Let's Visit the Churches Made of Human Skulls
Would you want your skeleton to be used as decoration and repentance-inspo? What if you were a 17th century Portuguese Catholic?
Destinations: Evora, Alcantarilha, and Faro
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**PRODUCTION CREDITS**
Mortician and Writer: Caitlin Doughty
Producer: Louise Hung (@LouiseHung1)
Editor & Graphics: Andy Windak
Thumbnail: Landis Blair (@LandisBlair)
Bone Houses & Sardines Song performed by DARRENCORP (@darrencorp)
Thank you to our friend Dr. Paul Koudounaris for being so generous with his research and insight on charnel houses. Find him at @hexenkult on Instagram.
**SELECTED SOURCES & ADDITIONAL READING**
Koudounaris, Dr. Paul
The Empire of Death: A Cultural History of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses
Thames & Hudson, 2011
When the monks build it, then it's a "masterpiece ", but when I do it It's "disturbing the peace of the neighborhood" and I "can't have a swing set made out of children's bones so close to a school zone" 🙄
Comment o' the Week for me!
This is seriously hilarious
Ignorant people, cant build youtr own bone dome , why not
That's just so unfair.
Bad taste man... love it 🤣
“It’s the only way I’ll ever own property.” 😂 Caitlin serving up the irony from the get go !
Amen to that!
when she said that I felt it in my soul lol what a world
@@BrandonLinderman, Me too.
Yep, that did make me chortle!
That single line made me 'HA!' loud enough to get the whole household's attention. also..can relate. -.-'
"We bones are here waiting for yours" is such a powerful statement. Amazing
Reminds me of the line from over the garden Wall that the skeleton people say to Wirt and Greg "you'll join us someday".
I've started letting my 11 year old son watch with me. He is very interested in good death. The best part is he always asks to watch Morticia.
Hello 👋 how are you doing today??
That... Is... Awesome 🤣 "Morticia" 🥰
@@ROBERT-xx7ui Stop it!
That's pretty cool. 😊
Wow. I hope Caitlin reads your comment. Being mistaken for Morticia, kinda an honor
as a portuguese person its so nice to see people talking about this part of our culture, i find that the more macabre part of our history and tradition is often overlooked even by ourselves
however, these bone houses are more part of broader catholic culture it seems? they are not exclusively to Portugal.
Only went on holidays when I was a kid to Spain. Portugal is so beautiful, definitely on the holiday list.
@@2rooms19 yes but i am talking personally about how most portuguese people especially the older ones seem to shy away from these things, mainly due to superstition. other things considered 'dark' as for example the history of witchcraft in portugal are also usually ignored unless on very specific moments or places.
Hi, eu também!!! Me too I am sooo happy 😃 I am lol having a fit of happiness …..
Are there any topics, or areas to research, that you would recommend an absolute ignoramus (English, what a surprise) should look at which you feel is under discussed? Thank you for commenting, having people from around the world in these comments is one of the joys of the Death Positive movement generally, and of Caitlin's charisma and knowledge in particular!
“We bones are here waiting for yours”. There’s something soothing and comforting thinking of a bunch of skeletal friends just chilling waiting to welcome you. Like, don’t worry about where you’ll go, we saved you a seat.
That is a lovely thought, and very comforting to me. Thank you.
"Imagine going to elementary school next to this." Me, in elementary school, obsessed with Egyptology wondering why I'm not making friends at my new school by telling classmates about the process of mumification "they pulled the brains out the nose, and put the heart in a jar!" : I could have been even weirder?
Nah. You were not alone, my friend.
@@faeriesmak why did the universe scatter the creepy kids in all directions so we couldn't be creepy kids together? lol
@@brokedownuptown God had to make sure that amount of power was distributed in all nations equally (I was a creepy kid as well).
Nah, sounds like you were a cool kid. :)
@@brokedownuptown I don't know. It would have made life easier, though, if we were all in one place.
Caitlin: "Wouldn't it be lovely to be put into one of these 19th century mausoleums......" ...."It's the only way I'll ever own property. " 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I nearly choked 💀 on my tea!!
only on this channel can i confidently assume i'm not the only person who had the thought "yes! i've been waiting for a video about ossuaries!"
Correct!
And I was surely not the only one who said: “Yay, another video on medieval burials, what a treat.”
I was ridiculously excited to see how these ossuaries would look in comparison to the French catacombs (which were a favourite spot of mine but I doubt I'll be able to visit again 😞 )
Me too!!!
So you don't find it slightly sick....I mean what sort of guy was like, corpses they are great building materials. Man like I would hate to go anywhere near this stuff,this video is just about more than I can handle
"It's the only way I'll ever own property." I felt that deep within my soul.
😂😂ikr
Lol damn no kidding!
"How many rooms of bones are required to impress you?" Lol, go Caitlin!
After singing "BONE HOUSE, BONE HOUSE" loudly to myself in an empty house I realized how context is very important to the words we say sometimes
WHAT DO YOU MEAN DARRENCORP HASN'T UPLOADED THE ENDING SONG AS ITS OWN VIDEO
"We bones are here waiting for yours" is possibly the most metal thing I've ever seen in a place where human remains are lain to rest. Incidentally, if they could manage all the different languages, I would actually prefer to have a half-hour lecture beforehand so I could appreciate the context more. I would pay for that.
Come visit our medieval Europe sites more, you will find a lot more metal stuff like this! Kingdom of Bohemia, Bohemian Crown Lands, Holy Roman Empire!
in Brazil there is a cementery portal (in the city of Paraibuna) written : "We people are here waiting for you" or "Here we are waiting for you"... quite the same ;)
@@titanscerw I prefer when it's written in Latin so I can read it. They thoughtfully did that centuries ago for the educated classes.
