January, 2006
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Today's Extremely Disgusting Yet Truly Morbid Fact! A crusade against the practice of burying the dead in cities and towns was mounted in 1839 by a surgeon, George Walker. In his book, Gatherings from the Graveyards, he described the sad tale of 'William Jackson, aged 29, a strong robust man, [who] was employed in digging a grave in the "Savoy". He struck his spade into a coffin, from which an extremely disgusting odour arose; he reached his home, in Clement's Lane, with difficulty; complained to his wife that he had "had a turn; the steam which issued from the coffin had made him very ill". His wife stated that the cadaverous smell proceeding from his clothes affected her with trembling, and produced headache.' Jackson was ill for three days but, due to poverty, was obliged to return to work within the week to dig a grave in Drury Lane. Here, 'in this ground, long saturated with dead, it was impossible, without disturbing previous occupants, to select a grave; a recently buried coffin was struck into - the poor fellow was instantly rendered powerless, and dragged out by John Gray, to whom he was an assistant. Jackson died 36 hours afterwards.' His death was attributed to cholera contracted from a previous victim. Culled
from: Death:
A History Of Man's Obsessions and Fears Welcome to 2000-sicks everyone! I have to say that 2005 was a watershed year for morbidity - quite literally. At the beginning of the year, the big story was the tsunami and the last third of the year was dominated by the horrors of Hurricane Katrina. We can only imagine what atrocities 2006 will bring us, and of course, I will be here to lead you into the danger zone and darken your days. Thank you for allowing me this rare privilege! ******* Morbid Review Du Jour! Okay... I just watched Gus Van Sant's "Last Days". I was really looking forward to this one since the reviews made it sound like a mesmerizing look at suicidal depression. I figured I'd love it since I usually love films that are described as "slow" or where "nothing happens" - but this one was more than even I could take. Two hours of incoherent mumbling and repetitive scenes (literally - the same scenes were repeated from different camera angles without really adding anything to the scene) with no artistic grace. I used to think Van Sant was one of the great directors but since his pointless remake of "Psycho" it's been all downhill. Now it's obvious that he is so convinced of his own greatness that he thinks he can do any damn thing he wants - such as focusing on bland foliage or, god help us all - a Boyz 2 Men video, for a minute - and it will be heralded as "art". Having said all that, I could have put up with the indulgences if there had been an interesting payoff in the end. But after endless minutes of tedium... Van Sant doesn't even show us the death!!! The ultimate insult for a film that, for all intents and purposes, is really nothing more than an insult to the viewer. Damn. Van Sant takes material as interesting as Columbine (Elephant) and Cobain and can't make interesting films out of either one. I'm beside myself with disappointment. Last
Days Wretched Recommendation! Lady Despair (no relation) has a film recommendation for us: "[I
recommend] 'Cube'. If you haven't seen it, you must. It has some excellent
scenes with people ending up in.... well, let's just call it one hell
of a sushi-machine. [insert evil cackle here]" Morbid Mirth Du Jour! Okay, it's
a bit late, but you can still enjoy getting Santa drunk on the leftover
egg nog. And whatever you do, avoid the train tracks!!! Generously submitted by Bergie
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January 2, 2006 Today's Highly Contagious Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Primarily striking children, the diphtheria epidemic that began in 1735 raged throughout New England for five years. In some towns the deadly disease killed 80 percent of the children under ten years of age. Culled
from: The
Pessimist's Guide To History Wretched Recommendations! Steve O' wrote to tell me about what looks like a fun video game (Xbox, Mac, and PC format) for the morbidly inclined - Stubbs the Zombie. The catch is that this time you get to be the zombie and attack the people - much more fun than the typical zombie game fare! Here's the Amazon description: "Stubbs The Zombie lets you become a man whose luck was so bad, dying was the best thing that ever happened to him. In 1933, Edward Stubblefield was a traveling salesman, trying to survive the Great Depression, when he was murdered & buried in a field in Pennsylvania. Fast forward to 1959, when billionaire playboy Andrew Monday builds his own ultramodern city - Punchbowl, where you can 'drink your fill of the future'. Unfortunately, he built it on the grave of 'Stubbs', bringing him back as a angry zombie. Stubbs was a loser all his life, and being a zombie gives him power he never had before. He decides to keep eating brains until the city is his -- unless Andrew Monday can stop him." Stubbs
the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse ******* Morbid Site Du Jour! Anne Varnes has a lovely collection of cemetery pictures up on her site. Well worth a peek! http://www.eclecticraven.com/pictures/cemeteries.php Thanks to Martin for the link.
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January 3, 2006 Today's
Frantic Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: From
the Ashes: The Story of the Hinckley Fire of 1894 ********************************************************************** When I was in Minnesota for work back in 2002, I took a lazy Saturday and drove up to the Hinckley Fire Museum, which is housed in the train depot that was rebuilt after the fire. It was a pretty interesting museum, and I have finally put together a travelogue about it. I hope you enjoy it: http://asylumeclectica.com/asylum/sightseer/us/mn/hinckley.htm ******* Ghastly! For those of you living in the Los Angeles area, do you civic duty and take a look at the images of unidentified deceased persons at the L.A. County Coroner's Office and see if you recognize anyone. As for the rest of you, it would be horribly wrong to go to this site just to gawk at the dead people. So, I trust you wouldn't do a thing like that. ;-) http://coroner.co.la.ca.us/htm/uipsearc.cfm Thanks to Amazon for the link. ******* Dave sent this brush with morbidity back in 2003 but I was out of town at the time, so I filed it away and promptly forgot to publish it, like the flaky old Comtesse that I am. And now that I've rediscovered it, I realize what a horrible oversight it was. May I present to you another outstanding brush with morbidity: "My Brush With Morbidity" by Dave Here is the news story from yesterday... 4:53 a.m.,
July 12, 2003 Debra Hoffman of Casper, Wyo. was running across traffic lanes when she was struck by multiple vehicles, said Investigator James Buckley of the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office. The accident on the southbound freeway at Genesee Avenue was reported about 12:40 a.m., said a California Highway Patrol dispatcher. Hoffman was in town visiting family, Buckley said. "Here
is my experience... "Here's what I found out since then. This woman had been despondent. She was at the hospital having some sort of evaluation when she bolted. She ran across the freeway and up that embankment. Her sister that that guy (brother in law maybe) crossed the overpass chasing her. They caught up with her on the other side but she lost them and returned to the freeway as I was approaching. She ran down the embankment and in front of those first three cars. They saw her coming so they all missed her but they gave her cover from me. She spotted me behind them and turned in her tracks to chase me down. The coroner has my truck so I am going to rent a car right now." Amazing...
