Body snatching in Ohio: A century of digging up corpses in the Buckeye State

by Curt Dalton

Are your ancestors from the 19th century still in their graves? If they were buried in Ohio between 1811 and 1911, that may not be the case. Although physicians needed corpses to teach their students how to take care of the living, these were very difficult to get legally. And so the profession of resurrectionist was born, whose job was to work the night shift, digging up what doctors so desperately needed. Between 1811 and 1881 nearly 5,000 unfortunate souls met this fate in the Buckeye state alone. Body Snatching in Ohio tells a century’s worth of tales on grave robbing, murder, and the fight to keep bodies in their graves instead of ending up on the dissection tables.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

202 pages, Paperback

Expected publication July 21, 20201

Reviews

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just happened to spot Body Snatching in Ohio: A Century of Digging Up Corpses in the Buckeye State by Curt Dalton in the new section and knew I had to take it home with me. It is the perfect season, after all. I think this is the first nonfiction book I've ever read that covers this topic in the U.S. let alone my home state. Everything that I can think of has been Victorian era Britain, to be honest. As it turns out, this was a fascinating, well researched, and atmospheric read. I'm always on the lookout for books about less well known aspects of Ohio history and this one is well worth the time. A good deal of the information presented happened in the three C's - Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati - but there are a handful of locations that are practically in my backyard. I've actually visited a couple of the cemeteries mentioned here as well. Guess I'll have to be on the lookout for active coffin torpedoes now given that one was successfully used in a cemetery near Gann (aka Brinkhaven) in 1881 which is in my home country! By the way, I've never actually heard anyone call it Gann before. A few weeks ago I saw it referred to that way on a tv weather map and had to look it up because I had never heard of it called that before. I asked some people about it and they gave me crazy looks because they'd never heard of Gann but they sure knew where Brinkhaven was. Also just as a fun little side note the Bridge of Dreams is located very near Brinkhaven. It's the second longest covered bridge in Ohio and the third longest in the U.S. It's a pedestrian, bicycling, and Amish buggy bridge that's part of the very scenic Mohican Valley Trail. If I'm out riding my bike that way I'll have to be extra cautious if I decide to check out a local cemetery which I've done in the past so gulp!

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

A great idea for a book! Very thoroughly researched. However, the author lacks storytelling talent and the book falls short of what it could be. It is also self-published and there is a real need for an editor/proof-reader, here.