Bodysnatching; the crimes of Burke.
Contributors
Unknown Person
Fieldworkers
Maclean, Calum Iain, 1915-1960 (273)
Unknown Person
Date
September 1956
Track ID
13553
Part 1
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1956.135
Original Tape ID
Summary
Bodysnatching; the crimes of Burke.
The contributor's father was a policeman in the days of bodysnatching, when they had to watch the cemeteries, but nowadays people leave their bodies to the infirmaries.
Another man relates how Burke used to entice women into his house and drug them, put a plaster over their mouths, and kill them. He took them to the infirmary in a barrel, two at a time, and sold them to the doctors, even babies.
Item Notes
William Burke was hanged in Edinburgh in 1829. He gave his name
to 'burking' (murder to supply bodies to anatomy schools).
Item Subject/Person
Burke, William, murderer
Recording Location
County - Roxburghshire
Parish - Melrose
Language
Scots
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Poor