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January 4, 2006 Today's
Chipper Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: CBS4Denver.Com ********************************************************************** Hahahaha!! "MORSE-lization"!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Whew... Excuse me while I dry my eyes...
******* "My Brush With Morbidity" by IH8WhatUvMadeMe "A friend of mine died in a freak accident. He was pulling up a fence post with his truck and the fence post broke. It flew threw the air and threw his windshield and into his forehead. My friend spent 2 days in the hospital. On the second day, he was pronounced brain dead. I went to see him and I walked into the hospital room. He was lying there, helpless, brain dead, not really him. His brain was swollen which caused his head to swell. It looked like it was about to pop... I held his hand and looked up to his face in just enough time to see brain matter come out of his nose. The nurse ran over and threw a towel over his face and asked my friends and I to leave until she got it cleaned up. She didn't say it in so many words, but I knew what she was talking about." ******* Morbid Sightseeing! One of these days I have to haul my aching carcass down to Springfield, IL to see ol' "Honest" Abe and the Museum of Funeral Customs. Dave insists I won't be disappointed: "While
traveling through the mid-west, I stopped in Springfield to visit the
grave of Abraham Lincoln, the second most visited US grave after JFK's.
Outside the main gate, I was fascinated to discover the Museum of Funeral
Customs (http://www.funeralmuseum.org). The museum features a 1928 embalming
room, old hearses and coffins, old embalming equipment and instruments,
portable funeral equipment, examples of "Post-mortem Photography,"
and several exhibits that
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January 5, 2006 Today's
Loving Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: The Associated Press ********************************************************************** Such a sweet little story, isn't it? ******* Morbid Sightseeing! One of these days I really must make the 4+ hour drive up to Peshtigo to see the Fire Museum. Allen insists it's worth the trip: "I highly recommend going to the Peshtigo Fire museum in Peshtigo (duh), lots of artifacts and inormation." ******* Morbid Book Du Jour! EndlessRoads writes to tell me about a Savannah ghost book called "Essence". It sounds pretty interesting: A ghost story with a difference. Savannah, Georgia, from the first days of the Civil War to the present, is the setting for this tale of a most unusual haunting. Luzette, only eleven years old when a stray bullet ended her lifetime, shares with the reader the account of her deathtime. Confined to the house by forces she struggles to understand, Luzettes spirit is at times a warm and welcoming presence and at others a fearsome specter. The changes to the house in which she died, the evolution of the cultural and social mores of the surrounding society, the people who live out their lives in the old house. Here's
the website: Here's
the Amazon link:
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January 6, 2006 Today's Ghastly Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Few ships, after the Titanic went down, chose to navigate in or around the area where the Titanic sank. Those that did, came upon hundreds of bodies and wreckage. Most ship captains considered this site a graveyard and chose to not subject their passengers to the grim sight in that area. As cautious as some captains were about subjecting their passengers to such sights, some ships could not avoid the wreckage area. Even after the search for victims had concluded, ships continued to sight victims of the Titanic. Some Scandinavian immigrants en route to Minnesota related an incident so heartbreaking and ghastly a transcription of it was sent to President Taft. "In several instances," the immigrants reported, "bodies were struck by our boat and knocked from the water several feet into the air." One of the Bremen's first class passengers saw a body of a woman in her night dress, and clasping a baby to her breast. Close by was the body of another woman with her arms around a shaggy dog. Other passengers saw the bodies of three men in a group, all clinging to a chair. Floating by just beyond them were dozens of bodies, wearing life belts and clinging desperately together as though in their last struggle for life. The entire surface of the ocean around them formed a wreath of deck chairs and wreckage. Culled
from: The Titanic
Graves of Halifax ********************************************************************** Oh man!! Now, THIS is the boat that I would have wanted to be on! Can you imagine me standing at the bow with my arms outstretched watching for bodies? "I am the Comtesse of the WORLD!!!" ******* "My Great-Grandmother's Brush With Morbidity" by T.J. "I’m writing you to let you know about something pretty morbid that happened in my family. I am named after all of my grandfathers and I was talking about it with my great-grandmother last Saturday (06-18-05). In the middle of the conversation I felt the urge to ask her how he died. She got this scared, just saw a ghost look on her face. She said it was a horrible death. He had battled lung cancer for a couple of years but it eventually spread to his heart. She was in the hospital with him when all of a sudden, she said, 'It looked like his heart popped.' She said blood came out of his mouth, eyes, and ears. She was the only one in the hospital room at the time. That must have been brutal." I'll say. Thank you for sharing the story, T.J. ******* Morbid Link Du Jour! Now, here's an idea whose time I thought would never come: Motorcycle Hearses. The perfect way to send off the motorcycle mama in your life. http://www.motorcyclefunerals.com/ Thanks to Keith for the link.
