Dig it



Inspired partly by a repeat of What the Victorians did for Us on UK History dealing with medicine and death, partly by my recent vampire fest, partly by my interest in Poe (revived recently by reading a book on Vincent Price's films) and partly by the fact I'm a gruesome Gothic kinda guy I did a little search on the web for Victorian funeral devices. So terrified by the very real possibility of being buried prematurely - something that haunted Poe through his short life - many devices were patented by Victorian inventors, from spring-loaded coffin lids to be activated from within to bells anf flags attached to ropes which led down a pipe to the not-so-deceased 6 feet under. From Beyond the Grave had nice little pieces on these devices, cases of premature burial and the human fear of death, premature burial and haunting by those who have gone before. Charming little piece to read, I commend it to you all.



While on my fascinating, if macabre, subject, I found some nice pictures of Greyfriar's Kirkyard in Edinburgh, where I spent many happy hours wandering around during my student days practising my black and white photography on the crumbling mausoleums, flitting around in my black duster coat. This site relates tales of Edinburgh's spookier parts, of which there are more than a few (and I'm not just talking about the spectral vision of my checkbook at the end of the month). It's also searchable and allows you to look for various Edinburgh and Scottish spooks. The Ghostlabs site belongs to a group of investigators in Manchester and boasts interesting picstures and videos files, well worth a wee look. Is this a sspook in this picture? Or is it just a load of nonsense?