I heard once as a child that it was to stop vampires from escaping as it was a common belief back in the day. I never questioned this, even during adulthood, so it's nice to see other perspectives. Thank you for enlightening me on a myth I believed in for so long.
Although the one death was clearly linked to childbirth, June 1852 was at the apex of the 2nd major cholera epidemic. It was quite common for several family members to die at the same time even on the same day. It was also common for young healthy individuals in their teens and twenties to die of cholera since they were also likely to travel to nearby farms or villages and drink from a contaminated well, the source of the disease. Mortsafe use to prevent body snatching for sale to vivisectionists reached its peak in 1828 Edinburgh. The use of a "birdcage" mortsafe in 1852 Pennsylvania is more indicative of protecting the living from the dead than the other way round.
I heard once as a child that it was to stop vampires from escaping as it was a common belief back in the day. I never questioned this, even during adulthood, so it's nice to see other perspectives. Thank you for enlightening me on a myth I believed in for so long.
Fascinating. Thank you Katie.
Although the one death was clearly linked to childbirth, June 1852 was at the apex of the 2nd major cholera epidemic. It was quite common for several family members to die at the same time even on the same day. It was also common for young healthy individuals in their teens and twenties to die of cholera since they were also likely to travel to nearby farms or villages and drink from a contaminated well, the source of the disease. Mortsafe use to prevent body snatching for sale to vivisectionists reached its peak in 1828 Edinburgh. The use of a "birdcage" mortsafe in 1852 Pennsylvania is more indicative of protecting the living from the dead than the other way round.