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January 7, 2006 Today's Disfigured Yet Truly Morbid Fact! After the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912 the Mackey-Bennett was the ship tasked with retrieving as many bodies as she could of the 1,523 passengers who perished that fateful night. The Mackay-Bennett arrived at the site on Saturday, April 20, 1912 at 8 P.M. The next morning, around 4:30 a.m. the crew members climbed into their boats and began the task of retrieving the water-logged corpses. Fifty-One bodies were recovered that first day, two children, three women and forty-six men. As each body came aboard, a square of canvas with a stenciled number on it was attached. Personal property were placed in canvas bags bearing the same number. Many of the bodies were in poor condition. Many were indistinguishable. Some showed signs of damage sustained during the sinking. Other bodies were disfigured by either sea creatures or from the corpses smashing against ice flow or wreckage. For these bodies, a full description of the victim including hair color, height, weight, age, birthmarks and scars were methodically entered into a ledger, on the corresponding page number. These details, it was hoped, would permit accurate identifications to be made even if the body had suffered great trauma. Culled
from: The Titanic
Graves of Halifax ********************************************************************** "My Brush With Morbidity" by Venus "You, as a well-informed woman of the world, perhaps already know this, but your dear readers might not. One doesn't have to be dead to have one's scalp laid open and one's face peeled down. I had it done in the first week of July in the process of removing a brain tumor. Sadly, I couldn't be awake for the procedure, but this is what my very skillful MDeity did to me: "After
shaving the hair from the incision path, my doctor sliced my scalp open
from just above one ear and just inside my hairline all the way across
to the same point just above the other ear. Since the tumor was sitting
on the outside of my brain just behind my forehead at the hairline level,
my face was peeled down to expose the skull and, much like one would
tap into "The
tumor and scar tissue from a previous tumor (yes, I've had my face peeled
down before) were removed and my skull was repaired as much as possible.
My face was tugged back into position and the incision was stapled closed.
The staples were popped out a week later and everything is healing up
nicely. I still have a small depression in the middle of my forehead, Thank you for the graphic details of your procedure. I'm sure we all appreciate it very much! ******* Morbid Sightseeing! You may remember my travelogue to the Lemp Mansion & Brewery - one of my favorite tragic sites in the country. Well, I received an e-mail from an artist named Alan who happens to have a studio in the Lemp Brewery. He sent me some pictures of his studio as well as some shots of the hidden areas of the Brewery, including the cave that lies below it, where they used to store the beer. I added his images to my travelogue, for those who are interested. And yes, I am trying to see if he'll take me on a tour sometime. One has to make sure one isn't dealing with a murderer though, when being lured into underground lairs... http://asylumeclectica.com/asylum/sightseer/us/mo/lemp/index.html
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January 8, 2006 Today's Illustrious Yet Truly Morbid Fact! When the Mackey-Bennett began its task of retrieving the corpses of Titanic victims, one of the first illustrious passengers to be found was multi-millionaire John Jacob Astor. His body was badly crushed and covered in soot, indicating that he was killed when the Titanic's funnel collapsed. Astor's body was the first to be claimed. After it's return to Halifax, it bore the body number of 124. Identification had been easy in Astor's case. His record noted that he wore a blue serge suit, a blue handkerchief with 'A.V.' on it, a belt with gold buckle, brown boots with red rubber soles, and a brown flannel shirt with 'J.J.A.' in its collar. Astor's effects included a gold watch, gold cuff links with diamonds, a diamond ring with three stones, £225 in English bank notes, $2,440 in American bank notes, £5 in gold, 7 shillings in silver, 50 francs, a gold pencil and a pocketbook. Another notable Titanic victim was that of Wallace Hartley, the bandleader. His music case was still strapped to his side when he was pulled from the Atlantic's icy water. The band's violinist, John Law Hume, was also found and buried in Halifax, his body was listed as Number 193. Culled
from: The Titanic
Graves of Halifax ********************************************************************** I believe the Beatles had Astor in mind when they penned the immortal words, "I don't care too much for money/Cuz money can't buy me a seat on a lifeboat in the Atlantic". ******* Morbid Recommendation Du Jour! Baron Semedi submits a wonderful review: "I
wanted to offer a 'review' (if you want to grace it with that word)
of the movie 'Shadow of the Vampire.' I didn't see one, and I was kind
of surprised; the movie's a little obscure--in the sense that it didn't
really catch on--but I think it suits the flavor of your site. Excellent review, Baron! Here's
the Amazon link to the film, which I have yet to see, amazingly enough
(it is on my Netflix queue though!): ******* Morbid Trinket Du Jour! The next time you're hankering for some graphic autopsy footage, why not check out the products at Autopsy Video.Com? "Bipolar Productions has been selling autopsy videos and dvds that we produced with the cooperation of the L.A. County Coroner's Office, among others. Our site is www.autopsyvideo.com and we've sold over 50,000 units since coming online in 2000." |
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January 9, 2006 Today's Windy Yet Truly Morbid Fact! The St. Louis Tornado of 1896 touched down about 6 miles west of the Eads Bridge in St. Louis. From the northwest edge of Tower Grove Park, this complex combination of tornado and downburst widened to over a mile and moved due east. It collapsed or swept away portions of houses, factories, saloons, hospitals, mills, railroad yards, churches, and caused a total of over $10,000,000 in damage. In most areas, roofs and trees were not carried away, but thrown to the ground. In other areas, homes were swept away. The 36-acre Lafayette Park was turned into "a wasteland of stripped trees and stumps." On the east end of the Eads Bridge (built as tornado proof after the 1871 event in the same place) a 2-inch by 10-inch white pine plank was driven through the 5/16" thick wrought iron plate. No significant damage was done to the steel span of the bridge, but this remains a remarkable example of a tornado's ability to generate missiles. There were 137 people killed at St. Louis. The tornado was apparently at maximum intensity when it crossed the Mississippi River into East St. Louis, Illinois. Buildings and homes along the river were completely swept away, and about a quarter of the buildings in the town were destroyed or damaged. A much smaller area of damage occurred at East St. Louis, with a damage total of about $2,000,000, but the great intensity resulted in 118 deaths. As many as 35 people died in the Vandalia railroad freight yards at East St. Louis. The death total probably does not include the loss of life to people living on shanty boats, whose bodies were washed down river. Culled
