thegooddeath

My Visit to the Igreja de São Francisco Catacombs in Portugal + Video Update (PATRON-ONLY VIDEO)

Greetings from sunny Porto, Portugal my good deathlings!

I arrived here feeling a little discombobulated and stressed from several months of hard adulting in Los Angeles. But then, maybe it's the weather, the FOOD, the architecture, the magical coworking space I've been camped at for hours a day – Porto has revived me! I mean, look at this place:

[Photograph from above of a river at nig...

How the Sausage (a Long-Form YouTube Video) is Made – *Patron-Only Video*

Hello Deathlings! 

One of the things that always surprises people when I tell them about my YouTube work, is how long it takes to make one, long-form video. I think a lot of people hear the words "You" and "Tube" and assume it's all fast, furious, and unscripted. 

Which for a lot of creators it is! And some creators just make it look that way. 

Sometimes when I tell folks I've been working on a video for a month, two months, even three or more sometim...

The '90s Funeral Industry Courtroom Drama of Your Dreams

Hello Deathlings! 

Here is one of those stories that I'd heard bits and pieces of over the years and it wasn't until I sat down and really read about it that I was like, "How can we NOT do a video on this?"

It's like it's ripped straight from a John Grisham novel. Or maybe Saul Grisham, John's lesser known funeral director-turned-author brother. Saul was once an extra on Law & Order (back in his wild youth), it really impacted him. Saul doesn't get the big bucks ...

What Jackie Wanted

Hello Deathlings!

Sometimes you research a video and, despite how tragic or shocking it is, you find a way to take a step back and not get overwhelmed with the emotion of it all. Frankly, it allows my team and me to keep telling these stories year in and year out. 

But this was not one of those videos, which I for some reason didn't expect. When writer/producer Louise and I decided to do this video, we figured we'd heard so much about Jackie and JFK and already knew so much a...

NEW Spring 2022 Merch Has Sprung!

Hello Deathlings!

How are these early days of spring treating you? Are you in a place that's warming up? Cooling down? Still buried in snow?

Today I enjoyed what can only be described as a "Goldilocks Iced Coffee". It was not too sweet, not too strong, I nailed the dairy-alternative situation – it was JUST RIGHT. I wish this for you too. 

But I'm not here to talk over-priced caffeine beverages (though I'm open to that), today I want to remind you that 2022-04-18 18:24:27 +0000 UTC View Post

Is Grief a Mental Illness? (PATRON-ONLY VIDEO)

Hello Deathlings!

We have a special Patron-Only video for you today. I don't want to yammer on about it in this post, but in case you missed the New York Times article I'm talking about in the video, you can find a link to it right here. 

I'll let you all get straight to the video, but I hope that if you are living with grief you find the help and support t...

(PATRON-ONLY VIDEO) I Visited the German Mummy Children of Santa Elena

Hello Deathlings!

I always perk up when I hear tell of local mummies – I suspect you do, too. I hope you enjoy this *Patron Exclusive* video about the mummified German children of the Yucatán.

We are also announcing a new path for you to donate to our work. A Choose Your Own Death Positive Adventure, if you will. There's the Patreon, of course (where you are right now! hi! hello!) and now the option to give more directly to the Order non-profit through the new membership progra...

Over 75k Likes Later, WE CAPTURE SPIRITS

Hello Deathlings, 

Let me take you back to the year 2020. Who can remember that far back? hahahahahahah weep

January of 2020 was a more innocent time, a time when we stated in our "Recreating 19th Century Death & Mourning Photographs" video that if the video got 75K likes, I'd pop on back to New York City and shoot a video about spirit photography with photographer extraordinaire Jolene Lupo. Friends, we've be...

Meet Ericka!

Hey Deathlings, Ericka here! 

Some of you may recognize my name from sliding into your DMs to give you the Secret Shop password. I’m the Project & Development Coordinator for the Order. Since I'm the newest member of the Order/AAM team, Caitlin and Louise thought it would be fun for y'all to get to know me. So here I am :)

[Photo of Ericka smiling. She wears soft, warm-toned m...

Of Barfs and Guilt (Patron-Only Vlog)

Today in the vlog– a little honesty, a little vulnerability, a little anti-work screed, a little tussle with my gut microbiome.  

Intrigued?  It's ok if you're not. But when you're done watching paint dry, have I got the car confessional vlog for you!

As always, thank you for consistent support, smart advice, and kindness. If anything I say here resonates with you, let me know below.

kiss kiss, 

Caitlin

Because of your generous pledge ...

Death, Design, and a Doner Kebab

Hello Deathlings, 

Anybody here ever been to Hudson Yards or Vessel in NYC?