In Rome you can visit a bonechapel. At the entrance there is a piece of text: What you are, we were, what we are, you will be. Which is an even scarier text if you ask me. Goosebumps.
@@sigridvanosch1990 yes, it is absolutely perfect! Ch. Coulombe speaks of it among other things in this Fireside Chat ... kzhead.info/sun/dJuoh5eIo2idZYk/bejne.html
Just want to add something about Catholic rules of burial: If you are Catholic, you have to be buried on sanctified ground (ground blessed by a priest) and conversely if you are a non-believer then you *could NOT* be buried on sanctified ground. There's no way that a room occupied by priests, with religious imagery, next to a church, was not sanctified, therefore it's impossible to bury Muslims there. Also, I personally would find it baller as fuck if my bones were lining the walls of a goth chapel, ha ha.
This would only matter to Catholics. And as a Catholic your family would be willing to pay the appropriate fees to guarantee you a seat on the bus to heaven. Think of it as the final payment on Catholics for the after death insurance the Church sells.
Thank you for putting it this way, if I wrote this i might have done a shitstorm.
Where I live we have a MASSIVE graveyard on one side of the city for Catholics, the other side for non Catholics. It really is HUGE. I had no idea about the rules though. I just thought that the Catholics liked have huge bigger than life sized statues of angels and all the houses (mausoleums) and fancy stuff. We on the other side have headstones and some marble posts sticking out of the ground. I'm not certain but I don't think a couple could be buried together if they were Catholic and Other
The problem is what do u do with those pesky jaws not very use full!
No, you do not have to be buried in a Catholic cemetery if you are Catholic.
The mystery of who each skull was might overwhelm me. I've always been enamored with mummies and how they are still individuals that connect us to our own past as humans. The unavoidable anonymity of being a skull in a place like this distresses me, but at the same time these remains are so much more remembered than most people will ever be, even without their names. Its a difficult thing to wrap my feelings and thoughts around. I'd love to visit them some day.
But all that are in this places have less anonymity than many ID on a lapstone on a modern cemitery. Because they gainned belonging to a group and to something more. They are more than just bones. They are a all chapel.
I mean, when u die you could have your name carved into your bones (like not everyone, but maybe a femur, a rib, and a skull or something)
I couldn't agree more. I was hoping someone else shared my sentiment. I feel overwhelmed with wanting to know about these people. In a world, where most of us don't know anything about our own great, great, great grandparents, it makes me feel desperate to know about them. Who wever these people? What was their shining moment of glory? What was their favorite memory? What were their close calls? Who did they love? Who loved them? It's just unbelievably sobering to imagine being so insignificant.
I laughed way too hard at “dude what’s up with the fat baby?” 😂😂😂😂😂 I can’t breathe
Years ago when I visited the Paris catacombs, I was weirdly surprised that they had to search your bags on the way out. Before that, it had never occurred to me that people would try to steal bones. The disrespect for monuments and stuff is baffling to me.
Much less how disrespectful it is to the people whose remains they're stealing!
Some kid from China carved his name in a pyramid---The Egyptian authorities were not pleased with either him or his deeds.
We have catacombs in Peru too and medical school students used to steal the bones for their studies and research! They have guards now to prevent that because it was turning into quite a big problem 😒🥴
@@Rachel-fi4sc for real! I would never be in a place with human remains, really any remains, and think "You know, I'll take some bones as a souvenir to always remember that church built out of human bones..." I don't mind touching dead things, but I'm not going to disrespect them! I could never even flush my pretty fish when they died! Every single one would go into their own little box with a nice burial under a tree in my yard. Then I'd sit for a few minutes and remember how happy they were swimming in the bubble maker or playing with their tank mates. Every life deserves to be respected in death. Even if it is "just a fish". Some people may think I'm extreme or ridiculous, but I'm not going to ever change my mind on this.
@@ChristopherSadlowski Not at all, Christopher. I totally understand how you feel and I respect your decision to look at every life as valuable and significant, no matter the context.
I was recently in Italy for a study abroad trip for art history and I literally became known as the “death girl” because I was constantly looking for churches with human remains and pretty much only looked at the art that depicted death in some way. My final project was actually on how death was viewed in Renaissance Italy and how it led to cadaver dissection and autopsies for art and science.
that project sounds super interesting
The Death Girl, I love that haha!
@@anau.u9827 It really does, I feel a research rabbit hole opening up before me!! What joy!!
@@lilo5437 How I wish that I had this community when I was young (about a thousand years ago) I had no idea of who a large part of me was, until my husband got me into Caitlin's first book. I guess now I'm the Death Git. I can live, and die, with that.
The painter of The Medusa shut himself up with cadavers. He broke a leg or something slipping on a rotting head.
As a Portuguese I never thought I'd see my country in an Ask a Mortician video. I absolutely loved it! And before this I thought that charnel's were pretty common around the world but I guess not... This also unlocked a memory I have as a young child visiting such a place, although I must admit I am not completely sure if it was in Portugal... Nonetheless I am pleasantly surprised by this video and have a new earning to go visit a charnel in the future again.
But do you really eat sardines everywhere? haha. I'd never heard that about Portugal until now.
“How many rooms of bones are needed to impress you?” Is hilarious. I love the rooms of bones, they simultaneously terrify and fascinate me! Awesome video :D
27. No fewer than 27 rooms of bones will impress me.
I dragged a friend to an ossuary in Milan and we were both stunned into silence-it was beautiful. And I’ll never forget a little kid (maybe 6 or 7) who looked around to see if anyone was looking, stuck his finger in a skull’s eye socket and just kind of solemnly nodded. No clue what was going through that kid’s head, but he was having a *moment* in there.
