Remember Invasion of the Body Snatchers, with Donald Sutherland? Where people are slowly, insidiously, turned into aliens, and there’s almost no way to tell who the enemy is? It was made in 1978, but it’s actually a remake of a 1956 movie. In the 1950’s version, the horror is the Cold War and conformity. In 1978, it’s creepier, pervier, and I think scarier. The sexual revolution is over, San Francisco (and California) is full of disillusioned hippies, cults, and serial killers. Crime is on the rise, AIDS on the horizon – are you really safe? Are the flower children now plant-based POD PEOPLE?? Can you trust your fellow citizens, your government?
As we plummet full tilt into the deranged, ridiculous black hole at the center of the MAGA universe, it’s an apt metaphor. Social media is spawning pods all over the country – slop-addled monsters who crow for MORE MORE MORE. Like baby birds with their maws open, they demand more violence, more hate, more graft, more dumb ass videos of six-fingered soldiers in wheelchairs being pushed by Donald Trump. The Jesus looking on will have “Bible” spelled wrong, Simple Minds will play in the background, and millions of screen fiends will like and share it. GOD BLESS AMERICA. ALL HAIL THE POD.
It feels like a good time to share some actual body snatching stories. I came across a really good one recently and – as you’ll recall – I’m trying to focus on the book and not long form deep dives into obscure BUT RELATABLE topics, so let’s talk about AMERICAN BODY SNATCHERS.
The Doctor’s Riot of 1788
By Andy McPhee
I have never hit pre-order so fast as when I saw this book pop up online. It covers the body snatching going on in New York City in 1788, and the riot that ensued. We covered this briefly in our Dead Reckoning episode on the Anatomy Act, and I was super stoked to get a deep dive on the story. In case you didn’t catch the episode, doctors who wanted to train using cadaver dissection faced a shortage of bodies in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Medicine had finally realized that balancing humours wasn’t cutting it – pun absolutely intended – they needed to look inside a human body to see how it worked and develop knowledge and surgical technique.
Under the laws of the time, only executed criminals could be dissected. The demand for cadavers led doctors to steal newly dead bodies from local cemeteries, a practice called body snatching. The bodies of poor and marginalized people were at highest risk for being stolen, and in New York in 1788 that meant Black people. When local children caught doctors at Columbia College stealing from the nearby graveyard, a riot ensued. Many people were killed and injured, and the state militia had to come in and quell the uprising. This is a really fascinating history about New York and features some heavy hitters from the Revolutionary War. McPhee is a medical professional who brings some technical expertise and just the right amount of gravitas to the story.
Episode 26: America’s Most Notorious Grave Robbery – Patrick Jones and the AT Stewart case
The Transatlantic Podcast
This podcast has been streaming in my house for weeks now; it’s a great resource for the history of emigration to the US. Fin Dwyer’s companion project, The Irish History Podcast, is also excellent!
This episode tells the story of AT Stewart, an Irish immigrant who built America’s first department store, in NYC. When Stewart died, he was in the process of funding a suburb on Long Island, complete with a cemetery. His body was temporarily installed in the crypt at St Mark’s Church in the Bowery, but it was stolen and ransomed shortly thereafter. This episode tells the story of Stewart, his career, how the hell they got the body out of the crypt, and the lawyer who tried to negotiate its return. Deeply entertaining for weirdos like me (us).
Abraham Lincoln’s Body
HLAS Classic
Did you know that Abe Lincoln’s corpse went on a whistlestop tour around the US? With a traveling embalmer? And that he was buried in Springfield Illinois but thieves TRIED TO STEAL HIS BODY? True story you guys, and one of my absolute favorites. One day I will take a road trip to see his steel and concrete fortified permanent resting place. This is a quick read and like everything else, it technically counts as history!
Enjoy the deep dive into body snatching, stay safe, go touch grass, etc. etc.