynne McCrea, and our theme music is by Ty Gibbons. Other music in this segment was used under a Creative Commons license:

• "The Dance" by David Szesztay
• "Lightfeet" by Podington Bear

The Weird History of Witch Windows

The practical purpose of the Vermont witch window is to maximize the amount of natural light entering a room. By tilting the window, it allows more sunlight to penetrate the space, especially during the shorter winter days when the sun is lower in the sky. This feature is particularly useful in Vermont, known for its long and harsh winters.

Remember the folk tale (or the folk song) about the “crooked little man” and his “crooked little house”? When you travel through Vermont, he might come to mind thanks to the many crooked windows adorning area farmhouses. Turns out they’re called witch windows—but why? And why are they so common in New England?

By Nicole Shein | Published Oct 28, 2021 10:32 PM

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There are other supposed reasons for the slanted design of these windows. Some believe that the windows were made slanted to accommodate the transportation of large furniture through narrow spaces. It is said that rotating the furniture at an angle and going through the window was easier than navigating the narrow hallways and staircases of older homes. Today, Vermont witch windows are mostly found in older homes, particularly those built between the early 1800s and the early 1900s. They are considered unique architectural elements that add character and charm to these historic houses. Some residents of Vermont even consider the witch window as a symbol of local pride and heritage, making them an iconic feature of the state. In conclusion, the Vermont witch window is a distinctive architectural feature found in some older homes in Vermont. The slanted design allows more natural light into the room and potentially facilitated the transportation of furniture. It is a symbol of local pride and heritage, adding character and charm to the historic houses in which they are found..

Reviews for "Vermont Witch Windows: Fact, Fiction, or Folklore?"

1. John Smith - 2/5 - I visited Vermont with high expectations of seeing these famous "witch windows" everyone talks about. However, I have to say I was pretty disappointed. The concept is intriguing, but the actual execution falls flat. The windows are not as impressive as I thought they would be, and it feels like a lot of hype for something that is actually quite underwhelming. I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to see these "witch windows" if you're not already in the area.

2. Emily Johnson - 1/5 - I found the Vermont witch windows to be a complete waste of time. I honestly can't believe people would go out of their way to visit these windows. They are just regular windows that are slanted. There is nothing even remotely witch-like or special about them. I felt like I wasted my time and money traveling to Vermont just to see these so-called "witch windows." Save yourself the disappointment and skip this tourist trap.

3. David Thompson - 2/5 - The Vermont witch windows were a bit of a letdown for me. I had heard so much about them and was excited to see these peculiar windows. However, when I finally saw them, I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed. They are just regular windows built at an angle, and it's hard to see any connection to witchcraft or folklore. I definitely wouldn't recommend making a special trip just to see these windows. There are plenty of other attractions in Vermont that are more deserving of your time.

Vermont Witch Windows: A Doorway to the Paranormal?