Pics Of The "Living" Dead

[Joey Deadcat]

Apparently it wasn't unusual during the 1800s to have the have the bodies of deceased loved ones propped up and posed for family photos. Well, just see for yourselves...

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/32946

[jynxxxedangel]

This was quite common. Often, these dead people had never had their pictures made while alive; so their families did this, so that they would have something to remember them by. Photography was a bit expensive in those days, and was done with a timed-exposure. People had to sit completely still, for a long period of time.

Also common, were photographs of dead family members in their caskets, as well as photos of criminals who had been hanged or shot.

This last one is of Jesse James.

[AstralCrux]

Creepy. That father and son shot was really creepy.

[Reaper]

No wonder there are so many hauntings from back in those days. They tended to creep themselves and each other out!

[pomba gira]

This was quite common. Often, these dead people had never had their pictures made while alive; so their families did this, so that they would have something to remember them by. Photography was a bit expensive in those days, and was done with a timed-exposure. People had to sit completely still, for a long period of time.

Also common, were photographs of dead family members in their caskets, as well as photos of criminals who had been hanged or shot.

This last one is of Jesse James.

These photos were a great comfort to the living... they were often kept in a "mourning brooch", made of real or imitation jet, along with a lock of the departed's hair.

It was also common for the embalmed bodies of outlaws to be exhibited in carnivals and such.

Remember, back then death was not a strictly behind-closed-doors thing like it is now. Most people didn't die in hospitals, and they weren't packed off to a funeral home afterwards. It was all in the home. So there was not the concept of death as "creepy", because it was a regular part of life. Most people had firsthand experience with seeing people die and being around the dead... especially given the much higher death rate of infants, children, and young adults.

I am not saying that 19th c. people didn't fear death... but they definitely had a different relationship with it. The "creepy" perception is very much a product of the exceedingly negative modern view of death.

Now, those scrapbooks that were common in the late 19th-early 20th c., devoted entirely to horrific crimes and deaths... those are creepy.

Edited August 29, 2009 by pomba gira

[jynxxxedangel]

Down south, in the rural areas, it's still common to lay relatives out in the home, and to hold the wake right there in the parlour, or a spare bedroom. Here's a funny Ray Stevens video, demonstrating the practice.

Is anyone else familiar with the story of Elmer McCurdy?

Elmer McCurdy, on Wiki

He was an outlaw who was shot during a standoff. His remains were embalmed and exhibited publicly by the undertaker, after no one came to claim the body. Years later, a man claiming to be his brother (and was actually the owner of a traveling sideshow) came and claimed the body. Mr. McCurdy became a popular sideshow attraction. For sixty years, his remains were bought and sold by curiosity museums and sideshows, finally ending up being used as a prop dummy in an amusement park haunted house. The "dummy's" origins were forgotten about for many years, until a scene in an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man was being filmed inside that very amusement park attraction. The director wasn't happy with the way the "dummy" looked, and wanted it moved out of the scene. While taking it down, one of the arms broke off, exposing the bone underneath! This macabre discovery caused quite a stir, to say the least!

Read the article on Wiki, to find out more..

Edited August 29, 2009 by jynxxxedangel

[taysteewonderbunny]

These photos were a great comfort to the living... they were often kept in a "mourning brooch", made of real or imitation jet, along with a lock of the departed's hair.

It was also common for the embalmed bodies of outlaws to be exhibited in carnivals and such.

Remember, back then death was not a strictly behind-closed-doors thing like it is now. Most people didn't die in hospitals, and they weren't packed off to a funeral home afterwards. It was all in the home. So there was not the concept of death as "creepy", because it was a regular part of life. Most people had firsthand experience with seeing people die and being around the dead... especially given the much higher death rate of infants, children, and young adults.

I am not saying that 19th c. people didn't fear death... but they definitely had a different relationship with it. The "creepy" perception is very much a product of the exceedingly negative modern view of death.

Now, those scrapbooks that were common in the late 19th-early 20th c., devoted entirely to horrific crimes and deaths... those are creepy.

Any more than the television shows, tv documentaries, etc. to which nearly a majority of air time on multiple cable channels are devoted? We've never lost our fascination with the darker side of human behavior. But I agree--our familiarity with death has decreased. In addition to the alienizing practices of seclusion of our dead and dying to funeral homes, hospitals, and hospice centers, we are even alienated from non-human animal death: we don't kill our own food or even see the disease that afflicts livestock and even many of our pets are mysteriously "put to sleep" and then cremated behind closed doors. Probably the closest thing to the natural process we witness in our everyday lives is the occasional roadkill we encounter.

[Fidget(+)]

theres something dark about it all, but I don't find it that strange to believe.

[pomba gira]

Is anyone else familiar with the story of Elmer McCurdy?

Elmer McCurdy, on Wiki

He was an outlaw who was shot during a standoff. His remains were embalmed and exhibited publicly by the undertaker, after no one came to claim the body. Years later, a man claiming to be his brother (and was actually the owner of a traveling sideshow) came and claimed the body. Mr. McCurdy became a popular sideshow attraction. For sixty years, his remains were bought and sold by curiosity museums and sideshows, finally ending up being used as a prop dummy in an amusement park haunted house. The "dummy's" origins were forgotten about for many years, until a scene in an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man was being filmed inside that very amusement park attraction. The director wasn't happy with the way the "dummy" looked, and wanted it moved out of the scene. While taking it down, one of the arms broke off, exposing the bone underneath! This macabre discovery caused quite a stir, to say the least!

Read the article on Wiki, to find out more..

I remember when that happened... as I recall it took a while for them to figure out that this wasn't a case of foul play. I think some kind soul eventually paid for poor Elmer to have a real funeral & burial, too.

[Joey Deadcat]

Now photos of funerals and outlaws I knew about. I remember being a kid and my dad showing my sister and me photos of his father laid out in a casket. And someone in the family has photos of my great-grandmother's first child(who died during infancy)somewhere.

But, yeah, was never aware that it was common to have portraits done.

[Joey Deadcat]

Down south, in the rural areas, it's still common to lay relatives out in the home, and to hold the wake right there in the parlour, or a spare bedroom. Here's a funny Ray Stevens video, demonstrating the practice.

Is anyone else familiar with the story of Elmer McCurdy?

Elmer McCurdy, on Wiki

He was an outlaw who was shot during a standoff. His remains were embalmed and exhibited publicly by the undertaker, after no one came to claim the body. Years later, a man claiming to be his brother (and was actually the owner of a traveling sideshow) came and claimed the body. Mr. McCurdy became a popular sideshow attraction. For sixty years, his remains were bought and sold by curiosity museums and sideshows, finally ending up being used as a prop dummy in an amusement park haunted house. The "dummy's" origins were forgotten about for many years, until a scene in an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man was being filmed inside that very amusement park attraction. The director wasn't happy with the way the "dummy" looked, and wanted it moved out of the scene. While taking it down, one of the arms broke off, exposing the bone underneath! This macabre discovery caused quite a stir, to say the least!

Read the article on Wiki, to find out more..

Remember seeing a story on that before. Wild!