(The Hudson Yards website says "Vessel" not "the Vessel" as in, "Let's meet at Vessel!" The press largely says "the Vessel" but I thought I'd give JUST VESSEL a try and then give a too-long explanation about the awkwardness. You're welcome.)

I've been fascinated by (the) Vessel from the beginning. Seeing it for the first time as the centerpiece of the wealth-forward atmosphere in Hudson Yards ma...

Take a Look, It's in a SKIN Book, a SKIN BOOK Rainbow...

Good Day Deathlings, 

Welcome to the first main channel video of 2022! 

I can't tell you what a joy it is to finally release this little anthropodermic bibliopegy video. We actually started to work on this way back in ye olden times of early 2020, but then well...you know. So our little skin books video had to be shelved, so to speak, for a time. 

But then we saw a window this year! 

Making videos like this one, we always feel so lucky to know the p...

Happy New Year Deathlings New & Old!

Greetings Deathlings!

And greetings to you, 2022. Glad to meet you, hope our collab will be fun and fruitful...because who even were you 2021? (No shade on 2021 – but what a blur!)

(Also that's kombucha in my glass not champagne. Kombucha is my drink of choice lately. I am 38% kombucha these days.)

I'll be chatting with you more this month and in the coming year, but I wanted to drop in and give a HEY HAPPY YOU'RE HERE! to everyone, especially those who migrated over from ...

PATRON-ONLY VIDEO: Is it Legal (or Ethical) to Host Live Autopsies?

Hello Deathlings! 

Welcome to your Patron-only video. What a tale we have for you today. 

It involves a Tik Tok guy, a Marriott, and...an autopsy. If you know this story, you know. 

Beyond the usual questions we have about abuse of a corpse and body donation ethics, this incident brings up issues about consent, transparency, and the role of science in death, dying, and grief. 

BIG QUESTIONS MY DEATHLINGS. 

I'm really happy we got to make ...

Caitlin Coast to Coast: My October & November

Hello Deathlings! 

How's the fall treating you so far? 

I'm currently hunkered down at the old Doughty homestead in Hawaii. We're not huge Thanksgiving people, but we are food motivated people so somewhere in the coming days there will be victuals. 

It's actually really great to be puttering around my childhood home. I'm brainstorming on some future videos, I'm doing some writing, I'm working on MOAR CONTENT – but it all feels very chill, very ALOHA VIBES.&n...

Heartburn in Rhode Island

Greetings Deathlings! 

I'll be honest, before this video I'd never thought a lot about Rhode Island. 

I've never had anything against Rhode Island. I've enjoyed meeting people from Rhode Island, I have friends who went to Brown, I've heard of this thing called "coffee milk" that sounds like a treat – but up until recently I hadn't really spent time in Rhode Island. 

I gotta say, I was pretty charmed.

Not only did we all find Providence downright lovely...

My Visit to Recompose: A Behind the Scenes Peek

Hello Deathlings!

The best part about shooting these documentary-style videos is that I get to really hunker down with a story and live with it. With that, comes a chance to really spend time with any people we interview. And when that person is already a dear friend, even better! 

The Recompose-human composting video is obviously near and dear to my heart but hanging with Katrina Spade in her element, alongside her life's work (so far) was just too much fun. Not to mention t...

Ashes to Ashes, Flesh to Earth

Greetings Deathlings, 

It's the October RECOMPOSE VIDEO!!! 

It feels like we've been waiting to make this video for years. Sometimes you meet a person and see their work and see all the good it could do and you're just like MORE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS AND SUPPORT IT AND NORMALIZE IT AND CELEBRATE IT. 

This was a surprisingly emotional video to shoot. Getting to see Katrina's DREAMS realized, a dream that I've had the privilege of watching growing and e...

Patron-Only Video: Who Was the Lady of the Lake?

Hello Deathlings, 

OK, I have to say that Seattle and Washington State in general was a deathy good time.  It felt like every time I turned around somebody was asking, "And have you heard of THIS tale dark and unusual tale? Have you heard of THIS corpse? Have you heard of THIS bonkers death debacle?" 

Louise and I had talked about doing a "Lady of the Lake" video, and as much as we both really liked the story, it just wasn't right for the main channel. Then, while I...

We're Back! With a Tale of Murder...and a Mortician and a Corpse and...

Greetings Deathlings, 

Welcome to our first video of the Fall! 

If you've been keeping up, you'll know that this video is perhaps our biggest video to date. 

