Stealing a corpse was only looked at as a minor misdemeanor, so people didn’t mind running the risk of being caught. Body snatchers, or resurrectionists as they were known, became widespread. It was fairly common place for family members to stand guard over their recently passed relatives to prevent them from being dissected.
Oftentimes graves were protected by iron bars called mortsafes (below), graveyard watchtowers (above), heavy stone slabs or even metal coffins to deter would-be robbers.
Resurrectionists had a variety of modus operandi, crafty buggers that they were. They would use wooden spades to prevent too much noise being made, break into the coffin, tie a rope around the body and then drag it from its resting place. They would always make sure they left clothes and jewelry in place because theft was a much more serious crime than simply nicking a corpse and flogging it on.
An even sneakier method was to dig a hole a few metres from the grave and tunnel along until you hit the end of the coffin, smash through and pop out grandad. That made it easier to evade disgruntled mourners. Can you even imagine shuffling through a tunnel in a graveyard dragging a dead body behind you? I can’t.
☛ Up Next: Mary Ann Cotton: Britain’s First Serial Killer