I’m from the city next to Milan, Illinois, and was a little confused until I realized you meant Italy. lol
❤
@@oneminuteofmyday no one will ever be referring to Milan Illinois
@@M_SC so much truth in that comment. lol
@@oneminuteofmyday lol
You definitely need to sell, "the middle ages were magic" t-shirts! I would totally buy one!
Definitely!
Count me in. Would love to have one.
@GA: A passcode is needed to access the site. Do you know what it is?
Yes!!!!!
Yes please!!!
Another great video! What strikes me is that the bones weren't simply one person and another, all piled up, but that charnel houses are literally an entire community and its history. Chefs, leaders, criminals, shepherds, smiths, fishermen, farmers, artists, etc. The people whose remains were used to construct these places most likely knew one another in life, and there are likely multiple generations of families in these displays. Thousands of years of life lived are represented in these places, and that is absolutely amazing to me!
Wow you made my imagination get to work!
There’s a horror game that just came out called Mortician’s Assistant and I’d love to hear what you think of it as a mortician.
Um, so, I know I'm not Caitlin, but when watching a playthrough of Mortuary Assistant, I was legitimately impressed by how much detail and accuracy they went for in the part that's doing the embalming. I was like "this sounds exactly how I've heard Caitlin describe it" and just recognized so much of the process that Caitlin has told us about.
I want Caitlyn to play the game with Shane and Ryan from Watcher.
I’ve always imagined what the wall of skulls would look like with the faces of how they looked like when they were alive. It’s wild to think that each and every bones were once living, breathing people.
Yes, I wondered what it would be like if someone did the forensics and used facial reconstruction software to make a wall of faces... creepy as all get out but very interesting.
I think about stuff like this too. Maybe not so much how all their skulls would look like if they were faces in the wall, but I think about who they were as a living person. What made them happy? What was their favorite food? What were their dreams and aspirations? What was their family like? So much can get lost when you think about it.
I also thought about those people who work in forensics, and rebuild faces from skulls. If I did that work, I would go completely OCD in a place like that and never want to leave!
The number of different types of nose means that without the nose the faces become less distinguishable
Poignant and true
YES! We got a “Middle Ages Where Magic” cameo. I approve this message
It always makes me so happy 😊
I just love how you present information. Casual yet informed; humorous, ironic and cynical, yet clearly embedded in academia and death positively. You’re awesome.
As a Czech I'm happy you mentioned our little bone house :) It's in Kutná Hora, btw, nice town, you should visit if you already in the country.
Re: The discussion toward the end of the video about whether these charnels are disrespectful. I agree that they aren't. However, it's a shame that many of the bones have been damaged (purposefully or not) by tourists. Additional protection to prevent accidents, graffiti, and theft could be helpful. I don't think many people would want someone else's name etched into their skull.
I find it much more disrespectful to display mummies and corpses from ancient cultures in our museums
I think it was disrespectful, because what i think the purpose of burial is to have something to remind the living of the person who died and give the departed some rest. I don't know how to express what's wrong with displaying human remains in the manner of these ossuary. But I certainly wouldn't want my dead body or remains to be used as construction material like some sort of lego pieces. Like, I'm already being disrespected while I was still alive, now you want me to be disrespected again by making my remain into a decorations ? What's next ? Turn the bone into the ash and have it compressed into diamond ?
when built, it was a way to preserve the bones when graveyards had to be regularly emptied to make room for new corpses. The bones would get exhumed and stacked inside buildings. Later it was thought that it'd make a nice religious lesson to cement those bones to the walls and the trend took off.
@@rahmadrenaldi2624 who are we to say what’s wrong or right for someone else’s life? 🤷🏿♂️
@@Porter5habazz which is why the default should be just respectfully buried the remains in dignified way. And not stack them on a wall just because some blind monk think it was aesthetically pleasing to decorate a church with bones from his neighbor corpse.
The amount of Caitlin’s content I’ve referenced for my masters is now immeasurable, I almost feel she deserves my MA
That opens up some questionsWhat is your MA in Physical Anthropology? Archeology? Sociological history of burial practices?
I too must know.
@@wordzmyth it’s textiles design, my projects encourage the viewer to face their own mortality, largely exploring death rituals, I’ve taken a lot of elements from Victorian death photos or charnel houses and especially her book from here to eternity
@@lilw5653 that’s awesome sounds so interesting!
As someone about to get their PhD I feel obligated to urge caution on how and where to use Caitlin as a source. I love her and have some of her books, but they're not peer-reviewed or from an academic press. Obviously it's all dependent on what you're quoting and how it's manifesting in your own work, so it's at your discretion as a researcher. Just an FYI because I've seen people get in trouble for this sort of thing. Fun fact, she discusses one of my husband's lecturers by name in From Here to Eternity.
As a Stoic, these are the most beautiful Momento Mori I've ever seen. Having followed you for some time I'm now absolutely sold on the idea of a green burial, the idea of simply returning to the source is very comforting but I can't help thinking how cool it would be to have my remains as part of such an inspiring creation. Thanks for making me highly conflicted now 😂
Memento Mori.
Maybe get yourself fed to those beetles used to clean bones or find a way for your other tissue to decompose, but once you're bones, they're taken to a Charnal or similar place?
I love Dr. Paul! He memorializes hit and run animal victims on his insta and it really makes you stop and think about life and death and the value of life. Also one hundred percent on board with the lecture idea, I personally would really enjoy the lecture but there are definitely people who need it (can't believe people graffiti other people's bones, like would you do that to your grandparents bones?? no!!!)
Hello 👋 how are you doing today??
