Broadway Mummy and So Many Water Corpses: Caitlin's Death News You Can Use [Patron-Only]

Greetings my darlings and welcome to another edition of Caitlin's Death News You Can Use, a roundup of death stories carefully curated just for you by Sarah Chavez and yours truly. This month's crop of stories runs the gamut – from the bright lights of Broadway to the murky depths of a watery grave.

Plus, if you've been watching our videos for awhile, hella updates!

First, an old friend is back.

Elmer McCurdy, Broadway Mummy

Everyone's favorite showbiz mummy is headed for the bright lights of Broadway this spring, in a new musical called Dead Outlaw. To be clear, Elmer McCurdy's ACTUAL corpse won't be back in action, strutting the boards, a distinction I wouldn't normally feel compelled to make. But with our pal Elmer, one must be specific. 

Elmer McCurdy, you may remember from our long-ago video DUDE, Your Mannequin is a Corpse!, was a bank-robbin'-train-robbin' 1900's outlaw who upon his demise in 1911 was embalmed and toured around the country for 60 years. At one point his embalmer's children even put roller-skates on him and ROLLED HIM AROUND to scare smaller children. You wish your Take Your Kids To Work Day had this many hijinx.

But the "fun" didn't end there for ol' Elmer. After decades of life on the road, Elmer somehow made it to the Laff in the Dark in Long Beach, CA where his corpse – believed to be a mannequin – was discovered by the crew of your grandpa's favorite show, The Six Million Dollar Man. 

Elmer was laid to rest at Summit View Cemetery in Oklahoma in 1977, but that won't keep him out of the limelight – well, his story anyway. Named "outstanding new off-Broadway musical" by the Outer Critics Circle Awards when it ran at the Minetta Lane Theatre last year, this new show promises not be dead on arrival.

NYC’s Despised “Vessel” Reopens (This story contains discussion of suicide)

You may remember our 2022 video, Is This $250 Million Selfie Spot Dangerous?, about the “Vessel” in Manhattan; a 150-foot-tall honeycomb-shaped, reflective structure, which was closed for several years after four people died by suicide by jumping from the top.

Vessel was re-opened late last year with specially designed honeycomb netting – echoing the design of the Vessel itself – that entirely encloses its "exposed sections." The netting is designed to provide a barrier but also to keep the views of New York unobstructed. 

But should Vessel be open to the public? And is this netting an appropriate response to the deaths that have occurred there? The designers' response to the deaths have always left much to be desired, usually prioritizing the aesthetics of the structure over harm reduction. Writer Charley Burlock distilled these concerns on social media last year saying, "suicide barriers work in part because they are visual affirmations that someone cares if you live or die...the developer’s response to the deaths continues to communicate the opposite."

And though the netting is certainly a vital addition to the Vessel, an addition that is very late to the game, you kind of get the feeling that the hearts of the Vessel designers aren't really in it. Yes, there is security on the ground level checking for sharp objects that could cut the netting, but there are no security guards on any of the upper floors at this time, and the netting isn't in place until the third floor. 

Hopefully this reopening of Vessel will start a new brighter chapter in its story, but such hope feels cautious. Have any of you been to the Vessel? What are your thoughts?

The River Thames is FULL of Corpses

What's with all the bodies in the Thames?  

A new study of human remains dredged from the Thames River reveals that the bones found date from from 4000 B.C.E. to 1800 C.E., with the majority coming from the Bronze and Iron Ages (2300 B.C.E. to 43 C.E.) 

"There really was something significant going on in the Bronze and Iron Ages" explained Nichola Arthur, a curator at the Natural History Museum in London. Experts aren't exactly sure why the bodies are in the Thames, but theories suggest funerary practices or "violent encounters resulting from fights over this important river," posits bioarchaeologist Chris Knüsel of the University of Bordeaux.

Someone's always trying to tame the Thames. 

Mavs in Mourning

This happened two months ago, but I had to include it here.

The NBA team tthe Dallas Mavericks have been THROUGH IT recently. They are a team, nay, a city, in mourning. When their beloved point guard, Slovenian Luka Dončić, was traded completely out of the blue to the LA Lakers, Mav's fans held a mock funeral. And since everything's bigger in Texas, this wasn't some half-assed "thoughts and prayers" memorial. 

Someone allegedly paid $3000 to have a blue casket shipped overnight, and the casket was then carried by black-clad pallbearers at Dallas' American Airlines Center. In addition to protests over the trade, Mavs fans expressed their disapproval with this "symbolic funeral" for their team. #RIPMavs

You can see Luka tonight in a playoff game with his new team the Lakers. You can see the Mavs.... well, nowhere right now, they flamed out in the playoffs.

Catch of the Day

Now here's a story involving a different kind of net. 

In March of this year, the body of a woman was caught in the nets of a fishing boat off the coast of Massachusetts. Wrapped in cloth, the body was found 40 miles off the coast and was in a state of decomposition. Approximately 60 years-old, the woman's body was autopsied and was found to have "numerous cancerous tumors."

Authorities said they are unable to identify the woman due to decomposition, but believe she was buried at sea. They consider the case closed. 

My questions: Did they rebury her at sea? Where is her body now? 

And if she really was a body buried at sea, who did the burying? We covered this in our Burial at Sea video. Sea burials involve specific caskets modifications, regulations about distance and depth, and ways to weight the body so it does not free itself and RETURN. 

Inquiring minds need more details.

Arlington Cemetery Removes Content Related to "African American People, Hispanic People, and Women"

Last month (women's history month) it came to light that Arlington National Cemetery – a cemetery maintained by the US Army and the largest in the United States National Cemetery System – had de-linked it's "Women's History" page from the Notable Graves section of its website. Along with "Women's History," "African American History" and "Hispanic American History" had also been de-linked. In addition links about Black, "Hispanic," and female veterans disappeared from the education "themes" section, the "History of Arlington Cemetery" section, and the "Explore" tab. 

Though Arlington National Cemetery says the missing pages were "absorbed" onto other pages, a search on the website for say, "African American History" for example, requires you to sift through search results to find what appears to be what was formerly the "AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY" page (now a PDF). 

When the military news publication Task & Purpose questioned the cemetery about the de-linked pages, they responded that they had removed the pages to comply with Trump's DEI executive order "targeting race and gender-related language and policies in the military." 

Sure, Arlington is like,"What's the big whoop the info's still there?" But let's call it like it is: when information about marginalized individuals is so buried – pun intended – it sends the message that they are of less importance to the military, the country, and our collective history. The "burying the past" metaphor is right there, Arlington.

Alright death nerds, see you soon!

Mother Caitlin