POST MORTEM PHOTOS AND

 

I KNOW MANY OF YOU ARE PRETTY CREEPED OUT BY THE POST MORTEM PICTURES. SO LET ME TRY AND REASON WITH YOU AND GIVE YOU A BIT OF A HISTORY LESSON. BELIEVE IT OR NOT I HAVE THE BIGGEST PHOBIA WHEN IT COMES TO FUNERALS AND DEAD PEOPLE. HOWEVER, I MUST ADMIT I HAVE A GREAT APPRECIATION OF SHOCK VALUE. SO WHAT COULD BE CREEPIER THAN A FUNERAL/GRAVEYARD THEME FOR HALLOWEEN.

IT REALLY ALL CAME ABOUT WHEN I RAN ACROSS THE POST MORTEM PHOTOS LISTED ON EBAY. AT FIRST THEY WERE DISTURBING BUT YOU KNOW, DISTURBING CAN BE STIMULATING. NOT MUCH DIFFERENT THAN SOME OF THE MOVIES WE WATCH. I HAD TO WONDER WHY SO MANY OF THESE PICTURES WERE MADE. SO I LOOKED UP INFORMATION ON THE WEB, BOUGHT A FEW BOOKS AND FOUND OUT ALL ABOUT THEM.

THE HISTORY BEHIND POST MORTEM PHOTOGRAPHY IS FASCINATING. THEY WERE INTENDED TO BE BEAUTIFUL. THE DECEASED WERE OFTEN INTENTIONALLY POSED AS IF SLEEPING. CASKET PHOTOS DID NOT BECOME POPULAR UNTIL THE FIRST PART OF THE 20TH CENTURY. IN THE LATTER HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY THERE WERE AS MANY IF NOT MORE POST MORTEMS TAKEN THAN THERE WERE OF PEOPLE IN LIFE. CAMERAS WERE NOT A COMMON HOUSEHOLD ITEM THEN AND WHEN SOMEONE DIED THERE WERE OFTEN NO PICTURES TO REMEMBER THEM BY. POST MORTEM PHOTOGRAPHY BECAME PART OF THE FUNERAL PROCESS. WHEN SOMEONE DIED THEY WOULD RUSH OUT TO GET A PHOTOGRAPHER FIRST THING. THESE PHOTOGRAPHS WERE TREASURED THEN.

WHAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE IS HOW MUCH ATTITUDES TOWARD DEATH AS WELL AS FUNERAL CUSTOMS HAVE CHANGED AND EVOLVED IN A MERE 150 YEARS. IT'S MUCH TOO COMPLICATED TO EXPLAIN HERE. LET IT SUFFICE TO SAY OUR FEELINGS, VIEWS, AND CONCEPTS OF THE SUBJECT ARE THE RESULT OF THAT EVOLUTION.

SO I GOT THIS IDEA. WHY NOT FAKE SOME POST MORTEM PHOTOS? I PURCHASED A REAL VICTORIAN PHOTO ALBUM, GOT FUNERAL FLOWERS, AND SET MY DIGITAL CAMERA FOR SEPIA. I'VE BEEN TAKING THE PHOTOS FOR TWO YEARS NOW AND YOU CAN SEE THE RESULTS OF THE PROJECT IN THE ONLINE VERSION OF THE BOOK OF SHADOWS. BUT REMEMBER, THERE IS A REAL BOOK AS WELL AND I PRINT THE BEST PHOTOS AND PUT THEM IN IT.

WHY AM I TELLING YOU ALL THIS? IT'S BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO TRY AND GET OVER BEING SQUEAMISH ABOUT IT AND HELP ME TO FILL THE BOOK. WHAT I AM DOING IS NOT REAL IT IS ART AND I'M TRYING TO CONVINCE YOU TO THINK OF IT THAT WAY. THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE IN PRETENDING TO BE DEAD AND ACTUALLY BEING DEAD. ACTORS DO IT IN MOVIES ALL THE TIME.

IF YOU'RE HAVING TROUBLE COMING UP WITH A COSTUME, A COAT AND TIE OR A BLACK DRESS WITH A LITTLE DEATHLIKE MAKEUP IS EASY. I NEED CORPSES AS WELL AS MOURNERS.