William Burke and Margaret Coleman

Throughout the first three decades of the nineteenth century, doctors and medical schools across Europe struggled to find adequate supplies of bodies that could be used for the purposes of teaching in a medical theater. The outsized demand for fresh cadavers led to the rise of “resurrection men", AKA Graverobbers. Disgusting duo William Burke and William Hare found what they believed to be a wildly easy way to provide doctors with a steady stream of recently deceased bodies. In the end, they brutally killed at least sixteen people. The crimes left an chilling mark on Edinburgh specifically, and all of Scotland in the end.

Thank you to Dave White for research assistance.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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