Waterloo Teeth | The Truth About Wearing Deadmen’s Teeth
This post is dedicated to a by-product that not only came from a battlefield that shares the same name, but also a product that gave the body snatchers a very lucrative sideline.
The Wardsend Body Snatching Scandal of 1862
On 3 June 1862 Sexton Isaac Howard was accused of exhuming cadavers and selling them to Sheffield Medical School. The Reality of his crimes however was much worse.
5 Ingenious Forms of Body Snatching Prevention
Some ingeneous forms of body snatching prevention were dreamt up during the body snatching era. In this post I look at my top 5 favourites.
5 Bizarre Hiding Places Body Snatchers Used For Cadavers
From dungheaps to watery graves, if a body snatcher needed to get rid of a cadaver quickly, they found some pretty ingeneous ways of doing it!
A Short Tale Of A London Body Snatcher | Joseph Naples
A Short tale about the time notorious London body snatcher Joseph Naples broke out of prison.
7 Alternative Body Snatching Sites Outside Of Edinburgh
If you’ve read my blog before you’ll know that I’m a body snatching historian, at least I think that’s…
A Body Snatching Case in Essex | Little Leighs, 1823
After denying his involvement in the theft of 24-year-old Joanna Chinnery from St John’s churchyard in Little Leighs, it would be the smell emanating from this body snatchers cart that would eventually be his downfall.
Body Snatching | St Cuthbert’s Kirkyard, Edinburgh
Mention the watchtower and most people have probably finished with the graveyard’s darker links to the past, but there’s so much more than that if you care to step inside.
Stealing A Cadaver: How Body Snatcher Removed A Corpse
Time and stealth were of the essence when removing a cadaver, but just how did body snatchers do it with out being detected?
The Hope Street Body Snatching Scandal, Liverpool
In 1826 thirty-three cadavers were found stuffed into barrels waiting to be shipped from Liverpool to Leith, Edinburgh. But what happened to the gang responsible for the snatchings?
‘Making a Killing’: How Much Money Did Burke & Hare Make?
Just how much money did Burke and Hare make on their ten month killing spree in Edinburgh? In this post, I’ve collected the figures together and taken a look.
What Happened To William Hare? | Top #4 Theories
No one knows what happened to William Hare following his release from custody in 1829. Put onto a mail coach to Dumfries, Hare disappeared after being recognised.
Famous Body Snatchers of London
From the Borough Gang to the London Burkers, I take a look at some of the more famous body snatchers to have walked the streets of London.
A Week In The Life Of A London Body Snatcher
Life for a body snatcher was a whirlwind of activity, especially during the traditional dissecting months of October to…
Mortsafes: After The Anatomy Act
On 1 August 1832, Britain passed the Anatomy Act in an attempt to address the shortage of bodies available…
Protecting Scotland’s Dead | A Detailed History of the Mortsafe
Body snatching prevention doesn’t come more sturdy than a mortsafe. Iron cages placed over graves to protect your loved ones from the resurrection men.
Burke & Hare’s Last Victim |The Final Days of Margaret Docherty
Burke & Hare’s last victim was Margaret Docherty, an old woman from Ireland who was in Edinburgh helplessly looking for her son, Michael when she met William Burke.
The Simple Art of Burking
Burking is the murder method used by Edinburgh murderers Burke and Hare. It’s a term used to describe suffocation and was widely used by the press in the 19th century to describe all manner of attempted assaults.
Dissecting Season: When Body Snatchers Plied Their Trade
Someone once said to me ” a season for body snatching, who knew”, and I agree, not many do,…
Body Snatching Students of Scotland’s Medical Schools
Before the demand from anatomy schools for fresh cadavers grew to such an extent that body snatching became a…