The Man Who Was Buried 66 Years Too Late – True Bizarre Story - video Dailymotion

Daily Motivation & Life Advice

In 1976, a TV crew filming at an amusement park found out one of their "props" was actually a real human corpse.  That man had been passed around carnivals and wax museums for over 60 years — and no one knew he was real.  This is the wild true story of Elmer McCurdy, the outlaw who toured the U.S. long after he died.  #TrueCrimeHistory #CreepyButTrue #DeadBodyDiscovery

Transcript

00:00On December 11, 2001, a man named Elmer McCurdy was transported across the country in a coffin.

00:07At the time, most people believed they were burying the body of a long-dead outlaw.

00:12But the truth, they were burying a man who had already been dead for over 60 years and no one had noticed.

00:19Here's how that happened.

00:20Elmer McCurdy was a failed train robber from the early 1900s.

00:24In 1911, after botching a robbery and being tracked down by law enforcement, he was shot and killed in a standoff in Oklahoma.

00:32But since no one came to claim his body, the local funeral home embalmed it and propped it up in the corner,

00:38charging people a nickel to see the bandit, who wouldn't give up.

00:42Weirdly, it worked. People paid.

00:44And for years, Elmer's body was passed around from carnival to museum to wax attraction.

00:49Somewhere along the way, people forgot it was a real corpse.

00:52They thought it was just a prop.

00:55Fast forward to 1976.

00:57Over 60 years later, a film crew was shooting an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man

01:02at an old amusement park in Long Beach, California, while preparing a scene inside a funhouse.

01:07A crew member tried to move what he thought was a wax dummy, and the arm snapped off.

01:12Inside was bone, muscle, a real human being.

01:16When news broke that a man had been found in a coffin at an old abandoned funhouse, people were shocked.

01:21How could someone be buried alive?

01:24Was this an elaborate murder plot or a tragic accident?

01:28And what was the strange story behind the dead man in the coffin?

01:32To find out, let's travel back in time to 1904.

01:35We'll start our story with a man named Elmer McCurdy.

01:39If you've done your reading, you may have heard of him before.

01:42That's because he infamously became known as the bandit, who wouldn't give up.

01:46And his exploits have become part of American folklore.

01:50In October of 1905, while living in Los Angeles, McCurdy robbed a Santa Fe train.

01:56He and his partner made off with $30,000 in today's money.

02:00They would only get away with $800 because McCurdy, while trying to flee, tripped and dropped the bag.

02:06He and his partner were soon arrested.

02:09But McCurdy escaped custody and disappeared.

02:12For the next few years, he lived on the streets.

02:14He supported himself by doing odd jobs, stealing when he needed to.

02:18In September of 1907, he was caught for robbing a miner of $100 and spent six months in jail.

02:25After his release, he fell back into his old habits.

02:29And on February 27, 1909, he robbed a train full of gold and silver coins.

02:34It was only two days later when Sheriff Heck Thomas tracked him down,

02:38cornering him in a house near Worcester, Oklahoma.

02:41When McCurdy learned there was nowhere left to run,

02:43he grabbed his gun and began firing.

02:46Thomas returned fire and struck McCurdy twice.

02:49He died soon after.

02:50His body was taken to the nearest funeral home, where it was prepared for burial.

02:55Since no one came to claim it, the funeral director decided to capitalize on the tragedy.

03:00At first, he charged people 25 cents to view the body, but soon lowered the price to a nickel.

03:06It sounds bizarre, but during the early 1900s, this was a common practice.

03:11This is the same man who was later exhibited at the Pike Amusement Park in Long Beach, California.

03:17Over the years, it's unclear exactly how he got there, but we know he was exhibited at the park for decades.

03:23According to legend, one day the owner of the funhouse received a mysterious phone call.

03:27On the other end of the line was a representative from the Guinness Book of World Records.

03:32They wanted to know if the man in the funhouse was real.

03:35When the owner replied yes, the representative told him they would be adding the mummified bandit to the book.

03:41This lent an air of legitimacy to the corpse.

03:44For decades, people came to the funhouse to see the mummified bandit.

03:48Some even claimed the experience gave them goosebumps.

03:50In 1976, however, the funhouse was demolished to make way for the Long Beach Aquarium.

03:56During its demolition, the corpse was discovered.

03:59It was placed in a coffin and shipped to Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.

04:04There, it was identified through fingerprints as Elmer McCurdy.

04:08After 65 years, Elmer McCurdy finally got a proper burial.

04:12In 1977, his remains were interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery.

04:17To prevent anyone from ever digging him up again, the grave was filled with concrete.

04:23Just to be safe.

04:24Let's hope whoever's buried in the grave next door didn't mind sharing with a 60-year-old corpse.

The Man Who Was Buried 66 Years Too Late – True Bizarre Story

Category

Transcript

Recommended