Why would you want to put your grandpas bones into a wall decorations in the first place ?
hit and run animal victims does not sound like something I would want to look at on my insta
@@jj-if6it he covers up the wounds with a cloth, it's very respectful. But it can definitely be a lot sometimes, I agree
Hi. This will probably get buried but my mother is in the process of passing away. And while I’m hurt and upset over it I’m so happy I found your channel because it’s given me such a more positive outlook on death and I don’t know what I’d do without the mentality you forge among your community here on youtube. Thank you Caitlin
Welcome to the people who understand. I’m so happy that you’re finding comfort in this hard journey right now. I know that right now and in the last couple of years this channel has been a huge help while I dealt with two uncle’s passing suddenly. Gentle hugs with consent for you.
Sending you strength during such a hard time x
I agree with you, this channel helped me accept my mother's terminal cancer and make the decision to put her in hospice. If I wasn't able to accept her eventual death as easily as I did, she may have passed alone at home with nobody there to help. It gives me comfort that I was able to make the right decision and spare her unnecessary suffering.
I too wish I had discovered this channel before my mother passed but oddly (or maybe not so oddly) since discovering "the order of the good death" my mother has appeared to me in dreams, smiling. I hope you and your mom can find peace.
Sorry to hear of your impending loss, it’s never easy to lose a loved one. Stay strong…
"Imagine going to elementary school next to this" I would have been outed as That Weird Kid even faster, because I probably wouldn't shut up about it 5 stars for the Bone House song
When I was a kid we lived near an 17th or 18th century church with a large and chaotic churchyard and kids *loved it*. It had been renovated in the 19th and 20th centuries, but the original cellar remained and was super creepy. They hosted a *bomb* haunted house each year for Halloween.
I want this for my ringtone!!!! Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ve been to the one in the Czech Republic and it was amazing! There was a huge chandelier made of bones and a coat of arms. 10/10 definitely recommend visiting it.
Hi! I just found your channel. I am 64 years old and have many medical issues. I had covid ended up in hospital 3 weeks positive. So I came close to getting my death wishes. You are explaining many things that I wanted and needed to know. So thank you! The first time I heard about natural burial was when Luke Perry the actor passed. He was buried in a mushroom suit. It reminded me of the saying "its a dog eat dog world and I am wearing Milk Bone underwear. Mushroom suit - Milk Bone underwear. Any way I was going to be cremated scattered in the north west pacific ocean but now I like the Aquamation or the mulch. I just do not want to be put in a box for eternity. I ordered 2 of your books. In a few months after I make my decision I will change all my paperwork stuff. Thank you for all the work and effort you put into championing natural burials. It just makes sense. I dont understand preserving a body. Ya got enough videos I am sure I will start to get it. You are doing a great job! -Cindy-
Hello 👋 how are you doing today?
@@ROBERT-xx7uireally Robert.. you're gonna try and scam THIS lady. Shame on you .. 🧌🧌🧌😮
This intro vibing like a Neo-gothic anime is my favorite thing. This is perfect. I’m only 2 minutes in and in love. LOVE YOU CAITLIN.
Ay you got great taste in youtubers, cheers!
Omg hi Garrett what good taste you have
I love her too! (And you're pretty awesome) She is the reason I became a crematory operator and now live and work in a funeral home.
If haven’t yet we all expect you binge everything. May I suggest her series on ✨mummies✨
It’s an 18th century graveyard, and she’s next to my peoples tomb there. Show respect, it’s not a movie set.
In 2019 my grandpapa died. We had been mourning for a while and my dad wanted to give me something else to do, so he took me to Prague. There I visited Kutna Hora's bone chapel. For some reason, I felt at peace there. I contemplated the thousands of former lives surrounding me, lit my first candle for my grandpapa and gave a small prayer. It truly helped me to understand mortality and comforted me greatly. I want to visit that place again!
The ossuary in Kutna Hora is under reconstruction, but accessible kzhead.info/sun/ga9udK2LkHN5ln0/bejne.html
I’m sorry for your loss. Thanks for sharing your beautiful experience with us.
@@nocomment2468 Thank you and you're welcome! 🤗
Maybe it gives us a sense of being part of something bigger, of being connected. With the past and future of humanity.
I was wondering what the feeling was when you stepped into one of these bone chapels. Thanks for sharing.
"tempus fugit momento mori" - time flies remember death. Thank you as always Caitlin for trying to get people to connect with death (be it their own or that of others). I couldn't agree more that tourists visiting these sites should be required to at least learn SOMETHING while they are there and if them paying a higher fee was able to facilitate a quality experience along with provide for the appropriate upkeep of such places all the better.
Kaitlyn's grandson: welcome to the capella del Kaitlyn. Fan examining Kaitlyn's skull: blasted tourists. Someone scratch their keys in her skull... Grandson: no... Those are teeth marks. A fox was eating her face.
Fun fact: when someone is rich, we dutchies usually say they're a "rijke stinkerd", translated to stinkingly rich person. We got this from those people that buried themselves under the floorboards of the church. And those don't smell that wel in the medieval summer :) Edit: Funny to see there are so many variations of it in other languages! Smelly, dead rich people everywhere XD
I never knew that was where the term “stinking rich” came from. I like learning the origins of phrases, though sometimes it’s hard to use some again once you know. lol
Same in Sweden, though we say "snuskigt rika", which means "filthily rich". But we had the same thing with burying "important" persons under the church floor too.
Thank you for that explanation. It's "stinkreich" in German
in Brazil we say "podre de rico", has the same translation
The phrase "stinking rich" is kinda global, but this explanation of it seems to be added a later date. The etymology seems to be just that people are so rich that they exude an offensive quality, as if they stank. A point commonly made on this channel is that "treated" corpses don't really smell all that much, and the bodies of the rich would certainly be treated prior to death, so this explanation doesn't really stack up.
