Before I finally found my feet as a writer, I was scrambling for jobs. At one point, I applied to work in a funeral home, preparing the stiffs. The money was good, and most of your clients were dead quiet. But, after reading some of these chilling stories from morticians, I’m glad I never got the job.
Rocking Chair Corpse
One mortician’s story recalled a time back in the 1920s when a couple got caught in a blizzard. A young man, taking his girlfriend to a local dance, went out looking for help. However, due to the cold and lack of insulation, his partner froze to death.
When the mortician arrived to bring her to the funeral home, she was frozen in a seated position. The man recalls having to sit her in a rocking chair, in front of a fire, to thaw her out enough to lay her down.
The Dying Breath
Often, when a body is quite fresh, there are trapped gases in it that still need to be released. Many morticians have recalled the first time they witnessed the dead ‘breathing.’ As the air is released from the bodies, they appear to sigh and gasp while on the slab.
Sometimes, the release of gas from the body can even make a corpse begin to sit upright as the air moves. Apparently, smokers are even worse. It adds a zombielike ‘Rasp‘ to the dying breath.
A Surprise Guest
Another mortician recalled a time a body had been brought in that had died from drowning. The body was tucked away in the cold cupboard. However, in the middle of the night, while the night shift was keeping an eye on the stiff, a tapping sound could be heard.
The cupboard holding the drowning man sounded like someone was knocking from inside. The morticians opened it up to find that, in fact, the man was still dead. However, a crab, which had made a home of the man’s corpse, wasn’t enjoying the cold. It was tapping inside to find a way out.
Not Dead Yet
There have been numerous stories of morticians receiving bodies, written off as dead by medical professionals, only to find they’re alive. Some comas people slip into can be particularly deep, even fooling doctors.
However, when the bodies warm, and they start breathing on the slab, they know a mistake has been made. What a place to wake up.