Body Snatching & Resurrectionists

For centuries, medical schools needed human bodies for anatomy lessons, but legal supplies often fell far short of demand. That shortage helped create a secretive trade in stolen corpses and the people who became known as resurrectionists.

Here we explore the strange history of body snatching, grave robbing, anatomy schools, Burke and Hare, mortsafes, grave watches, coffin torpedoes, cemetery guns, changing anatomy laws, and the people who tried to protect the dead.

Some of these stories became infamous. Others were nearly forgotten.

Follow the records, follow the money, and keep digging. There is always another strange story beneath the surface.