"Its the only way I'll ever own property"....god almighty I'm in the same boat and that line made me laugh so hard I had to pause the video to catch my breath! So true. Love you Caitlin! You always make my day! Speaking of charnel houses, I've always been facinated by the very old...very very very old Orthodox monasteries of Eastern Europe where the skulls of the deseaced brethern of said monasteries are all piled together in charnel rooms, sometimes with inscriptions placed upon them listing their righteous lives work.....I've always thought...what a great way to end it all....being there for eternity with your spiritual brothers. I dunno...just appeals to me personally. :)
I visited Capela dos Ossos on a school trip when I was in primary school. This was in the 80's. Back then, as a Portuguese kid, it didn't strike me as strange or unusual. It did leave a lasting impression on me. I remember it quite well to this day. I would love to visit again someday.
So good to have you here in Portugal. Hope you liked it here and thank you for this video!
As an artist, the idea of my bones becoming art itself seems like the most natural thing to me. I love the poetry of that idea
Same here! I thought "It seems like a fitting conclusion for me."
Same here!!
its weirdly fascinating to see skulls put up on walls like that.
Well I don't know if we'll be at a point where we can make your bones into art you could be cremated and then mixed into paint or clay or glass. I'd love to be made into compost since all I do is kill plants in life (I do not have my mom's green thumb) I feel like I owe it to them.
Here's a thought...I love to knit and crochet...kinda of an art in itself (some fancy an easel and paints, I fancy yarn and needles and hooks!). So sure....if helpful, I'm all for my bones being sharpened into knitting needles or formed into crochet hooks. May sound morbid, but since I'm still kicking, I like to use my "art" (blankets) to help those in need. LOL, my sister's ashes are going to be mixed with seedlings of trees (she wants to be a tree), imagine it: someone knits or crocheted using my bones under a tree that is part of my sister! Family reunion right there! :) Btw, I would love to visit the above places. I'd not only think of my own life/death but wonder about each of the skulls/bones I look at. Who were they? We're they a good person or bad? How did they die? Yeah, I need someone to take my brain for awhile >
Your suggestion about instilling some context/respect in tourists was interesting. When I went to the Pearl Harbor memorial they did something similar. Before they let you out on the memorial, you watch a film about the history. Then a park employee explains that the memorial is a grave site, with US servicemen still entombed inside the Arizona. And that a certain amount of respect is expected.
Agreed! That is so important to understand & appreciate history👍
What is the level of respect and how was it communicated? (Asking not in an argumentative manner, genuinely curious)
@@thundertea They told us to talk as little as possible, and quietly if we had to.
Especially because the point of travelling is to be immersed in others culture, history and to gain some experience. If you go to somewhere because some travel guide told you it was significant, then you snap a selfie and leave, what have you actually gained?
Funny, i had that exact same reflection on my Pearl Harbor trip when she brought that up.
I am from Portugal and a super fan. So happy to see my country on your awesome videos!! Thank you!
Between the middle ages history and the travel, Caitlin is living my dream.
The sounds of shrieking children playing, coupled with the images of death, really paints a good picture of how life is like: both cheerful and and macabre. Both infinite, and finite (as anxious you think you have all the time in the world to play with your friends, but as you grow older, time seems to vanish, consumed with jobs, relationships, even creating children of yourselves.)
Yes, children and death are not opposites or mutually exclusive. Children need exposure to death so that they can have a healthier experience of it.
Yes! I think the idea of burial places and places of childhood play as being ideal compatriots, after all there are a great many people who would be deeply comforted to know their place of eternal rest will ring with the sounds of happy children (not me, I dislike children, but I am a curmudgeonly old got who won't be please by anything!)
In Europe they're less precious about stuff like that.. death is an everyday thing.. which is pretty much a fact, and no one tries to sheild children from this. Why would you? 🤷
@@RuralSpanishRetirement Sadly that's yet another thing that we British have yet to learn from our mainland neighbours! We're rapidly racing after the US's highly commodified and sanitized approach to death
Agreed, it's very poetic. The beginning and the end, new life and old death right next door to each other.
Totally agree that when people visit a place that they understand the history of the place. Be it an old chocolate factory or a concentration camp or a bone chapel. Thank you for bringing us along
I live close to Salem, MA and this sentiment is so close to my heart. Yes its fun to go into the touristy shops and ghost tours, but pay a visit to the witch memorial as well. The only reason you can visit Salem as it is today is because twenty people were murdered and hundreds more detained and tortured.
@@catierobinson8969 Go to Büdingen in Germany where they killed 400 people as witches. Horrific. Idstein, they killed 39.
Only in recent decades gas the holocaust camps had to deal with those touring trying to take one of the shoes or others pieces of personal items stacked and displayed as a visual reminder of the numbers of people who were taken there. SMH I definitely support education before "site seeing". People as they get further from the history, or aren't taught history have no connection or respect for humans of the past, those whom we follow.
Hello Ms. Doughty... Could you please do a video about hitobashira and sokushinbutsu? It's an ancient Japanese practice of monks burying themselves alive and becoming mummies while still living in the hopes of reaching enlightenment. Hitobashira is the ancient practice of people put into building foundations as sacrifice for the safekeeping of said building... I'd love a video exploring that! お願いします。
Maybe folk should have the option to put in their will "open for art & architecture" in the same way as "use body for science" Also, closing music is a bop.
Here is it again -my most beloved slogan: "The middle ages were magic!" I need a shirt with this.
She does sell them
@@abbywilson5988 oh great. You made my day 😁
I actually think this is kind of neat…if you spent your whole life going to that church now you can always attend with your family…like they are watching out over you…kind of reassuring
Especially in since in the Catholic tradition, the belief is that the souls of people who've died are still very close & able to hear you when you speak to them.
Yeah, imagine: My deceased loved one? Is somewere in this structure. After all they were berried under the stones of the church. To this day we walk on top of their death beads. Some names craved are so faded... but they sign a place were someone was buried.
It's been my long-term plan to visit the ossuary in Kutná Hora but I'm so bad at actually putting my plans in motion, even if it's just a few hours by bus. This video reminded me of that plan again. It looks so intriguing!
