An American Vampire in New England (or: Bricks in the Trap part 3)

The interesting thing about these American vampires is the fact that members of their community, and in some cases even their own family members, were concerned enough about the possibility of vampires that they were willing to open a person's grave and desecrate their body in order to set their minds at ease. If you ask yourself what it would take for you to do that to one of your own family members, it gives you some small idea of how truly freaked out these people must have been by the events happening around them. Faced with the possibility that death (in the form of consumption) might come for them next, they sought to take control of the situation in the only way that they knew how, even though it was gruesome and ultimately futile.

It’s been a while, but I’m back from my accidental vacation!

Hello again friends, I have returned! I took what was intended to be a short break from blogging while I finished up funeral school because I am nothing if not an academic overachiever, so I spent the last month of my program studying furiously for finals, and researching and writing a paper, on top of working full… Continue reading It’s been a while, but I’m back from my accidental vacation!

Lost in Space: Astronaut DNA vs. the Media

https://www.criticalhit.net/gaming/warhammer-40k-going-tactical-space-hulk-tactics/

This post is a little off-topic because it's not about death, but this is my blog and I do what I want. I do have some new posts coming up, about cleaning bones, and about Lady Dai, the Chinese mummy. I'm hoping to get to them by the end of March, but I have my… Continue reading Lost in Space: Astronaut DNA vs. the Media

A little Diversion: Taxidermy Tuesday!

If you've ever met me, or read this blog before, then it should be utterly nsurprising to you that I am obsessed with taxidermy. There's just something about taxidermied animals that is so fascinating to me - they're very uncanny in the sense that a well-mounted specimen can appear to be incredibly lifelike. It's kind… Continue reading A little Diversion: Taxidermy Tuesday!

Happy January! Goals for 2018

So, this post is a little late, since people usually talk/post about their New Year's Resolutions™ and/or goals for the coming year at the beginning of January, or, you know, right around the same time when their new year actually begins. Well, I, as always, am somewhat behind, but according to this new rule that… Continue reading Happy January! Goals for 2018

Bodysnatching for Science: Charles Byrne’s Stolen Bones

Hello! I have returned from another inordinately long break in between posts to talk at  length about things relating to dead people once again. I've been busy with Funeral School and my Funeral Job, and, through a fault that was entirely my own, had to spend the majority of my evenings that past couple of… Continue reading Bodysnatching for Science: Charles Byrne’s Stolen Bones

Gordon Truesdale’s Gaseous Head: A Tale of Grave-Robbing and Gas Gangrene

Whew, hello, it's been a while! I want to say that it's working full time and trying to stay on top of funeral school that's keeping me busy, but the real culprit is that there's too much good TV to watch and I can't multi-task. If I could research and write while simultaneously watching Stranger… Continue reading Gordon Truesdale’s Gaseous Head: A Tale of Grave-Robbing and Gas Gangrene

With Their Heads in Their Hands, Literally: Cephalophoric Saints and Biblical Violence

I feel like I've written a lot so far about bodies in a way that's very explicit and concrete -- skeletons, decomp, mummies -- and so, in an effort to not write about dead bodies all the time, I spent a good few days thinking of something I could write about that's more cultural/historical as… Continue reading With Their Heads in Their Hands, Literally: Cephalophoric Saints and Biblical Violence

Mummy Dearest: A series, probably

There's been a few mummies in the news lately, which naturally reminded me that mummies are freakin' awesome and cool. Climate change less so, but I'm not here to talk about that so mummies it is. As I was thinking about what, exactly, to say about mummies it occurred to me that there are a WHOLE… Continue reading Mummy Dearest: A series, probably

Deconstructing Decomposition: The Process of Decay

So, since this is a death-and-related-things focused blog, I figured that I might as well delve into a pretty fundamental aspect of the whole death thing and write about what happens to something that was alive after it dies. Of course, decomposition isn't the only thing that can happen to an organism after it dies (I… Continue reading Deconstructing Decomposition: The Process of Decay