Greyfriars Cemetery
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Greyfriars is raised above the street level by quite a bit, a green hilly mound. While Edinburgh is a city of hills, this one was not natural, but instead caused by the burial of bodies over hundreds of years, layers on top of each other. In the rainy weather, they sometimes still move up to the surface to make another appearance.
Edinburgh had one of the best medical schools in the 1800s, with classes in anatomy. Only criminals were allowed to be disected, which meant there were never enough bodies for a class. A black market in bodies grew up, and one of the prime places to get them was Greyfriars Cemetery, especially with its close proximity to the school itself. The people who "harvested" the bodies were known as the Resurrectionists. Not only did they dig up dead bodies- but occasionally they also dug up a live one. Because of the fear of disease bodies were buried quickly, and "looking dead" was enough to get you put in the ground, people were often buried alive. After finding evidence of people clawing at the lids of their coffins, in the Victorian era they connected strings from inside the coffins to bells on the surface.
A pair of enterprising men took it a bit further. William Hare was a slumlord who owned a flat in which an old man was not paying his rent, and hadn't for a few months. Hare went by with his friend William Burke to collect the rent and find out why the old man wasn't paying. Turns out the old man had passed away. Burke wasn't particularly happy about not being able to get his back rent, and sold the body to the head of the medical school. Then he found out that was quite the profitable enterprise, as he got a lot more than just recovering the rent money out of it. So he started a new career. A few more of the lodgers met the same fate- or were hastened along, and then they started looking further afeild. Burke would go to a bar, and chat up some girl who wouldn't be missed- alone in the city, from out of town. He bought her drinks, and when the bars closed, invited her back to his place for more. Hare was waiting at his place, and after the young lady sat down, Hare emerged, and sat on her lap, immobilizing her. Burke then went behind her, and snapped her neck. They had quite the business going, selling the bodies to Edinburgh University professor Dr. Robert Knox.
All went well for Burke and Hare until they got sloppy and took home the wrong woman. Turns out she was far from a stranger, she was quite a "popular" lady with the men. A number of the medical students that the classroom for her first disection was full of had seen her without her clothes while she was alive, and recognized her. When the police went to Burke's flat he shared with his wife, they found a few more bodies under the bed as well. Burke's wife was exonerated, even though she was living in the flat this all occurred in, and Hare gave evidence against Burke and escaped punishment. Burke was hanged, and his body was donated to the same medical school he had sold bodies to, but given to the rival of the man who bought the bodies instead. He made gifts out of some of the remains, including a book covered by the skin of his bottom.
Edinburgh had one of the best medical schools in the 1800s, with classes in anatomy. Only criminals were allowed to be disected, which meant there were never enough bodies for a class. A black market in bodies grew up, and one of the prime places to get them was Greyfriars Cemetery, especially with its close proximity to the school itself. The people who "harvested" the bodies were known as the Resurrectionists. Not only did they dig up dead bodies- but occasionally they also dug up a live one. Because of the fear of disease bodies were buried quickly, and "looking dead" was enough to get you put in the ground, people were often buried alive. After finding evidence of people clawing at the lids of their coffins, in the Victorian era they connected strings from inside the coffins to bells on the surface.
A pair of enterprising men took it a bit further. William Hare was a slumlord who owned a flat in which an old man was not paying his rent, and hadn't for a few months. Hare went by with his friend William Burke to collect the rent and find out why the old man wasn't paying. Turns out the old man had passed away. Burke wasn't particularly happy about not being able to get his back rent, and sold the body to the head of the medical school. Then he found out that was quite the profitable enterprise, as he got a lot more than just recovering the rent money out of it. So he started a new career. A few more of the lodgers met the same fate- or were hastened along, and then they started looking further afeild. Burke would go to a bar, and chat up some girl who wouldn't be missed- alone in the city, from out of town. He bought her drinks, and when the bars closed, invited her back to his place for more. Hare was waiting at his place, and after the young lady sat down, Hare emerged, and sat on her lap, immobilizing her. Burke then went behind her, and snapped her neck. They had quite the business going, selling the bodies to Edinburgh University professor Dr. Robert Knox.
All went well for Burke and Hare until they got sloppy and took home the wrong woman. Turns out she was far from a stranger, she was quite a "popular" lady with the men. A number of the medical students that the classroom for her first disection was full of had seen her without her clothes while she was alive, and recognized her. When the police went to Burke's flat he shared with his wife, they found a few more bodies under the bed as well. Burke's wife was exonerated, even though she was living in the flat this all occurred in, and Hare gave evidence against Burke and escaped punishment. Burke was hanged, and his body was donated to the same medical school he had sold bodies to, but given to the rival of the man who bought the bodies instead. He made gifts out of some of the remains, including a book covered by the skin of his bottom.
