The Morthouse

In case you needed a reason to have a good cry today.

October 4 2012 | 51 Notes - Read More →
Tags: tvtelevisionbig birdvintagevideodeathdyingpbssesame streetfavesmourning

I see a similarity in the way people approach art and death: they know each exists but may feel intimidated to try and understand them. It does not have to be this way.

From I’m Opening My Own Funeral Home, an article by Austin-based funeral director Sarah Wambold, Order of the Good Death.

July 15 2012 | 86 Notes - Read More →
Tags: artaustinbusinessculturedeathfuneral categorydyingfuneral homesarah wambold

‘I’m not sure MRI can prove that someone who is dead (or a mummy) won’t come back to life. As a scientist, you simply have to say such events are extraordinarily rare. As a believer, you can say whatever you’d like; I’m a believer, so I do believe that people will live again … but I won’t try to use MRI to convince you of that position.’ Sorenson is a nice, friendly guy, and I hope for his sake that God is not a cat lover.

“The Evolution of Death” by Dick Teresi (salon.com).

March 21 2012 | 7 Notes - Read More →
Tags: just weirddeathsciencesalondick teresievolution of deathmedicinedyingmrireligionphilosophycats

I’m asked quite often whether or not dead bodies are “scary” or if I worry about ghosts and spirits at work. The answer, frankly, is no.

“Dead Bodies Look Like Dead Bodies,” on Order of the Good Death’s blog.

February 23 2012 | 30 Notes - Read More →
Tags: quotesdeathdyingcorpsesdead bodiesorder of the good deathphotography

Man lies dead for three years before discovery

Yet another story of a long-undiscovered dead person. Sad.

Less sad: Pigeons broke in and turned on his radio, which alerted neighbors (and the police).

I like pigeons.

(via The Order of the Good Death on Facebook)

February 21 2012 | 35 Notes - Read More →
Tags: newsdeathwtfdying

Joyce Carol Vincent: How could this young woman lie dead and undiscovered for almost three years?

From The Guardian:

On 25 January 2006, officials from a north London housing association repossessing a bedsit in Wood Green owing to rent arrears made a grim discovery. Lying on the sofa was the skeleton of a 38-year-old woman who had been dead for almost three years. In a corner of the room the television set was still on, tuned to BBC1, and a small pile of unopened Christmas presents lay on the floor. Washing up was heaped in the kitchen sink and a mountain of post lay behind the front door. Food in the refrigerator was marked with 2003 expiry dates.

Read the article.

February 10 2012 | 38 Notes - Read More →
Tags: filmdocumentarydeathdyingthe guardianCulture Film Dreams Of A Life Joyce Carol Vincentculturenewslong reads

So here’s something that’s bothered me since childhood. Why is Jacob Marley usually shown with cloth tied around his head (and under his jaw) in A Christmas Carol? I always figured it had to do with keeping the jaw closed, but still: Why and how, exactly?

The article “Screaming Mummies!” on Archaeology’s website explains it all—specifically, why jaws gape after death.

Image: From Charles Dickens‘ A Christmas Carol, illustrated by John Leech, 1843. Via Wikipedia.

January 6 2012 | 34 Notes - Read More →
Tags: a christmas carolbusinesscharles dickenschinstrapdeathdyinghistoryjacob marleyjust weirdsciencevictorianhandling

Me and Death

This blog belies my real relationship with its subject matter. Despite all you’ve seen here, I don’t like death.

It’s probably time for me come out about a few things:

I’ve never seen a dead body. (That’s not counting bog bodies and mummies in museums.)
I have been fascinated with death — particularly its physical aspect — since childhood. Before I settled on my various courses of study in college and grad school, I considered becoming an undertaker, a forensic anthropologist, or a pathologist. I never did, of course. In high school, I took a course on sports medicine and during a slide show of injuries, I blacked out at the sight of a severed hand sitting on a table. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hang with that kind of career, and I’ve been only a spectator ever since.
I am deeply, terribly afraid of dying. This has been an issue for me since childhood, when I used to repeat the sentence “I am going to die” to myself in my head, over and over, in hopes that that would make the truth more understandable. But it never did. It still hasn’t, and I’m 33. I white-knuckle turbulence on planes. Meanwhile, my boyfriend is serene. He knows death is inevitable and doesn’t understand my fear. I know death is inevitable, too. But I don’t feel it, and I’m not ready to accept it yet.
When my father died in 2004, I was halfway across the country from him and wasn’t with him in his last few days. He and my mother didn’t want me to see what was happening to him. I have never asked my mother to tell me what watching him die was like. In my dreams, he keeps showing up, alive, like a logical puzzle I can’t ever solve. I still don’t fully comprehend the fact that he’s dead, even seven years later. I didn’t see it. I wonder if that’s why.

Thanks for reading.