from: Top Ten
US Killer Tornadoes ********************************************************************** Morbid Link Du Jour! Paul submits a link to My Death.Net: "I found this site very pleasing. It allows the individual time to think and plan his or her funeral." I found the site a bit disorganized and chaotic myself - rather like a sudden, unexpected death, I suppose - but you might have more patience for it than I did: http://www.mydeath.net:8080/index2.html ******* Morbid Book Du Jour! Anna writes to tell me about a book that looks really promising on first glance: The Strange Case of the Walking Corpse: A Chronicle of Medical Mysteries, Curious Remedies,and Bizarre but True Healing Folklore http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/02/20/strange.cases/index.html However, the reviews on Amazon would seem to indicate that it's not as good as it sounds: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1583331603/theasylumeclecti Pity! |
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Today's Unsinkable Yet Truly Morbid Fact! After six weeks of searching for Titanic dead, the four ships involved had recovered 325 dead, of which 116 had been buried at sea. Of the 209 returned to Halifax, 59 were claimed and shipped to other locations, which 150 were buried in the city's three cemeteries. Of all the 325 recovered dead, 128 remained unidentified. In all this is how the three classes were treated regarding the return of bodies and burial at sea: Third Class: 63 bodies were identified as Third Class. 29 were buried at sea. Second Class: 30 bodies were identified as Second Class. 6 were buried at sea. First Class: 32 bodies were identified as First Class. None were buried at sea. (Even in death it paid to be a First Class Passenger.) First Class Servants: 3 bodies were identified as First Class Valets. One was buried at sea. Crew: 110 bodies were identified as Crew. 34 were buried at sea. 87 bodies were listed as unidentified. 46 were buried at sea. For the 1,500 passengers that perished on April 15th 1,175 of them, would have the sea as their final resting place, 1,000 miles due East of Boston which will be as close as they will ever get to the land of hope and promise. Beginning on April 15, 1912 their hope rested 13,000 feet below on the ocean bottom, on a gently sloping alpine-like countryside overlooking a small canyon with the "unsinkable" Titanic as their only companion. Culled
from: The Titanic
Graves of Halifax ********************************************************************** You know, despite the movie, the Titanic disaster continues to be one of my all-time favorite disasters, and I never tire of reading about it or looking at pictures of memorabilia or the wreckage of the ship. I wish I could go down and have a look at it myself, but alas, the whole ocean factor gets in the way. However, apparently, if I were to go to the Ukraine with a metal detector, I would be able to find some nifty war memorabilia, which brings me to today's... ******* Morbid Site Du Jour! Star Opal forwarded me a wonderful website put together by collectors of war memorabilia from battlegrounds in the Ukraine. Some of the stuff that they have uncovered is absolutely amazing - included helmets with the skulls still inside them! I am sooooooooooooooooooo unbelievably jealous!! Damn this boring history of ours. <grumble> Anyway, without further ado, please enjoy The Serpent's Wall: ******* Urban Exploration! Oh, I wish I could go for a ride through the abandoned villages around Chernobyl! Again, I am filled with jealousy!!! But at least Elena is kind enough to share her journey with us. Thank you to Star Opal for sending me the link.
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January 11, 2006 Today's Horrifying Yet Truly Morbid Fact! A 40-year-old man working at a sausage factory in Oslo fell into a meat grinding machine in March, 2005 and was killed instantly. The grisly incident occurred around 5:30am. Police initially were reluctant to release the name of the sausage factory or its exact location before the man's relatives could be notified. "Three persons were working near the meat grinder when one of them either fell or was sucked into the meat grinder," said Stig Øvrebø, spokesman for the Oslo Police District. "We don't know the exact reason for the accident, but there may have been a vacuum effect from the machinery," Øvrebø told news bureau NTB. Circumstances of the incident at the Åkeberg Skoglunn sausage factory in Oslo's Ensjø district remained unclear by midday. Øvrebø said that two of the three working with the meat grinder had left the area on an errand. When they returned, their colleague had disappeared until they found him in the grinder. "The three colleagues work with large pieces of meat that are dropped down into the large grinder," Øvrebø told newspaper Aftenposten.. "There's no indication that the factory hadn't secured the grinder properly." He said the victim's colleagues would be questioned as soon as they were able to speak about the horrifying incident. They were taken to a local emergency medical clinic, apparently suffering from shock. Culled
from: Aftenposten ********************************************************************** Well, what do people think sausage is made from, anyway??? ******* Morbid Sightseeing Follow-Up! Say it ain't so!!!!!!!!! Lady Morgana writes to let me know that, apparently, Elena's wonderful Chernobyl motorcycle tour is (partially) a fake! Next thing you know, you'll be telling me that "A Million Little Pieces" was all made-up and that the president lied about... everything! Really, is there NOTHING to believe in anymore??? http://www.boingboing.net/2004/05/26/girl_photoblogs_cher.html ******* Morbid Recommendation Du Jour! Joe Bagadonuts has a recommendation: "A
tidbit for your library: 'The Devil of Nanking,' by Mo Hayder. 'Take
an electrifying literary ride from the decadent hostess bars and palatial
apartments of "yakuza" kingpins in Tokyo to deep inside the
secret history of one of the twentieth century's deadliest, most shameful
events: the Nanking Massacre.' (front flap data.) "Seeking confirmation of an atrocity committed by Japanese soldiers during the 1937 invasion of Nanking, troubled young Englishwoman Grey Hutchins tracks down a Chinese survivor who might have film of the massacre. But when she finds Shi Chongming teaching at a Tokyo university, he offers no help--until Grey takes a job at a hostess club frequented by an old Yakuza don. Chongming, it turns out, needs access to the strange medicine the mobster takes to stave off death. If Grey can deliver the information he needs, Chongming promises, he will show her his secret film. Although the narrative--split between the professor's haunting 1937 diary and Grey's contemporary Tokyo journal--takes a while to pick up steam, it ends up delivering a potent punch. Hayder fancies she is withholding more plot twists than she actually does, but Grey and Chongming's affecting stories of weakness and loss redeemed by their obsessive quests for truth and justice make up for a twinned mystery that's not too difficult to dope out."
