DMDave

Im wrapping up my draft on Macabre, a resource detailing anatomical procurement (body snatching) in 1820’s Edinburgh.

What strange time and topic should I tackle next?

Finished my notes and outline for Macabre today. Next I’ll map out some design ideas and probably start marketing it. I plan to make it rules agnostic.

12. The Second You
Seen across the yard—yourself, dressed the same, digging the same hole. Others see it too, until you look. Then it’s only you. Then it’s gone.

11. The Wet Cloak
Rises from newly dug earth, soaked to the bone, smelling of the Thames. Leans in, nose to yours, then dissolves. Leaves no prints. Leaves your chest heavy.

10. The One Who Digs
Another digger, seen beyond the fog, always working. His hole never deepens. When approached, the spot is undisturbed. But someone—something—was there.

9. The Hollow Girl
A child, barefoot, eyes as black as ink pots. She appears near empty graves, leaving offerings: a button, a lock of hair, a tooth. Never more than one.

8. The Footsteps Above
When deep in the grave, someone walks overhead. Measured boots. Never hurried. There are no prints in the dirt above.

7. The Whisperers
The wind through the rows carries voices—full sentences in dead tongues. No wind, no voices. The crew denies hearing them, but their eyes drift.

6. The Bent Gentleman
Dressed in outdated finery, every joint askew. Tips a hat that is no longer there. His mouth never closes. He is always smiling. Always.

5. The Slur Man
He limps along the outer fence, dragging something unseen. His words, when spoken, are wet and indecipherable. His coat is soaked, though no rain has fallen.

4. The Pale Choir
A mournful hum beneath the earth. Low voices in perfect unison, growing louder as the grave is worked. Stops the moment the coffin is breached. Resumes days later in dreams.

3. The Standing Watcher
A man-shaped figure in funeral black stands still beyond the wall. Only visible in reflections. Those who acknowledge him feel the weight of a stare long after he’s gone.

2. The Lantern Walker
A pale blue light drifts near the graveyard’s edge, extinguishing when approached. Some say it leads to a shallow unmarked plot, others to a stone with no name. It returns every third night.

Graveyard Ghosts (d12)

1. The Nursemaid
A woman in powdered dress rocks an invisible bundle. Her mouth moves in lullaby. A baby’s cry sometimes follows, distant and soft. When seen, the soil is often warm. The graves she watches are always empty by morning.

3:00 AM
Disperse, clean tools, burn evidence
Avoid police, rivals, and curious neighbors

5:00 AM
Sleep — if possible
Often plagued by exhaustion, illness, or guilt

9:00 PM
The dig: exhume body quickly and quietly
Replace soil & stone perfectly to avoid detection

12:00 AM
Secure corpse for transport
Some surgeries done on-site (amputation, prep)

1:00 AM
Deliver or stash body
Clients: medical schools, private surgeons

3:00 PM
Final grave check, risk assessment
Watch for rival crews, informants

5:00 PM
Meal, ritual prep, don disguises
Some performed small protective rituals

7:00 PM
Move toward target site
Used carts, barrels, or crates for bodies

9:00 AM
Scouting graveyards, bribing sextons
Identifying recent or shallow graves

11:00 AM
Tool preparation & crew coordination
Tools: spades, hooks, rope, vinegar, sacking

1:00 PM
Lay low or work side jobs
Jobs: sweepers, porters, rat catchers

Primary Clients: Surgeons, medical schools, anatomy professors (e.g., Dr. Robert Knox)

DAILY ROUTINE (TYPICAL WINTER SCHEDULE)

6:00 AM
Wake in slum, cellar, or attic
Often hungover or laudanum-sick

7:00 AM
Observe local churches, listen for bells
Used to track burials/funerals

The Daily Life of a Resurrectionist

Edinburgh, c.1815–1830

BACKGROUND
• Time Period: Post-Napoleonic Era (1815–1832)
• Location: Edinburgh, Scotland — a global center of anatomical study
• Profession: “Resurrectionist” (graverobber for medical dissection)

1832 – The Anatomy Act

Parliament passes the Anatomy Act.
Hospitals and schools can now legally use unclaimed bodies from workhouses and prisons.

The surgeons rejoice.
The grave robbers vanish—or dig deeper.
The streets grow quiet.
But no one forgets what was done beneath the soil.

1827–1828 – The Burke & Hare Murders

In Edinburgh, William Burke and William Hare bypass the dig altogether.
They murder 16 people and sell the bodies to Dr. Robert Knox.
• They are caught, tried, and Burke is hanged.
• Hare disappears.
• Knox walks free.

1822 – The Italian Boy

London case: a child’s body is stolen from a grave and sold. Public riots follow. People begin guarding graves with clubs and dogs.

1815 – The Height of Demand

The Napoleonic Wars end. Soldiers return home with wounds, disease, and curiosity. Surgical science explodes.
So does the resurrection trade.

1800–1810 – Business as Usual

The trade becomes routine. Edinburgh leads the way. Poor graves are hit weekly. The police are outmatched or bought.
• Coffin collars, mortsafes, and grave torpedoes appear.
• Diggers earn more than laborers.
• Surgeons need up to 300 corpses per school year.

Late 1700s – The Resurrection Men Emerge

Grave robbing becomes a profession. Crews form. Doctors look the other way. Students pass along tools. The dead are worth coin.
• Iron coffins are patented.
• Watchmen are hired.
• Public outcry begins—and is ignored.

1752 – The Murder Act

Britain passes the Murder Act, allowing the bodies of executed murderers to be used for dissection. A punishment worse than death, they say. But still not nearly enough flesh to meet demand.

1742 – Surgeons’ Hall Expands

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh builds new lecture halls and dissection rooms. Demand for corpses quietly rises. The legal supply doesn’t.

1707–1832: The Gravedigger’s Golden Age

⸻

1707 – The Union and the Surge

Scotland joins England to form Great Britain. Edinburgh’s surgeons and anatomists flourish, eager to prove themselves in the new British order. They require bodies—many bodies—and the law only allows a few per year.

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