Jé já mám potkanů. Bydlím ve středověkém domě, a myslím, že mám pod ložnicí ještě jednu místnost, co jsem se do ní doposud neproboural, a tam rejděj.
@@kokeskokeskokes Tak to musí být zážitek :D Já tedy preferuju ty ochočené, ale když vidím nějakého divokého běhat po městě, tak mě taky potěší (ale asi ne ty lidi, poblíž kterých bydlí)
@@Potkanka Já je dřív taky choval, teď mám psa. Možná je začnu chovat na maso pro psa, ale rád bych nejdřív vyhnal ty divoký, a oni nějak nechtěj.
@@kokeskokeskokes Na maso pro psa? 😭 Já teď taky žádné nemám, ale chtěla bych jednou zase, jen na to teď nejsou podmínky.
@@Potkanka Vlci v přírodě žerou až z 90% myši, a já mám vlčáka. Jednou jsem vzal cvičenýho potkana s sebou stopem až na Slovesko.
We have Skull Chapel in Poland too - in Czermna. It's kind of small but I strongly recommed to visit it (along with polish cementaries on All Saints Day!).
"Bone Houses & Sardines" is the summer hit we all needed. Thank you, Darrencorp!
Yes -- loved it.
I agree. I, too, am here for "Bone Houses and (Wet) Sardines"
Come for the bone house, stay for the wet sardines.
Yesss! Who sings this?
Seriously, the context of time matters a lot--how Catholics in the 1600s viewed interment differs drastically from how white USA Evangelicals (or more generally Western Christians of whichever persuasion) view it in the 2020s.
I think you mean interment - I'm sure they also viewed internment differently, but not quite relevant to the topic at hand 😆
European Christians are *very* different from American Evangelicals. No comparison.
@@redwitch95 eeeekkkkk!!! Thank you, I edited the comment to fix the typo.
@@desperadox7565 I’d say that Evangelicals in North America are pretty different from North American Christians of other persuasions period! Evangelicals seem more cult-like (to me at least) and seem to be the folks on TV scamming the old and poor out of their money. Not to say that ALL Evangelicals are scammers, but the church leaders that fall into scandals seem to be primarily Evangelicals. Look at the Bakkers and the myriad of offences Jim was charged with. Or some of Billy Graham’s controversial views including anti-semitism (which he later denied), anti-feminism (he denied his own daughters education past high school as they should be homemakers, wives and mothers), anti-LGBTQ+, anti-Catholic and anti-abortion - except in narrowly defined circumstances. Look at Jerry Falwell’s opinions and legal troubles - including his Church being sued for fraud. Or even Hillsong, whose founder was dismissed for inappropriate behaviour towards two women. The founder’s father (also a pastor) sexually abused boys. Their finances are fishy - getting grants from Australia, despite a $40M profit, and primarily paying their staff in tax-free benefits so that they live in the lap of luxury, almost tax-free. They are anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+. Not to mention that that they’ve been accused that their music embodies a false theology of worship. And that barely scratches the surface of their controversies! Former members insist they’re a cult and that lower-level volunteers and members are often ignored or abused. I’m not implying (or even trying to imply) that ALL Evangelical Churches are fraudulent, bad, cults, or anything else negative! I’m merely pointing out that they seem to have more than their fair share of problems at the top of their hierarchies. Kind of like the Roman Catholics with their residential schools and diddling priests. Please don’t lump all North American Christians together. It’s offensive! I guess I should be happy that the Church of Scientology is closer to Buddhism than Christianity!! 😹😹
Catholics are Western Christians as well…
Wow! I was not expecting my tiny tiny hometown of alcantarilha to be mentioned in this video but it’s the coolest thing in town and I take everyone that comes visit there. So nice to get a little history of my own country from such an amazing KZheadr, thank you ❤
I got to visit the one in Evora a few years ago!! it was a very positive experience with death that made me realize how I had only ever had uncomfortable experience with human remains before. I’ve never been disgusted by cadavres, but there is something uncanny about seeing a loved one embalmed, and funerals in general aren’t exactly a fun time. the bones in the ossuary are the opposite, clean and impersonal. there is no flesh, no signs of or mental images of decay. they are now part of a work of art, and there is so much respect visible in how the bones were thoughtfully arranged in this holy place. we don’t know what these people looked like or their names, how or when they died, but at the same time we know they were once just like us visitors. and one day we will join them for eternity. when I die I want an eco burial, but if being part of an ossuary was an option I’d take it in a heartbeat.
I completely agree that tourists should be made to learn the history of a place. I live in Scotland and the amount of people that come to our landmarks just for selfies really do my head in! Depending on what I know about the place I end up meeting tourists, I will end up educating them if I know enough.
Good for you Alex 👍
That dreadful phenomenon is facilitated by cell phones. Before the tide of idiots had no way to portray themselves for posterity, now it's simpler. We see that stupid attitude of "look at me, look at me" in natural parks, museums, monuments even in death camps (which should be considered as proof that they do not have a single functional neuron). I find it unbearable.
"Bonehouse Baby" should be a chart-topper. I need a vinyl pressing immediately.
Okay I just realized this, but your videos are so great to listen to with one’s eyes closed. Your verbal descriptions of everything are so on point- and that’s excellent for accessibility too! Keep doing a great job, this was so great to learn about.
I appreciated how respectful you were of a faith that is not your own. Thank you.
I am no longer joking about needing an Ask A Mortician closing song album, Caitlin please give us an album of all these new closing credits songs, I love them so much
Dark Country music is just stupendous.
