Ep. 44 - The Gruesome History of Corpse Medicine

My Victorian Nightmare

Genevieve Manion

History

4.6 • 900 Ratings

🗓️ 26 May 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On today’s episode, Genevieve will be discussing corpse medicine; the century’s old practice of using dead bodies to treat everything from jaundice to infertility to cataracts – and when you hear about how they specifically treated that last one, it’s really gonna bum you out. References for today’s episode: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-gruesome-history-of-eating-corpses-as-medicine-82360284/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/mummy-eating-medical-cannibalism-gory-history https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/corpse-medicine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_cannibalism https://theconversation.com/why-did-people-start-eating-egyptian-mummies-the-weird-and-wild-ways-mummy-fever-swept-through-europe-177551 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummia https://www.mdlinx.com/article/ancient-medicines-and-procedures-still-used-today/lfc-4453 https://www.texaschildrens.org/content/wellness/7-myths-about-placenta-consumption https://burialsandbeyond.com/2023/11/05/the-weird-world-of-mummy-parties Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello and welcome to my Victorian nightmare. I'm your host, Genevieve Mannion,
0:09.1	and I'm here to talk about mysterious deaths, morbid fascinations, disturbing stories, and otherwise spooky events from the Victorian era.
0:19.6	Because to me, there's just something especially intriguing,
0:22.6	creepy, and oddly comforting about horror and mayhem from the 19th century. So, listener discretion
0:30.8	is advised.
0:36.7	Hello, friends, and welcome to this my 44th episode. I hope that you had a fabulous week.
0:46.0	Thank you to everyone who voted in my little poll on last week's episode. It appears that most of you are here for the spookiness, followed closely by cozy vibes and fun facts,
0:56.7	but it also appears you're kind of just into all the things, really, except sleeping.
1:01.9	Only 5.6% of you are coming to pass out.
1:05.2	I honestly thought that number would be higher.
1:07.6	I pass out listening to this podcast while cue seeing episodes all the time,
1:10.9	but I am delighted that the vast majority of you are actually remaining conscious for the show.
1:16.3	Thank you kindly. Okay, today's show is going to be just awful because I will be discussing a topic
1:25.5	that is often requested, but I think that you're going to regret requesting it.
1:30.3	I am talking about corpse medicine today, folks.
1:34.7	The centuries-old practice of using dead bodies to treat everything from jaundice to infertility to cataracts
1:42.1	and hearing about how they specifically treated that.
1:45.8	Last one is really going to bum you out.
1:48.9	It's going to be great.
1:50.5	For all this topic is repulsive, it's really fascinating.
1:55.1	I was locked into the details on this history, just tumbling down rabbit holes, slicked with body fluids. Just a warning. Do not
2:04.1	eat anything for the duration of this episode. This is not something to listen to on your lunch break,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Genevieve Manion, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Genevieve Manion and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.