Scottish Bodysnatchers: A Gazetteer by Geoff Holder

Book Preface

Graverobbing was a dark but profitable industry in pre-Victorian Scotland, as criminals, gravediggers, and middle-class medical students alike stole newly-buried corpses for the anatomy schools. Only after the trials of the infamous murderers Burke and Hare did the grisly trade end—murderers whose dissected skeletons are pictured in this book. From burial grounds in the heart of Glasgow and Edinburgh to quiet country graveyards in the Scottish Borders and Aberdeenshire, this book takes you to every cemetery ever raided, tells the ghoulish stories of what went on there, and describes the remains that can be seen today. It reveals where to find every existing piece of anti-resurrectionist graveyard furniture, from mortsafes, coffin cages, and underground vaults to watchtowers and morthouses. Richly illustrated and also including Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic short story The Body Snatcher, this macabre guide will delight residents and tourists alike