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January 12, 2006 Today's Intense Yet Truly Morbid Fact! The St. Louis Tornado of 1896 touched down about 6 miles west of the Eads Bridge in St. Louis. From the northwest edge of Tower Grove Park, this complex combination of tornado and downburst widened to over a mile and moved due east. It collapsed or swept away portions of houses, factories, saloons, hospitals, mills, railroad yards, churches, and caused a total of over $10,000,000 in damage. In most areas, roofs and trees were not carried away, but thrown to the ground. In other areas, homes were swept away. The 36-acre Lafayette Park was turned into "a wasteland of stripped trees and stumps." On the east end of the Eads Bridge (built as tornado proof after the 1871 event in the same place) a 2-inch by 10-inch white pine plank was driven through the 5/16" thick wrought iron plate. No significant damage was done to the steel span of the bridge, but this remains a remarkable example of a tornado's ability to generate missiles. There were 137 people killed at St. Louis. The tornado was apparently at maximum intensity when it crossed the Mississippi River into East St. Louis, Illinois. Buildings and homes along the river were completely swept away, and about a quarter of the buildings in the town were destroyed or damaged. A much smaller area of damage occurred at East St. Louis, with a damage total of about $2,000,000, but the great intensity resulted in 118 deaths. As many as 35 people died in the Vandalia railroad freight yards at East St. Louis. The death total probably does not include the loss of life to people living on shanty boats, whose bodies were washed down river. Culled
from: Top Ten
US Killer Tornadoes ********************************************************************** I'd never heard of this particular disaster before, which surprised even me! Funny how there always seem to be old disasters to uncover... ******* Morbid Trinket Du Jour! If you have been looking for the perfect death mask to hang above your bed, then why not check out the selection at Teardrop Memories? This one is quite nice: http://pages.teardropmemories.com/11601/PictPage/1922614529.html They have lots of other eclectic antique morbid trinkets as well, so why not have a browse? http://www.tias.com/stores/teardropmemories/catalog.shtml Thanks to Joe for the link! ******* Morbid Film Du Jour! IronMan has a film recommendation for us: STIR OF ECHOES (1999) "This a very disturbing movie starring Kevin Bacon and Kathryn Erbe. They live in a small neighborhood in Chicago. One night, after being hypnotized at a party, Kevin Bacon starts to see bizarre encounters with a ghost in his house. It is a damn shame that this movie was in theaters the same time as 'The 6th Sense,' because they are somewhat similar. '6th Sense' received all of the publicity, but this is written a lot better. If you have the means, I highly recommend renting it. You won't be disappointed." I saw this film as well and thought it was good, but not as good as The Sixth Sense. Still, it has some nice creepy moments. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002DB54A/theasylumeclecti
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January 13, 2006 Today's Suicidal Yet Truly Morbid Fact! The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from June 15, 1944 to July 9, 1944. The American 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions and 27th Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Holland Smith defeated the 43rd Division of the Imperial Japanese Army commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saito. Since Saipan had become a part of Hirohito's domain in 1919, over 18,000 Japanese civilians had settled there. Tojo's propaganda officers had been lecturing them since Pearl Harbor, describing the Americans as sadistic, redheaded, hairy monsters who committed unspeakable atrocities before putting all Nipponese, including women and infants, to the sword. As the battle turned against Saito's troops, these civilians, panicking, had fled northward to Marpi Point. After their army was obliterated, depriving them of their protectors, they decided that they, too, must die. Most of them gathered on two heights now called Banzai Cliff, an eighty-foot bluff overlooking the water, and, just inland from there. Suicide Cliff, which soars one thousand feet above clumps of jagged rocks. Saito had left a last message to his civilian countrymen, too: "As it says in the Senjinkum [Ethics], 'I will never suffer the disgrace of being taken alive,' and I will offer up the courage of my soul and calmly rejoice in living by the eternal principle." In a final, cruel twist of the knife he reminded mothers of the oyaku-shinju (the parents-children death pact). Mothers, fathers, daughters, sons— all had to die. Therefore children were encouraged to form circles and toss live grenades from hand to hand until they exploded. Their parents dashed babies' brains out on limestone slabs and then, clutching the tiny corpses, shouted "Tenno! Haiki! Banzai!" (Long live the Emperor!) as they jumped off the brinks of the cliffs and soared downward. Below Banzai Cliff U.S. destroyers trying to rescue those who had survived the plunge found they could not steer among so many bodies; human flesh was jamming their screws... But Suicide Cliff was worse. A brief strip of jerky newsreel footage, preserved in an island museum, shows a distraught mother, her baby in her arms, darting back and forth along the edge of the precipice, trying to make up her mind. Finally she leaps, she and her child joining the ghastly carnage below. There were no survivors at the base of Suicide Cliff. Culled
from: Ghost
of a Flea ********************************************************************** Incidentally, the island of Saipan sounds like a wonderful place to visit if you're interested in World War II sightseeing (and who on this list isn't?). THE 2 wrote to tell me all about it: "I
recently took a four-day trip to Saipan, an island in the South Pacific
that was one of the major battlegrounds during WWII between the US and
Japan. Since the island has not undergone the crazy tourist-trap development
like other nearby islands such as Guam, the place remains littered with
war wreckage, monuments, and sites -- still standing -- where dozens
of people either were riddled with bullets or killed themselves to evade
