Up and Down the Stair with Burke and Hare: Body-Snatching
In the first section, we lay the historical groundwork of this section by focusing on common narratives surrounding the body-snatching profession. Here we begin with an historical overview from the beginning of the century that outlines the public outcry to learn about and hopefully expose the body-snatchers. We then turn to a brief poem that curiously brings the dead to our attention—using their metaphorical position to highlight social ills. We then begin to wade into the depths of the gravely crafted argument surrounding the ethics of using the dead for science and other abuses. Finally, we hear the other side of the cultural taboo, listening to late-century narrative about a Resurrectionist from the 1810s. This shows the sheer cultural weight invested in this grisly profession.
In the second section, we look more closely at the atypical and highly popularized narratives that surround Burke and Hare, a murdering duo who sold their victims to medical institutions for dissection. Here we take a temporal break and listen to a twenty-first century podcast about the myth surrounding Burke and Hare (current this year, 2016). We end this section with an overview of the court case and demise of both Burke and Hare, highlighting the legal ramifications of such abuse of the dead and paving the way for our final chapter.
For reading: You can either click any of the sub-sections presented on this page, or start with "Resurrectionists and Reclaiming the Dead" and follow the prescribed path to the end of this chapter.