Yesss me too!!
my 9 year old daughter, went to Paris with me for the first time... and I was "You pick what we go see!" Her choice, the catacombs. (We get Smithsonian magazine, and there was an article on it). We had a fun time, came out and noticed our Teva sandals had "bone dust and water" and ended up splashing in a dirty puddle. But, we took photos and she had the best "What I did this summer" display up at school. THANK YOU For this. I may NOT show it to my now adult child.
Great parent! With the added benefit of creeping out the teachers, definitely one of my parent goals
Damn, I'm jealous. I've always wanted to see those! I was a bit younger than your daughter when I found out about them, though. I saw them on a documentary, and I thought "Underground tunnels with BONES!? MUST SEE!" 32 now, still haven't seen them. Some day!
@@TheShadowChesireCat GO! But check to see if they are open. The staff in the legal one, does cleanup and makes sure the bones are secure during the winter. Always check. Also the French want you to be respectful, and they will speak up if you are in the catacombs making jokes. My daughter loved it, and we went again later, but she was respectful while also translating the tablets with French quotes and sayings on them. Extra spooky fun.
My elementary school was right next to the cemetery. Our play yard was up against the cemetery and we would play with the fake flowers that would blow over through the fence.
'As you are, so I was. As I am now, so you will be.' - a tombstone that freaked me out, 2014
Why has no one attempted a modern, secular one of these? (I mean I know why: paperwork, etc.) I would LOVE for my bones to become part of something like this, and I can't believe it would be impossible to find another thousand deathlings/weirdos who would happily donate their bones. Or even if they need spares to restore and maintain places like these - tourist smashed your skull chandelier? No worries, here, have mine! I can donate my body to science, why can't I donate it to the aesthetic and philosophical arts?
I believe in some way there are. As a genealogist, Iook for not only distant ancestors but the descendants of them. There are cemeteries that are moving to the European model that the plot is leased for a specific time usually 20 years. Then the body is removed. The bone then stored. It is also common in Mexico.
I would love to havexmy bones used in something like this, otherwise I'll probably be cremated.
In my country, the USA, building codes and health regulations would probably prevent building such a project, not to mention the labyrinth of laws relating to treatment and disposal of human remains. Unless, maybe, you could convince authorities that your religion required such a thing, so it was a matter of religious liberty. But you said a secular bone chapel. A more cynical person might invent a new religion, just to facilitate it. But there would still probably be a lot of paperwork involved.
Probably because there's less incentive secularly to do so? These corpses didn't really planned to die as a wall decor, they wanted to be closer to God, or at least, help each other remember the glory of religion, being an aesthetic was just a bonus for them. Also we currently will have more concern about our lack of control about how our body will be made to an art. We can will our body for specific form of art sure, but what guarantees that we will be made to an art that's not problematic social or cultural wise? Sometimes those things are clear bad, and sometimes there's nuances that is hard to define.
@@imageez If you give your body to be made into art, you can’t expect to control what kind or quality of art is made from it. You won’t be around to offer feedback, for one thing. Your bones might get used by the equivalent of Michelangelo, or by the equivalent of Jeff Koons. Or (maybe more likely) by the members of the art class at the Senior Center down the street. Come to think of it, though, bones and bodies also get used for everything imaginable even without their former owners’ consent, so maybe there’s no point in worrying about that.
Also, about the 1245 skulls: not only are the combinations 3, 6, and 9 but the overall total is 12 and if you take the 1 and 2 you also get yet another 3! Cool stuff
And it’s divisible by 3
Also, 12 and 45 are both products of 3, with 45 also being a product of 9.
Plus 1245 is missing one number in the middle. 3
Thank you for saying this! Now I don't have to, lol!😘💖👍👏👏👏
3,6,9? I can't help but think there is a Nikola Tesla connection in there somewhere.
I visited a Cappucin ossuary in rome that did it really well - $10 each quiet is enforced very clearly the door. The start is a delberately long, twisty hallway that explains the history of the church, the bones and catholic imagery of death and mortality (Lots of big metal-looking oil paintings). The hallway is narrow, dark and kinda claustrophobic but you really need that to get ready for going down into the crypt. The bones are really well preserved and looked after since it was only opened to the public in the 1800s and even then only one week a year for a religious holiday.
I hope you're enjoying your time in Portugal! Thanks for sharing this really cool part of history too!
An entire video about Portugal, but also a song about sardines.... ❤
I am with you Caitlin on making the tourists slow down and reflect in these places. Also, historical context is always good.
The Catacombs in Paris are a bit like that. You walk through and explore the tunnels/old quarry that the site is based on before you even get to the bones. Then there's a room with the history of the site explained to you on boards, but there is no obligation to look at any of it. Some of the skulls in the site are defaced or broken, so perhaps ensuring people respect the history would help.
Or like make it part of mindfulness tourism. I notice places that are associated with helping with healing in some way are more protected and respected by guests than just normal tourists.
I love the idea of a lecture anytime you are visiting graves/the dead of other cultures!
I honestly think this is the coolest way we can go about connecting life with death and finding the beauty with-in the cycle of it all and it feels grounding to us and nature and time. It's amazing. Nature and the universe is amazing.
What I find fantastic about her is how she truly loves being a mortician, even though her channel is huge and she could be dedicating herself and prioritizing creating content for the channel she put her job working at the funeral home first, the channel is just here to be documenting and aiding her #1 vocation in life, and specially when you think about the financial aspect of this, she prioritizes her work at her funeral home over the monetizing of KZhead. Just wow.
Years ago I visited the Capuchin vaults Rome with my family as part of a tour of the catacombs. I thought it was amazing -other family members less so. The guid told us two interesting things. 1, the monks began the decorating when the monastery moved and they decided to rid up the bodies in the graveyard to take with them. They just couldn’t leave they brother behind, friendship even beyond the grave! Second, when Italy was unified the new king went on a tour and was should the vaults. He was so horrified that he passed a law that it was now illegal to decorate with human remains in Italy. The existing structures could stay, but any bones that fall off can’t be put back on and need to be stored/buried somewhere else. There was also an image of a clock made of finger bones, but the clock had no hands. I liked that little pun.