capture. Rusting tank parts (and in one case, the entire tank) litter
the beaches. Monuments surround the precipice of what is called "Suicide
Cliff", a mountainside from which hundreds of Japanese soldiers
and colonists jumped to their deaths rather than suffer the indignity
of being taken prisoner. Heavy guns lie silent in crumbling pillboxes,
not disarmed and stuffed with concrete like memorials in the USA, but
left there after their last use, shell doors hanging open and arming
pins still present. The Last Command Post, so named because it was the
last spot the Japanese army defended in 1944, remains standing, a concrete
bunker that was blown open and stitched with bullet holes. (One can
actually enter this bunker through a tunnel and stand in the spot where, "And if that isn't morbid enough, keep in mind that the skeletal remains of war dead are still said to be occasionally found in the jungle, deep in the interior of the island." Oooh!!!! I want to go there NOW!!! Here's a website with some nice pictures of the WWII ruins: http://saipan.keithtarrier.com/
******* Miscue Du Jour! Whoops - it seems that my creeping senility has struck again and I sent the same fact out twice in one week. Sorry about that!! I have nothing to blame except dementia. ******* Morbid Game Du Jour! IronMan has a classic game recommendation for us: CLOCK TOWER (1997) PLAYSTATION "A game that admittedly wasn't the greatest ever made... but what it lacked in gameplay, it made up for in story. The voice-acting was nothing to brag about, but it had an interesting villain, the Scissor-man, a maniac who roamed Europe killing people with a giant pair of scissors... I suppose the prologue cinematic is my favorite part of the game... 'The giant scissors once again search for prey, the trail of murders stretches across europe from Norway to England... who will make it through this game of murder alive? Clock Tower.' The thing I enjoyed about this game was the 10 alternate endings, some of which had Scissor-man turning out to be different people. Also some really chilling music. Right now, you can probably purchase it for a mere $5. In my mind, it was worth it." http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00002SU8F/theasylumeclecti Creepy! Since the page is in Japanese, I really don't know what these dolls are about. However, I do know that they are creepy as hell, and for that, I must recommend this site: Doll Space - PYGMALION Thanks to Anna Maria for the link!
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January 14, 2006 Today's Gaseous Yet Truly Morbid Fact! The English newspaper "The Weekly Dispatch" carried the following story under the headline "Two Men Suffocated in A Grave" on September 9, 1838: An inquest was held in Aldgate on the bodies of Thomas Oakes, the gravedigger belonging to Aldgate Church, and Edward Luddett, a fish dealer, at Billingsgate Market, who came to their deaths on that forenoon under the following circumstances: - Mr. Edward Cheeper, the master of the workhouse, stated, that about eleven o'clock, while passing through Church Passage Aldgate, he heard the loud screams of a female in the churchyard, and he instantly hastened to the spot, and looking into the grave, about twenty feet deep, he saw the deceased gravedigger, Oakes, lying on his back apparently dead. A ladder was instantly procured, and the deceased young man, Luddett, who by this time, with several others, had been attracted to the spot, instantly volunteered to descend to the assistance of Oakes. The instant he stooped to raise the head of Oakes, he appeared as if struck by a Cannon ball, and fell back, and appeared instantly to expire. Through a mixture of curiosity and philanthropy, Luddett had desceneded into a deep paupers' grave in which putrescent gases had replaced oxygen. Such graves were dug deep, in order to accommodate up to twenty bodies, and were left open until full. Little or no earth separated the coffins from each other. Culled
from: Death:
A History of Man's Obsessions and Fears ********************************************************************** I'm surprised
others didn't follow Luddett down there, like they usually do. I'm not
sure if it's common sense, cowardice, or laziness that would account
for that. Morbid Recommendation Du Jour! aren't you special has a book suggestion for us: Daddy Was
The Black Dahlia Killer "It is one of the most enduringly fascinating crimes in American history. On January 15, 1947, passersby made a grisly discovery in a vacant lot in Los Angeles: the body of a naked young woman, cut in two, and savagely mutilated. The victim was identified as Elizabeth Short, a struggling Hollywood actress. Nicknamed the Black Dahlia by a headline-hungry press, her lurid demise sparked a desperate manhunt. But the mystery of the Black Dahlia murder remained unsolved for nearly half a century -- until now. "A victim of incest and brutality from infancy, Janice Knowlton was an old hand at repressing hideous memories by age ten, when she watched her father, George Frederick Knowlton, torture, kill, and dismember Elizabeth Short in the detached garage of their California home. It was not the first of Daddy's murders Jon had witnessed, and it would not be the last -- but she had been so traumatized that it took over four decades for fragments of her memory to resurface. Aided by a family counselor specializing in child abuse, Jan experienced a nightmare flood of childhood memories -- and realized that she had witnessed her father commit up to nine savage and sadistic murders, including that of her own infant son, a child of incest. Using census records, maps, family interviews, police reports, and clippings from a dozen newspapers to document her searing memories, Janice exposes her father's thirty-year rampage of rope and murder in this astonishing survivor's testament -- and provides persuasive evidence that Los Angeles low enforcement authorities always knew the shocking truth..." Sounds like complete bollocks to me, but what do I know? http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671880845/theasylumeclecti
******* Morbid Sightseeing! I've always wanted to make a trip down to Guanajuato, Mexico to visit the Museo de las Momias. These excellent photographs of the mummies from the always-wonderful Rotten.Com might explain why: http://poetry.rotten.com/momias/ Thanks to Amazon for the link.
