Burial Day Books brings you a weekly supernatural horror blog by The Gravedigger that explores the world of superstition. Scary relics of the past and some new superstitions that haunt today.
When I was a young Gravedigger, I remember vampires depicted on the screen and in novels as unclean, unholy beings on par with demons. In recent years, vampires have taken on this quirky, sexy appeal where characters in novels, film and television interacting with the vampire are not only unafraid by their unliving…
The Undertaker and I have been quite busy as the summer months bring about increased activity. The grounds must be kept watered continually, and as you can imagine, working outdoors during high temperatures tends to drain one’s energy. Yesterday evening, we had planned an outing to the cinema to see Casablanca at this lovely movie…
Teresa Lo was born and raised in Coffeyville, Kansas, population of 10,000, home of the Interstate Fair and Rodeo and the legendary Dalton Gang. Her Chinese-American family was one of three Asian families in their conservative, Midwest town, and they ran the popular China Garden restaurant, which Teresa worked at from ages twelve to eighteen.
The Undertaker and I were away for some time on holiday in lovely Eastern Europe. We spent time in Prague, Czech Republic, Krakow, Poland in Vienna, Austria. It was a whirlwind trip sleeping in overnight train cars, suspicious of those around us, walking the cobbled stone streets of old towns home to lore and legends, and of course eating and drinking in old castles and cafes once frequented by kings and queens, saints and legendary writers.
We all have a story. Not just a collection of experiences or events, but a specific moment in our past that set into motion who we are today. Perhaps you could say my origin story was the day my father took me outside, shovel in hand, and led me to my first burial. It was…
Read more to learn about the history of the grave robbers.
Bodysnatching became so prevalent an activity because not only was the crime just a misdemeanor, and so the punishment was merely a fine, but the activity was lucrative as medical schools and doctors paid handsomely. Now, with refrigeration nonexistent at the time bodies decomposed quickly, which meant that there was a constant stream of demand for cadavers. Body snatching became so prevalent that when measures were taken by families to ensure their loved ones were not snatched, from waiting long after the burial at a family members grave to ensure no grave robber removed their loved one to the use of iron coffins and iron bars to keep grave robberes from stealing freshly dug dead.
Margarita Felices is a new paranormal writer who lives in Cardiff with her partner, three little mad dogs and works in television broadcasting. Inspiration for a lot of her writing comes from the remnants of the Victorian era in her hometown. When not writing, she strolls the rambling streets of Cardiff, taking pictures and researching settings and characters.