Handling the remains of the recently deceased might sound like the beginning of a horror movie, but for some people, it’s just another day at work. However, just because they deal with death regularly doesn’t mean they’re numb to the strange, grim, and often unsettling things they witness. Human remains carry their own stories—sometimes tragic, sometimes horrifying, and occasionally even a little absurd.
When someone asked doctors, morticians, and medical professionals to share the most disturbing or creepy things they’ve encountered, the answers were chilling, to say the least. These aren’t your average workplace stories—some will stick with you long after you’ve finished reading. So settle in. This isn’t for the faint of heart.
One person shared stories passed down by their father, a mortician. In one case, a man had taken his own life in the upstairs unit of a duplex. His body remained undiscovered for so long that his blood and bodily fluids eventually seeped through the floor into the unit below. That’s when the downstairs neighbors finally realized something was wrong. In another incident, a man skipped a court date after committing a crime and went on the run. Days later, his bloated body was found in a river. When touched, his skin would peel off in sheets. The stench was so overpowering that the mortician had to throw away all his clothing after handling the case. And in a particularly gruesome scene, another man died when he fell under a piece of oil drilling equipment. The machinery decapitated him cleanly. These tales, as morbid as they sound, were part of the storyteller’s childhood dinner conversations—an unusual upbringing, but undeniably fascinating.
Another contributor recalled a Christmas gathering with their mother and two aunts, all of whom work in medical or transplant-related fields. As the holiday meal was being served, a phone was passed around the table showing a photo of a man on an autopsy table with his backside rotted down to the bone. The man had been a paraplegic living in a nursing home, where he received such inadequate care that no one noticed the decay until it was too late. The storyteller was furious when the group debated whether to report the incident. “Of course you should report it,” they said. “One day you might end up in a home like that. Don’t you care about how people are treated?”
Death doesn’t spare anyone its grim rituals. One medical worker opened up about the reality of handling overweight corpses. Obese individuals tend to purge upon death due to the pressure from their abdomen, often leaving vomit on their faces. The physical burden of lifting extremely heavy bodies can lead to back injuries, and resentment sometimes creeps in. Summer brings a new challenge: maggots. Then there are the babies. While deeply tragic, their still faces often appear peaceful, like they’re simply asleep.
One of the most heartbreaking experiences came when a coworker unknowingly picked up the body of his own estranged son, who had overdosed in a car. Another time, the worker was called to pick up a four-year-old boy in Batman pajamas. That image—so innocent, so final—was one that stayed with them forever. They also noted a disturbing rise in teen suicides recently. The message was clear: check in with your loved ones, especially teenagers. Let them know they matter. Too many young girls who’ve been bullied never make it to adulthood.
One commenter shared the story of a 13-year-old girl who had been bullied for her size. She was taller and heavier than her peers and had a crush on a boy at school. One of the mean girls told him about it. Embarrassed and angry, he mocked her publicly. Not long after, she overdosed on her father’s medication. Her suicide note, scribbled in purple crayon on “My Little Kitten” stationery, said she was tired of not fitting in and felt unlovable.
Sometimes the stories border on unbelievable. One woman arrived at the morgue looking like she’d been through an explosion—burns, lacerations, and trauma all over her body. She had been discharged from the hospital earlier that day following hip replacement surgery. Despite being warned not to smoke while on oxygen, she went home, sat on her porch, and lit a cigarette with the oxygen tubes still in her nose. That was her final moment. The tank exploded instantly.
Finally, a Reddit user shared a story from their best friend, who works in death care. She was called to pick up a deceased woman from an apartment on the third floor of a building with no elevator. The woman weighed nearly 300 pounds. With the family sobbing and watching, she and her assistant maneuvered the body onto a gurney and began the difficult trek down the stairs. Halfway down, the body began to slide. There was no way to reposition her. As her friend walked backward down the stairs—at rear-end level—gases began to escape from the corpse. Step after step, the gurney emitted loud, unmistakable farts into her friend’s face. With the entire family watching, she had no choice but to keep going, maintaining a straight face as best she could.
Working with the dead is never routine, even for those who do it every day. The stories they carry—whether tragic, bizarre, or just plain disturbing—offer a haunting glimpse into a world most of us never see. And maybe, just maybe, they make us appreciate the fragility of life just a little more.
