resurrection man
Grave-robbing supplier
A resurrection man was someone who dug up fresh corpses to sell to medical schools for anatomical study.
The term comes from the 19th century, when legal cadavers were scarce and demand from surgeons was high.
The euphemism plays on Christian resurrection—these men raised bodies, though not to new life.
Also called body snatchers.
Burke and Hare started as resurrection men before turning to murder.
One who exhumes illegally
- exhumeUnbury the dead
- disinterUnbury the dead
- cadaverBody for dissection
- dissectionAnatomical cutting and examination
anatomy · medical students · surgeon · corpse · burial ground · cemetery · coffin · tombstone
Victorian-era serial killers
- EdinburghScotland's seat of government
- LondonEngland's capital city
- gaslightDistort someone's reality
- penny dreadfulCheap Victorian crime serial
workhouse · medical school · foggy · Charles Dickens · cobblestone · surgeon · poorhouse · coroner
Illicit trading system
- illegalForbidden by statute
- contrabandProhibited trade goods
- briberyCorrupt payment for influence
- underworldRealm of the departed
criminal · felony · smuggling · illicit · trafficker · corrupt · clandestine · covert
grave robber
One who exhumes illegally
dissection · anatomy · medical students · surgeon · corpse · burial ground · cemetery · coffin · tombstone · shovel
Burke and Hare
Victorian-era serial killers
penny dreadful · workhouse · medical school · foggy · Charles Dickens · cobblestone · surgeon · poorhouse · coroner · gallows
black market
Illicit trading system
- illegalForbidden by statute
- contrabandProhibited trade goods
- briberyCorrupt payment for influence
underworld · criminal · felony · smuggling · illicit · trafficker · corrupt · clandestine · covert · lawless
ghoulish
Fascinated by death grotesquely
sinister · chilling · morbid · haunting · creepy · spectral · uncanny · sepulchral · dreadful · morose
resurrection mangravedigger
One who digs burial plots
undertaker · funeral director · mortician · tomb guardian · burier
resurrection, resurrect, resurrected, resurrecting, resurrects, resurgent, resurgence, surge, surging