Famous Death Masks: The Haunting Faces of History’s Most Noted Figures
There’s a row of death masks displayed way above head height on a wall in what is reputed to…
Stirling Old Town Jail: A Visitor’s Guide to Scotland’s Victorian Prison (1847-1888)
There’s something about visiting old Victorian prisons that sends a tingle up (or is it down) my spine, and…
King Of The Ohio Body Snatchers
In this guest post, discover the story of the man they called ‘King of The Ohio Body Snatchers’, a man named William Cunningham, AKA ‘Old Cunny’.
Burke and Hare | The ‘Edinburgh Murderers’
Burke and Hare are famous for murdering 16 people and then selling the bodies to Dr Robert Knox for use in his dissection classes.
Top 10 Famous Stolen Bodies: From Charlie Chaplin to Eva Peron
The more the famous the person, the more chance they have of having their corpse stolen. Be it for reconstructive surgery, ransom or even occult rituals, no-one is safe from body snatchers
Does Body Snatching Still Happen? 8 Real Life Famous Cases!
Think body snatching was a thing of the past? Think again. Here’s 8 modern day body snatching cases that will make your toes curl
The Extraordinary Life of Deacon Brodie (A Full Account)
If you spend any time in Edinburgh, chances are you’ll end up at Deacon Brodie’s Tavern, one of the…
Unveiling The Edinburgh Miniature Coffins: The Mystery of The 8 Arthur’s Seat Coffins
Found in the ‘Daith Comes In’ gallery at Scotland’s National Museum, the Edinburgh miniature coffins or Burke & Hare murder dolls still have a sense of mystery
Edinburgh’s Escape The Past: The Anatomist
In a city where cadavers were once the hottest commodity, anything relating to the dark art of body snatching and providing corpses for the 19th century dissecting table was always going to pique my interest.
Half Hangit Maggie: The Woman Who Came Back To Life
The legend of Half Hangit Maggie, is one of the most re-told tales on Edinburgh’s Grassmarket and a story…
Why Did Anatomists Hire Body Snatchers? | The Real Reasons
Ever wondered why anatomists stopped raiding graveyards and the professional body snatcher took over the task of acquiring cadavers for the dissecting table…
The Tedious Job Of Oakum Picking In A Victorian Prison
If you’re doing any research into criminal ancestors and the time they spent in a Victorian prison, chances are you’ll have heard about oakum picking. But what exactly was it? In this post I try to find out.
Body Snatching In Lasswade Old Kirkyard, Midlothian, EH18
It took one word from the Miller woman in 1829 and a quiet Midlothian village was awash with resurrection men.
Body Snatchers In Northleach House of Correction
Join me as I look at the stories of three body snatching raids in the County of Gloucestershire and meet the men who were sent to Northleach House of Correction
The Victorian Treadmill: How Did Your Ancestor Use One?
If a criminal’s sentence consisted of ‘Imprisonment with Hard Labour’, chances are the treadmill would have played a part in their hardship somewhere along the line
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.