This post contains some affiliate links.
Friends,
Humans have always been drawn to the idea of life after death or extending life. But what happens when the treatment defies medical necessity and borders on the strange and unusual?
Imagine with me going to the doctor for something small, maybe stomach pains or a headache that won’t go away. The doctor patiently listens to your complaints, smiles knowingly, and tells you he can cure you. The treatment is a little different. New research suggests that the medical field has found cures for nearly everything. It’s something so revolutionary that it’s been around for ages. Nothing more than a homeopathic cure, he assures you—no need to worry.
Seems too good to be true, and you have a twinge of doubt. But he’s a doctor, so you put yourself in his hands and pray for the best.
What you didn’t know was that it wasn’t necessarily he who was saving you.
It was the dead.
The dead can still be helpful.
Fresh from a recently discovered Egyptian tomb, a mummy was sold to the highest bidder, bindings included free of charge. If a patient suffers from internal bleeding, soak the mummy in alcohol or vinegar, grind it up, and sprinkle a touch of it into the body.
A skull found in a shallow grave in Ireland was ground up into a fine powder and stored in a waterproof bag. Thomas Willis, a 17th-century pioneer in brain science, claimed that mixing it with chocolate could cure apoplexy or bleeding. Or combine it with molasses, and you can cure epilepsy.
A deceased woman had the fat off her body rendered, made into an ointment, and packaged in a lovely tin can. Use it liberally for wounds or gout; cherries are no longer needed and too expensive.
A group of people waited hungrily at the gallows’ steps, cups in hand. The executioner has promised them fresh blood; everyone knows it’s easier to swallow when it’s still warm. The 16th-century German-Swiss physician Paracelsus believed that it was beneficial for both the body and the soul. If you weren’t keen on drinking straight, you could always follow the 1679 Franciscan apothecary recipe to turn it into marmalade.1
Or you could follow King Charles II of England’s favorite- ‘The King’s Drops’ liberally added to a glass of alcohol, and depression would flutter away.2 No matter that it contained pieces of Egyptian mummy skulls, everyone knows they are no longer needed.
Teeth and fingers could be used to cure toothaches. Simply place the teeth in a bag around your neck, but remember to periodically touch them to your infected tooth for added precaution. If that doesn’t work, take the finger of a corpse and rub it along the afflicted gum.
It wasn’t a new concept.
The Romans believed that the blood of a fallen Gladiator could cure epilepsy.3
Ancient Babylonians believed that illnesses resulted from demonic forces or divine punishment.4 If you grind your teeth at night, it is obviously the dead trying to communicate with you. An easy enough fix – sleep with a skull for a week, and the spirit will disappear. But remember to kiss it at least seven times each night.5
During the Tang Dynasty in China, it was widely believed that consuming human flesh was an effective medical treatment.6 There are even cases up to the 1980s where the younger generation willingly offered pieces of their flesh to their ill parents for consumption. Don’t worry- they would only cut up thighs, upper arms, or livers.
Don’t believe me? I added some excellent sources from the National Library of Medicine at the bottom of this blog. You should check them out!
The practice is still used today.
Body brokers remain a multimillion-dollar operation worldwide. Every year, in the U.S., thousands of people donate their bodies to science. However, they are unaware that their bodies are being traded as raw material in a highly unregulated market.
Only the organ and tissue transplant industry has oversight by the federal government.
The rest of the body? They go to the highest bidder. And in most states, anyone can legally purchase body parts.
Sick to your stomach yet?
Don’t be. According to Armand Krikorian, a past president of the American Federation for Medical Research, “The need for human bodies is absolutely vital.” 7 Researchers use the body to develop new surgical instruments, techniques, and implants. Cadavers are used to train medical students, dentists, and nurses.
Generally, a broker can sell a donated human body for about $3,000 to $5,000, though prices sometimes top $10,000. But a broker will typically divide a cadaver into six parts to meet customer needs. Internal documents from seven brokers show a range of prices for body parts: $3,575 for a torso with legs; $500 for a head; $350 for a foot; $300 for a spine.
Reuters Investigates
Final Thoughts
The moral of the story, as nauseating as it might be, is that the dead have long been considered essential to life. From ancient times to the present, bodies have been used to treat, cure, and prolong life.
The question remains- is it ethical? I will leave you to decide.
“Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.”
Edgar Allen Poe
For those hungry to explore more, click below to find additional readings:
Medicinal Cannibalism in Early Modern English Literature and Culture (Early Modern Cultural Studies 1500–1700). The human body, traded, fragmented, and ingested, is at the center of Medicinal Cannibalism in Early Modern English Literature and Culture, which explores the connections between early modern literary representations of the eaten body and the medical consumption of corpses.
Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires: The History of Corpse Medicine from the Middle Ages to the Falun Gong. This third edition features a wealth of new material, including eyewitness accounts of scaffold blood drinking; a Kansas vampire sect of the 1880s; dissection and bodysnatching; rare gems from the darkest realms of corpse magic; and shocking allegations of systematic organ murders in 21st-century China. Welcome to perhaps the greatest whitewash in world history.
Until next time, Keep Reading and Stay Caffeinated.
Subscribe below to stay up to date on myths, legends, mysteries, and the chaos I call my life.
If you’re looking for your next favorite read, I invite you to check out my book, The Raven Society. This spellbinding historical fantasy series takes us on a heart-pounding journey through forgotten legends and distorted history. Uncover the chilling secrets of mythology and confront the horrifying truths that transformed myths into monstrous realities. How far will you go to learn the truth?
The Writer and The Librarian (Book 1):
Signed copies at:
https://rlgeerrobbins.com/product/the-writer-and-the-librarian-the-raven-society-book-1/
Explore more blogs here:
Footnote:
- Scenes from the Secret History of Blood • The Blood Project ↩︎
- Goddard’s Dropps: a Paradox of the C17th | Urology News ↩︎
- Between horror and hope: gladiator’s blood as a cure for epileptics in ancient medicine – PubMed ↩︎
- The Air of History: Early Medicine to Galen (Part I) – PMC ↩︎
- 5 Weird Dental Treatments Throughout History | Ian Smith, DMD ↩︎
- (PDF) Analysis of the Cannibalism in A Madman’s Diary ↩︎
- In the U.S. market for human bodies, anyone can sell the donated dead ↩︎
Sources:
The Macabre History of the King’s Drops
Corpse Medicine: Brains, Mellified Man’s Honey-flesh, or Blood Drinks! | Ancient Origins
The Gruesome History of Eating Corpses as Medicine
The evolution of ancient healing practices: From shamanism to Hippocratic medicine: A review – PMC
CADAVERS IN COMMERCE: REGULATING UNDER A FEDERAL BODY OF LAWS
What are your thoughts?