You were just down the road from us! I am very happy that you have have put an educational video up about these charnels! It would be fantastic if one day you could come back and do a lecture.
I love this so much! Thank you! I wrote a novel several years ago that featured some of the charnel houses of Portugal, but I was unable to go in person (due to horrible medical stuff) to see them and now I get to see Evora! So amazing! (Too bad about Campo Maior, I would have loved to see that one, too.) I want to hug this video (and you)!
There is a funerary museum in Vienna. It's extremely Viennese (meaning: a little macabre and a bit tongue-in-cheek with this extremely Viennese idea of 'a schöne Leich' which translates to 'a beautiful corpse') but I think a lot of people here would appreciate it. I can highly recommend visiting it to anyone who happens to find themselves in town. Edit: it also has two extant Josephinian coffins (also called 'economy coffins') that are, historically speaking, extremely cool and everyone should look them up
Ah. Vienna - never change :D But I think in 'A schöne Leich' the 'Leich' does more relate to the funeral itself, with 'Leich' being a colloqial term for the funeral act rather than the dead body. Might be wrong, though.
Thanks, I didn't know about those. Cool!
As a resident of Vienna, yes- can also highly recommend! The St. Marx Friedhof is a lovely cemetery too, definitely worth a visit.
@@robertnett9793 You're not wrong, a "schöne Leich'" essentially means a grand funeral with lots of attendees.
Hello fellow Viennese! :D
I remember talking to a forensic pathologist who said that when she died she wants her bones to be made into any articulated skeleton that she would donate to her old university as a teaching aid.
I totally enjoy your info, perspective, and presentation in your videos! You've done an excellent job researching and narrating these vids. Thank you!
OMG Caitlin you came to my country! I hope you had a nice stay! I follow your channel for a while and I love your videos, always insightful and very well researched. I'm so glad that you decided to share this side of our culture, often overlooked. Thank you so much and cheers!
So, one of the books I read to my kids at Halloween is called "Cinderella Skeleton" and the love interest is called "Prince Charnel". Now it makes more sense to me. Also, just heard an archaeologist at Gobekli Tepe say that they are starting to think that the pillars might depict sky burials and the animals that participated (some from the end of the ice age). I thought of you! 😁
Less than 2 minutes in and I don't think there's any way you can top "I've been trying to bribe a priest to let me see his bone collection", but I'm so excited to see you try!
So glad to see a video of you !!! Been missing ya!! Thanks for all you do!!
My father wrote a book about the Capelas dos Ossos in Portugal. I went around the country with him when he was doing the investigation holding his cameras for him. Those were amazing times. I think we visited all the chapels around the country.
I used to live In Lisbon but due to PTSD related to death I never went to these places. Thank to your channel my PTSD is a lot beter and I love watching these videos now
highly recommend her books, helped me with my panick atacks about death
David Straight, Oregon USA claims to fix PTSD in minutes.
I was taken to this place as a child by my Catholic school. Yeah. Still remember it vividly.
@@hoboonwheels9289 I am not going all the way to the usa to just cuz some guy claims the impossible lol. I have a good life also with it
@@dani4ever92 try the internet hon.
In high school before I even knew about the catacombs I dreamt I was swimming over an underwater town entirely built from bones. When I found out about charnel houses it was a little too surreal. If anyone discovers sunken charnel houses I'm done.
Sara, I hope this doesn't freak you out, but I have had similar dreams. I had them mostly as a child and teenager, but about a year ago I had it again for the first time in years. By any chance, do the bones seem to be....making sounds? I'm sorry for how weird this sounds. In my dreams I hear a strange melodic hum, in that way that sound comes to you underwater, coming from the town.
There are catacombs full of bones in Paris. Some of them are flooded 😅
@@victoriadiesattheend.8478 stop yes i have had these as well. remember anything about a large staircase with sunlight streaming around it, descending into the town?
@@Rajakel yup paris has a lot of them, sometimes they take the water out so u can visit, but it happens once in a full moon!
That song at the end was gold!!!
So good to see Caitlin again. With her direct head-long approach to death and mortality, many people today would benefit from considering their mortality. Many thanks Caitlin.
Thank you for being so respectful of these Catholic places and debunking that the bones were unethically sourced. This was really interesting to watch!
Caitlin -“ lucky for you, my friend, we are about to go on a little field trip!” Arnold- “Please be a normal field trip!” Deathlings- “With the ‘Dough’?! NO WAY!!”
This is a bonus track on her album that we keep wanting her to make.
I'm gonna have that theme song stuck in my head for the rest of the day.
Cruising on down Main Street You're corpse-waxed and feeling good Next thing that you know you're seeing Bones in the neighborhood! >.>
@@RoanNebunescu I’m terrible at lyrics, but I definitely think the “next thing that you know, you might get baked into a pie” part should be “Next thing in New Orleans, you might get baked into a crypt”
@@RoanNebunescu Excellent!
I would totally offer up my bones to be part of a beautiful bone chapel. Epic level burial!
Never knew Portugal had charnel houses, thanks for sharing this!
As soon as you said middle ages I sing to myself "the middle ages were magic" 🎶 and then it pops up. Love those little pops of funny, and now the going to the bone house will be sung throughout history.
"We bones are here waiting for yours" Aww, they're so welcoming and sweet. I got a family waiting for me in the afterlife.
I even said "aww" out loud.
@@sarahsmith840 i said "oh shit" out loud 🤣🤣
Rolf’s return!!! In all seriousness, what a wonderfully informative video as always! Thank you for being an inspiration for me!
Oh how I just love your ~20 min videos