Creaking coffin lids. A foggy graveyard, empty of all but crooked headstones and a lone figure walking by candlelight. This image is a Halloween staple that induces dread, even today. But the events that inspired these scenes took place over 200 years ago.

In 2024, body donation is a common practice. But the thought of your dead, naked body being flayed on a table wasn’t as well received in the 1700s. Today we’re talking body snatchers, the corpses that became their trade, and the images that we just can’t shake from our collective consciousness.

That’s what you're in for today, on Impolite Society.

Sources:

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/body-snatchers/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/human-bodies-medical-research-cadavers

https://daily.jstor.org/public-dissection-gruesome-spectacle/

https://bodyworlds.com/about/history-of-anatomy/

Body snatching | History, Causes & Consequences | Britannica

https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/body-snatching-around-the-world/

John Scott Harrison - Newspapers.com™

Got your own thoughts? Text them to Impolite Society!

Text Rachel and Laura or email us at rude@impolitesocietypodcast.com. Visit our website for info about the show and your hosts.