Back in the spring, I knew that I was going to be in the Pacific Northwest this summer, so Louise and I started looking for stories that would satisfy the BIGGER, BETTER, CORPSIER direction we wanted to take our videos. We wanted a story that was sprawling, asked big questions, was not necessarily common ...

Bigger. Better. CORPSIER...This Fall (and Beyond!)

Hello Deathlings!

As I've been hinting for the last few months, we've got big things in store for Ask a Mortician this fall. Earlier this year we decided that we really wanted to focus on longer, documentary style videos, videos that would feel at home on that streaming service...what's it called again...Net...oh what was it...flix?

So that's what we've been doing all summer. Writing, researching, and shooting videos. Videos we believe in; videos we are excited a...

PATRON-ONLY video: One Ohio Funeral Home's MYSTERY Mummy

Hello Deathlings! 

Raise your hand if you're from Ohio. 

Have any of you ever heard of Eugene?

If you haven't, OH BOY are you in for a story. 

This segment was originally part of a larger story, however the entire video wasn't really that top shelf-chef's kiss content we are striving for. So we had to scrap it. People are often surprised by how much of our video work is spend "killing our darlings" and this video was no exception. But we didn't want to t...

SECRET Sneak Peek at New Benefits

Hello Deathlings!

I know I keep saying this – and I promise the wait is almost over! – but we have A LOT of new things planned for the fall. The videos, the Order website, our Patreon – everything's getting refreshed, revised, and revamped.

That being said, who wants a SECRET sneak peek?

As a thank you for your continued support we want to give our long term Patrons (6 months+) a first look at the NEW rewards for each tier before they are officially announced. Kee...

Patreon Update + First Clue For Our Next Video

Hello Deathlings! 

Greetings from the Pacific Northwest. Yep, I'm still here. Enjoying my time with the water and the trees and cemeteries; still doing the summer break thing. 

But – see picture above – I'm also shooting our first video of the fall! 

Where could I be???????????

All I'll say is that it's a monster video (not LITERAL "rarrr rarrr" monster) and at the end of shooting days I've rarely been this tired. Tired in a really satisfying way, bu...

PATRONS ONLY: From Mama Cass to Bob Marley, our Worst Celebrity Death Myths

Hello Deathlings, 

Welcome to the first PATRON-ONLY video of our summer vacation! 

Team Death Video really enjoyed researching this one for you all. It's fascinating how almost anything celeb death-related becomes canon (a meme) no matter how cruel or absurd it actually sounds. And how readily we accept those "facts". 

What started out as a dive into "What really happened to Michael Hutchence?" actually made us ponder our biases. [Gives self high five...

Vacation All I Ever Wanted + Updates on Patron Content

Greetings from Portland, Oregon deathlings! 

I'm here chilling out with some friends, enjoying some food, and seeing the sights the Pacific Northwest has to offer. And some days...the day ends...and I've realized that I've...done...no...WORK. 

What a thrill, am I right? 

Here are a few of the highlights from my vacation thus far. It's like when your aunt and uncle make you watch a slide show of their trip to the Grand Canyon.

Here I am enjoying the karao...

Plague Corpses Keep Fallin' on My Head

Hello Deathlings!

I'd Rather Be Dry But At Least-Plague-Corpses-Aren't-Falling-On-Me                                           
Rain On Me, Rain Rain                      &n...

LIKE ME...and I'll Get "Embalmed"

Hello Deathlings! 

I'm coming at you restored, rejuvenated, and freshly embalmed. 

Yep, for long time followers of our channel, you know what that means: Monica Torres! 

I spent an afternoon in Monica's cool, capable hands going through the process of getting "embalmed". It's always a little weird lying on  Monica's embalming table (or any embalming table?), but this time, t...

Going to the Chapel and We're Gonna Get Buried (Or Are We?)

Hello Deathlings! 

Today we bring you one of my favorite corpse capers. The story of D.H. Lawrence – his life, his death, his burial, and his "burial" are just so unexpectedly bizarre. 

I mean, is this common knowledge amongst casual DHL fans?

This story has been sloshin' around in the ol' brainpan for a while now, but I wasn't sure what was the best home for it. An article? A book section? A performance art piece at my next small outdoor gathering?

When in...

Some Kardashians, a Pet Fish, and Mortician Walk Into a YouTube Video...

Hello Deathlings, 

Did this get weird fast?

Team Death Video thought this would be a fun, straightforward, and educational video, especially in light of the very mild "tea" I had on this Kardashian funeral planning episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. 

But I suppose I should know better. Is there really such a thing as a "simple little video with some Kardashians and death planning and a fish"? I guess it's their brand that nothing is simple. WE GOT...