The Biltmore house is full of gargoyles and grotesques. Well, it’s actually full of grotesques. Not a single one of the countless stone figures on Biltmore’s façade is a functioning gargoyle. However, some of them are quite convincing at pretending to be gargoyles, with their open mouths and the extreme angles at which they stick out from the walls. Most of them are really high up on the building, but a few are fairly close to the ground. I looked at some of the lower ones quite closely, and I still wasn’t really sure if they were true gargoyles are not. So, I will give into their clever ruse and call them gargoyles, since they are clearly modelled after real gargoyles. Enjoy some of Biltmore’s gargoyles, grotesques, and other creatures below.
If you want to learn more about gargoyles and grotesques, including what the different is between the two, read my Field Guide to Gargoyles. If you want to hear more about my recent trip to Biltmore, you can do so via the links at the bottom of the post.
Funny enough, I featured some of Biltmore’s gargoyles on Gargoyle of the Day long before I had ever seen them in person.
