CRANIOKLEPTY: Pick a skull, win a book!

[Unbridled]

We thought this macabre exercise and a chance to win a book might interest the folks in this group. The question is: If you could steal a skull, any skull, whose would you choose, and why?

Cranioklepty (the theft of skulls) has fallen out of fashion, but it wasn’t very long ago that stealing skulls was viewed by some as akin to possessing genius. Colin Dickey has written the history of this peculiar kind of obsession in his forthcoming CRANIOKLEPTY: GRAVE ROBBING AND THE SEARCH FOR GENIUS (coming out later this month). The after-death stories of Franz Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, Emanuel Swedenborg, Sir Thomas Browne and many others have never before been told in such detail and vividness. The desire to own the skulls of the famous, for study, for sale, for public (and private) display, seems to be instinctual and irresistible in some people. So, again, WHOSE SKULL WOULD YOU DIG?

You can send us your choice—by responding to this discussion (preferred!), posting a comment on our profile page, or via email (cranioklepty@gmail.com) between September 9 and October 21, 2009. We’ll be posting the most lively ones (no pun intended) on Cranioklepty.com and as a thank you, we’ll be sending a copy of CRANIOKLEPTY to the folks whose selections most intrigued us. Winners will be announced on October 31, 2009 (yes, on Halloween). For complete rules and regulations visit http://cranioklepty.com/pick-a-skull/rul... We do not, for the record, endorse the actual stealing of skulls!

[Misty]

Is it completely sacrilegious/horrible to say Jesus? Because, I mean, come on. That would be one powerful skull.
If not Jesus, probably Cleopatra. I am intrigued by her. And what with facial reconstruction tech, it would be interesting to see if she was worth the hype.

[Beth]

I would have to say Elvis. I would want to dig his skull to see if he is really buried. With the DNA testing we could see if it it really him. Perhaps he is still walking among us.

[Misty]

I did see him walking down the street the other day...

[Literally]

Vlad the Impaler. I want to know if he has pointy teeth or not...

[Unbridled]

Now that you mention it, I'm curious about Cleopatra too!

[Maltaise]

Madame Currie-would be my choice of skulls to dig up.

[Unbridled]

Why her skull, Maltaise?

[Maltaise]

She was a brilliant woman winning two Nobel Peace Prizes in two different fields. She is someone I would not mind learning more about.

[Unbridled]

Happy Halloween!! Thank you for so many great responses! We had a tough time narrowing them down, but you can read our favorite 30 submissions here: http://cranioklepty.com/pick-a-skull/fav...

We'll be contacting winners directly, but feel free to send us your address right away to receive your copy of CRANIOKLEPTY: Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius by Colin Dickey (http://cranioklepty.com).

Cheers!
rachel / Unbridled Books

http://unbridledbooks.com
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[Misty]

Woo hoo! Saying I'd steal Jesus' skull got me something! (other than a one-way ticket to hell...) :P
Emailing you now.

edit: I was going to email you, but I couldn't figure out from the blog where to email to...I will send you a message on here, hope that doesn't make it confusing...