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January 15, 2006 Today's Spendthrift Yet Truly Morbid Fact! The Marquise de Brinvilliers, executed in 1676, was a spendthrift who decided that the simplest way of replenishing her coffers was murder by poison - so she poisoned her father and her two brothers. In order to test the poison, she tried it out on her maidservant - who became seriously ill but recovered - and on patients in a charitable hospital to which she took food. The death of her lover caused her downfall; his papers contained incriminating details, and although she fled to a nunnery, Marie was arrested, tortured into confession, and finally beheaded. Culled
from: The
Mammoth Book of the History of Murder ********************************************************************** I'm not sure how murder helped her to replenish her coffers - the book didn't say - but I suppose we can just let our imaginations figure that one out for us.
******* Morbid Recommendation Du Jour! Achille thinks it's about time I feature a different kind of horror movie: "I think it's time for a throwback to the old 70's B horror movies. The movies that don't even try to be scary or gory, just laugh out loud funny. The one I'm thinking of I watched with my mum the other day called 'The Thing With Two Heads'. With a name like that it's got to be a winner, right? To give you just a little more information to set the quality in your mind, the main actor used to be a pro football player. All set then? The basis of the story is a medical experiment. a rich old white racist codger is sick and about to die so he wants his head grafted onto someone's body. Only problem? The only person the doctors can find is a black convict! Ahh the hilarity that ensues.... There is, I promise, a happy ending, if quite morbid in my book." Sounds very, er, interesting. :) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005AUK3/theasylumeclecti ******* Dahmerism Du Jour! This one is courtesy of Leann: Q: What did Dahmer say to his dinner date? . A: Can you give me a hand?
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January 16, 2006 Today's Smashing Yet Truly Morbid Fact! The Algoma
was one of three steel passenger and freight liners built in 1883 under
the direction of Henry Beatty, general manager of Canadian Pacific's
marine operations. In the spring of 1884 it was put into service running
from Owen Sound on Georgian Bay to Port Arthur at the head of Lake Superior.
Late in its second season, on Friday, November 6, 1885, the Algoma left
the Sault Canal and entered Lake Superior under the confident direction
of Captain Moore. All day and into the night the Algoma raced along,
both engines steaming, her sails drawing in the wind. However, by 4
a.m. Saturday, the Algoma was pitching and rolling in a ferocious gale.
Rain, sleet and snow pounded the ship and the captain had no choice
but to turn the liner into the open lake until visibility improved.
As the steamer swung around there was a bone-chilling crash of steel
on rock. With its rudder smashed, the boat careened out of control.
Like a toy, the Algoma was lifted by the huge waves and repeatedly dropped
on the rocks of Greenstone Island just off Isle Royale. At 6 a.m. the
ship broke in two and the bow disappeared into the black water. On the
canted afterdeck, the remaining passengers and crew clung desperately
to a single lifeline. As day broke, three brave crewmembers made the
60-foot swim to shore, but they could not find a way to ferry those
left onboard. By Sunday morning the gale had abated enough to let the
remaining survivors make their way to shore on a small raft. Of 45 passengers
and crew only 14 survived. ********************************************************************** Ye Olde Bones! I have completed a travelogue of my trip to Ye Ancientest Burial Grounds in New London, Connecticut back in July, 2003. This is a wonderful 18th century graveyard that is filled with marvelous stone carvings. Gravestone enthusiasts should enjoy it (I hope). Please take a look. http://www.asylumeclectica.com/asylum/sightseer/us/ct/ancient/index.html ******* Dahmerism Du Jour! Another courtesy of Leann: Q: How could you tell if Dahmer was mad at you? . A: He would give you the cold shoulder.
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January 17, 2006 Today's Concise Yet Truly Morbid Fact! From a grave in Lee County, Mississippi: Once I
Wasn't. ********************************************************************** Sums it all up, don't it? ******* Morbid Sightseeing Du Jour! Sara writes to rave about The London Dungeon: "If you're ever in London, England, the 'London Dungeon' is an absolutely amazing museum portraying the former brutality and astounding history of England and surrounding area. As soon as you enter you're greeted with a group of talented actors that escort you into the building, then you proceed through the museum where there are tons of incredible exhibits of murders, tortures, and pretty much everything else macabre that has happened in this country's past. Then you go into London's famous prison system from the past centuries (including a trial, where you are charged and sentenced to death). Once you enter the prison, there you are shown real survivng torture intruments and structures. After that you are taken on mini boat ride and are shown more ways to perform an execution, The London Towers infamous 'Traitors Gate', and so on and so forth. Then the best part of the tour, the recreation of Whitechapel in the 1880's where Jack The Ripper played. London's claim to fame. You walk along dirty streets and beside you are the bodies of the prostitutes he killed strewn about. Then you go through a speculation to who Jack The Ripper really was. Then you witness the hanging of the man, from underneath the gallows. It looked and sounded so real, I thought I actually heard a neck snapping. And then comes the grand finally of the tour. 'Theatre Of The Guillotine', where you are a witness to a public execution. When the blade comes down a warm liquid is sprayed lightly over the crowd. When you start the exit, you're hostly proudly proclaims to you, "Don't worry, what you were sprayed with was not blood, it was urine." The air even changes when you go into different parts of the tour, just for effectiveness. For example when you enter the prison, the air changes to a damp, stank, very cold air. The little details are what makes this museum so great. I highly recommend this museum as one of the top in the world." Sounds like a fun way to spend the afternoon to me! ******* Morbid Mirth Du Jour! A man wakes up in the hospital after a horrendous car accident. He screams, "Doctor, Doctor! I can't feel my legs!" The Doctor calmly replies, "Of course you can't, I've cut off your arms." You can blame Colin for that one!
