Did "Ghost Dogs" Devour Virginia Corpses in 1904?

[OldTimeRadio]

The following is from "Timeline for Taphophiles":

"[In 1904] 'ghost dogs' dig up a Virginia potter's field and eat the corpses."

The only other reference I know of to this gruesome bit speaks of "pauper's graveyards," PLURAL.

So can anybody flesh out this report a little more? Any truth to the tale? Additional details?

Thanks.

 

[rev_dino]

Do you have a source for this?

I'm in VA, well NOVA at least, so I could indulge in a little local checking...

-dino

 

[OldTimeRadio]

Hungry Dogs

Hi, Dino, the quote comes from "Timeline for Taphophiles," on the Net, but I gave the quote in its entirety. The second source, which I'll have to track down again, repeats the first with the exception of suggesting the possibility of more than one "pauper's cemetery" being involved.

My personal guess is that if there is any truth to this story it involves hungry wild dogs and really shoddy burial practices - "charity" or not.

 

[rev_dino]

Interestingly enough, the event immediately prior to the ghost dogs is:

1902
* An Indianapolis body-snatching ring is exposed. Twenty five persons are indicted for stealing 100 bodies

(From http://www.alsirat.com/silence/cemtime/time5.html )

I can't help wondering if Body Snatching was especially prevalent in the US during this time, and if this couldn't be behind the reports of Ghost Dogs and other "reasons you shouldn't go anywhere near the cemetery at night".

Could it not be that Body Snatchers themselves propagated these stories in order to cover up their own nefarious activities?

Admittedly, that's a completely uninformed opinion on my part, and I'd still be interested to see if there are any contemporary reports.

-din0

 

[OldTimeRadio]

I associate American body-snatching especially with the 1870s. It must have been a "dying art" by 1902, by which time most state legislatures had freed up bodies for medical schools.

Though perhaps nobody cared one way or the other about paupers' corpses?

 

[rev_dino]

I daresay there was still some use for the recently departed though, perhaps it was cheaper or simply more convenient to use your friendly neighbourhood grave robber?

Although a quick web-search reveals this rather intriguing factoid:

St. Elmo Steak House has been a landmark in downtown Indianapolis since 1902

( From: http://www.stelmos.com/history.php )



-dino