Morbid Cuiriosities - Haunted Hallowe'en Special!

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN!

On this spookiest of all days, George and Rosie are taking a break from their regular scheduled programming to get ghostly, and tell you all about a selection of haunted hangouts around the world.
George introduces one of the Voodoo queens of New Orleans - Rosie takes a look at ghastly goings-on at Bethlam Royal many years ago - George raises a glass to Edgar Allan Poe - Rosie fancies a spooky sandwich (or salad). And a chilling cheeseburger. And a poltergeist-pizza...


Links of interest:

- St Louis Cemetery #1, New Orleans:
http://www.saveourcemeteries.org/st-louis-cemetery-no-1/

- Marie Laveau, Voodoo Priestess extraordinaire:
http://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2012/07/marie-laveau.html

- Barthelemy Lafon, engineer and architect-cum-pirate and smuggler
http://www.knowla.org/entry/1198/&view=summary

- Edgar Allan Poe's grave, and the Poe Toaster:
http://www.eapoe.org/balt/poegrave.htm

- Perhaps-tenuous proof of a ghost in a Pizza Hut bathroom - skip to 3:45 for the ghost reveal!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4DncMB5GZw





https://ia601500.us.archive.org/8/items/MorbidCuriositiesEpisode6/Morbid%20Curiosities%20Episode%206.mp3

Morbid Curiosities - I is for Incorrupt, J is for Jewellery

Back from their more-than-usually sombre episode last week, Rosie and George delve into the bizarre world of Incorrupt Saints, and the delicious tongue-twister of memento mori and mourning and memorial jewellery.
George tries to sell Rosie a preserved head - Rosie shows off her mortal bling - George introduces a different kind of waxwork - Rosie suggests some strangely elegant uses for your lover's hair...

Thank you for listening! Find out more about Gimcrack Productions and our work, including what we look like, at: www.gimcrackproductions.com


References:

Beautiful examples of, and information on, memento mori:

http://artofmourning.com/category/other/symbolism/

An article about Victorian mourning practice and attitudes toward death:

https://remembermeproject.wordpress.com/2016/10/20/cult-of-the-dead-versus-phobic-of-the-dead-the-role-of-victorian-mourning-ephemera-in-death-acceptance/

The Order of the Good Death's Youtube series Ask A Mortician, one of our favourite all-round suppliers of death information:
https://www.youtube.com/user/OrderoftheGoodDeath




https://ia601505.us.archive.org/0/items/Episode5IncorruptJewellery/Episode%205%20-%20Incorrupt,%20Jewellery.mp3

Morbid Curiosities: G is for Grieving, H is for Hospice Care

In Episode 4 of the Morbid Curiosities Podcast, Rosie and George are taking a more solemn tone than they normally would - dealing with the somewhat more serious topics of Grieving and Hospice Care. Rosie talks us through the famed five stages of grief and how they don't fully reflect human experience - George introduces one of the most remarkable women in British medical history - Rosie discusses how social media affects the way we grieve and remember each other - George makes it a whole episode without referencing video games.


References:

www.healthtalk.org - Information and support forums for a range of health issues, including many personal reports of hospice experience
www.hospiceuk.org - The website of Hospice UK, with a huge wealth of information on
www.nhs.uk/Planners/end-of-life-care/Pages/hospice-care.aspx - The NHS's page on hospice care; the NHS

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/how-digital-possessions-keep-us-from-letting-go-of-the-dead - Article about “Digital Data That Dies Like Us”

www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/style/how-to-express-sympathy.html - Excellent and useful article on how to approach conversation with the bereaved.
www.thegriefgeek.com - The Grief Geek, a brilliant resource for all things grief and grieving

A Way to Die: Living to the End, by Rosemary and Victor Zorza - a moving autobiographical work about the two authors' experience of hospice care for their daughter, Jane.
Being Mortal - Atul Gawande - The author's stories of exploring the modern experience of mortality how medicine has and hasn't changed the world, and where our ideas about death have gone wrong.



https://ia801502.us.archive.org/14/items/Episode4GriefHospiceCare_201610/Episode%204%20-%20Grief,%20Hospice%20Care.mp3

Morbid Curiosities: E is for Exhumation, F is for Formaldehyde

In this third episode of Morbid Curiosities, we dig up some facts on exhumation and take a dip (don't try this at home) into the world of formaldehyde. Expect discussions about Resurrection Men, Mortsafes, medical cadavers, two of English history's most gruesome criminals, and how the American Civil War kick-started the embalming industry as we know it today.



References:
Six Feet Under (TV Series)
Diary of a Resurrectionist by James Blake Bailey (Book)









https://ia601500.us.archive.org/12/items/Ep03EFFINALEDIT/Ep%2003%20-%20EF%20FINAL%20EDIT.mp3

Morbid Curiosities: C is for Cremation, D is for Decomposition

In this episode of Morbid Curiosities, Rosie and George delve into the weird and wonderful worlds of cremation and decomposition, with surprise appearances from the Baldwin Brothers and Jesus Christ.

Books we mention! We like books.....

The Denial of Death - Ernest Becker
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - Caitlin Doughty
Working Stiff - Dr Judy Melinek

Other links we mention....

Dave Brockie's Viking Funeral
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6XWso8SyEE

Order of the Good Death - Natural Burial
http://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/naturalburial






https://ia601508.us.archive.org/12/items/MorbidCurioCastCD/Morbid%20Curiosities_%20C%20is%20for%20Cremati.mp3