Greyfriar's Cemetery, Edinburgh
The grave robbing that took place in the United Kingdom during the 19th century has fascinated me ever since I took an English class on portrayals of crime in Victorian literature. It was really exciting to get to visit Edinburgh, the site of the most infamous bodysnatching scandal of the time. What I loved about Edinburgh was the complexity of its history; despite being arguably the most important and renowned medical city in the 18th and 19th century, its past is shrouded in darkness and murder. The very medieval feel of the city, complete with multiple castles and dark alleyways, lends itself to the shadowy history surrounding the Burke and Hare saga.
I was surprised when we got to the top of Arthur’s Seat when Professor Harrington told us that there were at one point 16 coffins set up there to commemorate Burke and Hare’s murder victims. Even at the top of a gorgeous and sunny mountain overlooking the city, we could not escape the legacy of the infamous murders, performed in the name of science. The theme of Edinburgh’s darker side is also seen in the work of Robert Louis Stevenson. His short story “The Body Snatcher” is a chilling fictional account of doctors and students involved in the theft and sale of bodies for the sake of anatomical research, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde is a horrifying exploration of the dark side of the human psyche.
Metal grate in Greyfriars Cemetery used to protect the fresh grave from robbers.
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