• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Store
  • Lore
    • Supernatural Encyclopedia
  • Recommendations
    • Movies
      • Cosmic Horror Movies
      • Great Horror Movie Quotes
      • Horror Movies Based on True Events
    • Books
      • Cosmic Horror Books
  • Scary Stories
    • Short Horror Stories
  • About Us
    • Promote Your Horror
    • Collaborate
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Haunting Photos
Puzzle Box Horror Logo

Puzzle Box Horror

Mystery - Horror - Culture

Punishment for Grave Robbing Epitomized in Short Horror Film, Toe (2020)

March 31, 2020 by Mary Farnstrom Leave a Comment

The culture of robbing graves isn’t as big of a topic these days as it probably should be, but there is something about the entire topic that is just strangely unsettling. Robbing graves has been and is still a problem that plagues every culture–from the Pharaohs who attempted to take their earthly possessions with them into the next life, to ghost marriages in Chinese culture, there always seems to be a reason why certain people want to disturb the dead, but are there any common themes?

One common theme is the fact that these grave robbers are invading the space of the dead, either to acquire an object that belonged to the deceased or the body of the deceased. Indeed there are varying reasons why a grave robber might disturb those laying in their eternal rest. One strange reason can be credited to the extreme fringe practitioners of Santería, where the corpses of deceased babies and still-born fetuses are excavated and used in ritual magic. While it’s not a common practice, it has reportedly been a problem in regions where the practice of the religion is prevalent.

Curse of the Pharaohs

The tombs inside of the Pyramids have a history of causing people to be uneasy, whether it’s due to the legend of the Curse of the Pharaohs, or the simple fact that it’s a tomb and tombs are just pretty creepy in general. It seems there are many movies about mummies but in the case of ancient Egyptian horror, the true story is often more frightening than the movies have captured.

Cursed be those that disturb the rest of Pharaoh. They that shall break the seal of this tomb shall meet death by a disease which no doctor can diagnose.

Inscription reported to have been carved on an Egyptian royal tomb

There is a lot of history attached to the tombs of the Pharaohs and there is a lot of legend surrounding the so-called curses that befall those who disturb the tombs of these mummified kings of the past. While a curse may seem like a mystical and superstitious method to keep looters and thieves at bay, the Egyptians were famous for placing warnings of curses to ward off these would-be intruders. Those who did not heed the warnings would live a short while to regret their actions.

Ghost Brides Within Chinese Culture

While the practice of trading corpses to use for ritual spirit marriage has been outlawed since 2006 within China, it has led to the uptick of graves being robbed. These robberies aren’t an attempt to find some valuable possession left with the deceased, but to steal the corpse of the deceased itself. In 2015 it was reported that fourteen female corpses had been stolen from their graves to be sold as ghost brides for the ritual ghost marriage practice that is still practiced by some families to this day. For this reason, families of individuals who pass away while single will encase the coffin with cement to make it more difficult or impossible to steal their loved ones from their graves. These robberies continue to plague families of single women who have passed, whose corpses are worth at least $3,000 to the family of a single man who has passed.

ALTER Presents Toe (2020)

One thing that you should do, if you’re a horror lover, is take a look at the animated horror short films that are available on YouTube–they’re not as prevalent as the regular live-action ones, but they’re often spookier and elicit a deeper sense of fear. We highly suggest you take a look at this stop-motion animated short film entitled, Toe which came out a little earlier this month.

This horror short warns us that even starving children are not immune to the punishments that come to those who disturb the graves of the dead.

Related

Filed Under: Featured, Horror Mystery and Lore, Indie Horror Tagged With: ALTER, cemetery, curse of the pharaohs, curses, ghost brides, ghost marriages, ghost weddings, grave robbing, santeria, stealing from the dead, theft

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Horror Newsletter

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Atlas of Lore Issue 1 Now Available

Advertisements
Atlas of Lore Oregon Cover Small

Sponsored

Encyclopedia of Supernatural Horror

    Cryptids Demons Ghosts and Hauntings

More to See

Best of Supernatural Horror Comics

January 2, 2021 By Nick Torres

The Black Monday Murders Horror Comic Cover

Puzzle Box’s Best of Horror Comics

November 13, 2020 By Nick Torres

Scary Stories To Tell In the Dark Book Cover

The Best Horror Books About Urban Legends

November 7, 2020 By Carly Kazempoor

blank

Urban Legend – The Haunted Oxford Saloon – Snohomish, Washington

November 3, 2020 By Carly Kazempoor

Sponsored

Footer

Links

Terms and Conditions
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy
DMCA
Great Horror Quotes

Search

Recent

  • Night of the Living Dead: Social Commentary in Horror Cinema
  • 5 Ghost Ships Sighted on the West Coast
  • Puzzle Box Winter Horror Guide
  • The Horrific Truth of Folklore in Nazi Germany
  • Best of Supernatural Horror Comics

Encyclopedia of Supernatural Horror Recent Entries

  • Krampus
  • Qalupalik
  • Bayview Cemetery, Bellingham WA
  • Black Diamond Cemetery
  • The Monroe Street Bridge
  • St. Ignatius Hospital

Copyright Puzzle Box Horror © 2021 · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settings ACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non Necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

Save & Accept