Elmer McCurdy was an outlaw who met an untimely end at the hand’s of law enforcement in 1911, according to a post on History with a Twist, but that wasn’t the end of his story. When the undertaker who embalmed McCurdy failed to receive payment – and no one claimed the body – the outlaw’s well-preserved corpse went on tour to pay his last debt. He eventually joined a few circuses, was displayed as a warning against drug use, and even cameoed in a film. An episode of the Six Million Dollar Man was his last appearance, as a crew member discovered that the prop corpse – by now painted orange and missing some parts – was a real corpse.
As a writing prompt, imagine what might happen to your body after death if no one claimed it, or what could have happened to the corpse of any famous or infamous person. Alternatively, write a story about characters finding a preserved body of their own. What will they do with it?
