Burke and Hare murders
47
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21
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Search complete. 47 mentions across 21 episodes found for "Burke and Hare murders".
Oct 16, 2026
Billy D.HOST
I think I saw that one.
Billy D.HOST
Okay, yeah, it's like a Burke and Hare, you know, we're digging up bodies.
Jared AlbrechtGUEST
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I saw that one.
Jared AlbrechtGUEST
I think it's got...
RebeccaHOST
It's anticipation.
MatthewHOST
In the tradition of me mentioning something in passing that I should have prepared to explain, and then explaining it later on another episode, last week I glossed over Burke and Hare when discussing the Southbridge Vaults.
MatthewHOST
William Burke and William Hare were both born in Ireland in the late 1790s.
MatthewHOST
At a time when the Williams were both living in Edinburgh, the city was, as Wikipedia puts it, "A center for anatomical study." Ethically sourced corpses for dissection were in short supply, and as happens in a market when demand exceeds supply, a black market emerges.
RebeccaHOST
Probably easier to kill a hooker than dig in a patrolled graveyard, yeah.
RebeccaHOST
[laughs] Like poor dead sex workers.
MatthewHOST
That is an abbreviated version, but that's who Burke and Hare are.
RebeccaHOST
Well, they were bad murderous dudes.
Daisy EaganHOST
I've just quoted him a few times in the last two and a half seasons of this show, and second of all, are we sure there were 17 of these things? Thirdly, whether it was eight or 17, either seems like a perfectly reasonable number of people to have died in a shipwreck, right? But as of 2013, when Dash published his piece, no one had yet found any such news in any archives, and it doesn't seem that anyone has in the ensuing 10 years.
Daisy EaganHOST
One possible theory floated was that somehow these miniatures had something to do with a string of murders committed in 1820 by a pair of grave robbers, William Burke and William Hare.
Daisy EaganHOST
They were so-called resurrectionists, the likes of which we discussed in our recent bonus episode about the mysterious bones in Benjamin Franklin's basement.
Daisy EaganHOST
So Burke and Hare were supplying bodies to anatomists studying anatomy, but only one of the bodies they sold for science died of natural causes.
The Cajun KnightHOST
Anyway, anyway, continuing on here.
The Cajun KnightHOST
So in 1828, the incredible demand for bodies caught up with the ingenuity of the criminal underworld with the case of Burke and Hare.
The Cajun KnightHOST
William Burke and William Hare decided to shortcut the nasty work of digging up corpses by simply murdering people and selling their fresh remains.
The Cajun KnightHOST
I mean, [laughs] how fresh is the body?
39 MINS LATER
The Cajun KnightHOST
So now let's talk about Mary's travels and Gott's invention, or Gott's vision.
The Cajun KnightHOST
Mary's travels as a young woman put her in proximity with body snatchers' hot spots, as only true mother could, as the only true mother Goth could.
The Cajun KnightHOST
She spent time in Scotland, the capital of anatomy education, and the site of the Burke and Hare affair.
The Cajun KnightHOST
She also traveled through war-torn parts of Europe, where she may have seen dead bodies being looted in aftermath of battle, or at least heard about it.
speaker_6HOST
The literal mechanization of children.
speaker_4HOST
It's the ultimate commodification of the body, like Burke and Hare in 1820s Scotland.
speaker_6HOST
Anatomists desperately needed fresh corpses for lectures.
speaker_4HOST
And since graves were being robbed, William Burke and William Hare bypassed that entirely.
Yardley SmithHOST
So to refresh your memories, if you've been listening for a while, or if you're brand new here, Tom has given us several cases over the years.
Yardley SmithHOST
He gave us The World's End in Season 8, Burke and Hare in Season 13.
Yardley SmithHOST
He also wrote Ruxton: The First Modern Murder, which we based a miniseries on in the summer of 2024.
Yardley SmithHOST
That one is such a good series.
MatthewHOST
Torture, murder, hangings, from body snatchers to the city's real-life characters.
MatthewHOST
I'm breaking into their narrative to say that's them implying that Burke and Hare were in there, but there is no proof of that.
MatthewHOST
And maybe I'll explain Burke and Hare at a later date.
MatthewHOST
Okay, back to their blurb.
MatthewHOST
You'll be gripped by the true tales lurking beneath Edinburgh's streets in the underground vaults where centuries of sorrow echo and restless spirits are said to linger.
Ella HubberHOST
Before we start, we have a corrections corner.
Ella HubberHOST
Last episode, I mentioned Burke and Hare.
Ella HubberHOST
I said they were body snatchers.
Ella HubberHOST
That's not true.
Chrissy SienickelGUEST
So they didn't just rob the graves.
Chrissy SienickelGUEST
They actually stole, and their names were William, um, Burke and Hare, William Hare.
Chrissy SienickelGUEST
They were friends.
Chrissy SienickelGUEST
They lived in Scotland.
11 more episodes mention Burke and Hare murders.
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