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January 18, 2006 Today's Reeking Yet Truly Morbid Fact! A crusade
against the practice of burying the dead in cities and towns was mounted
in England in 1839 by a surgeon named George Walker. Expanding on his
thesis that insanitary churchyard burials caused illness and death to
local inhabitants, Walker proceeded to cite the names of the worst offenders.
The unluckiest, and unhealthiest, Londoners were those poor souls who
lived in Clement's Lane, a narrow thoroughfare close to the Strand.
Within a short distance were cited no fewer than four burial grounds
(including St Clement Danes and the notorious Enon Chapel) and several
slaughterhouses: '... the living here breathe on all sides an atmosphere
impregnated with the odour of the dead.' The inhabitants were compelled
to close their windows to keep out offensive smells, especially in summer.
And walls were often seen reeking with fluids. ********************************************************************** "Walls reeking with fluids". I think that's one of my favorite lines in a morbid fact. It really packs a punch, don't it? ******* Morbid Sightseeing! Janey writes to tell of a fantastic abandoned asylum - which I HOPE is still standing (she sent this e-mail quite awhile ago): "Dearest
Countess ~ "The Asylum is one of the oldest in the country, and was in buisness during the darkest hours of psychiatric practices. The 'patients' that lived there were subjected to horrific 'treatments', and the whole place echoes with their stories. "Byberry Asylum is spread out over quite a lot of ground. It consists of half a dozen or so huge brick and stonework buildings built at odd angles to each other. There is a medical building, (I wandered all through the morgue myself) dormitory and solitary living quarters, a children's ward (very very unsettling place!) two buildings that are entirely stone walled on the inside, and several others that I was not able to stay long enough to explore. The administrative building is like a mansion, it's a gorgeous huge grey monolith that all the old paths eventually lead to... There is some sculpture work on the turrets that might have once been gargoyles, but have decayed past recognition. "All of the buildings are connected by a catacombs, which water has seeped through the floors and birthed an odd burgendy colored mold that looks like drying blood at first glance by flashlight! "[On the downside], the entire property is gated and patrolled by a security company and there are some seriously dangerous people who spend a lot of time there." Sounds like a fun place to me! Here's a website with some additional information: http://www.weirdus.com/stories/PA01.asp ******* Morbid Site Du Jour! If you're ever in need of a fun browse through the morbid side of the net, Death 'n' Dementia is a great site. Thanks to Elizabeth for sending the link my way. http://www.deathndementia.com/
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January 19, 2006 Today's Ritualistic Yet Truly Morbid Fact! The initiation rituals at the Masonic lodge in Patchogue, NY had been bathed in secrecy over the years. The climax of the ceremony on Monday night, March 8, 2004 was to be a simple prank. A new member of the Fellow Craft Club, a select group within the lodge, would sit in a chair while an older member stood 20 feet away and fired a handgun loaded with blanks. That ritual went terribly wrong inside Southside Masonic Lodge No. 493, in a basement littered with rat traps, tin cans, a 9-foot-tall guillotine, and a setup designed to mimic walking a plank. The shooter, a 76-year-old Mason, Albert Eid, was carrying two guns, a .22-caliber handgun with blanks in his left pocket, and a .32-caliber gun with live rounds in his right pocket. He reached into his right pants pocket, pulled out the wrong gun and shot William James, a 47-year-old fellow Mason, in the face, killing him. Mr. Eid, a World War II veteran who had a license to carry his own pistol and often did, pleaded not guilty Tuesday afternoon to a charge of second-degree manslaughter and was released on $2,500 bail. He was wearing his blue Masonic jacket during his arraignment in Central Islip. Culled
from: The
New York Times ********************************************************************** That's what you get for letting a 76-year-old man engage in rituals like that!!
******* Morbid Poetry Du Jour! Elizabeth thought this Emily Dickinson poem was worth sharing. I would have to agree! Skinny Domicile / Emily Dickinson I have
a skinny Domicile -- Since Death
is not a portly Chap, That's
why I don't go out that much --
******* Morbid Trinket Du Jour! Are you looking for the ideal means for corpse identification, assuring the perfect mix of security and economy? Then these anklebands are for you! http://www.pdcorp.com/post-mortem/anklebands.html Thanks to Kyle for the link.
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January 20, 2006 Today's Murderous Yet Truly Morbid Fact! In the early 1970's a supermarket robbery led to the arrest of middle-aged Sherman McCrary, together with his son and son-in-law. Police investigating the movements of McCrary's family in the past year realized that they corresponded closely to a series of murders that had become known as "the doughnut-shop slayings". Across the country, from Florida to California, waitresses and shopgirls had been abducted - usually late at night - and left naked and dead. The killers always robbed the till; but they also raped the women. The investigators finally realized that the whole McCrary family - including the wife and daughter - had been involve |