Digging Up the Afterlife of Charlie Chaplin’s Remains
The remains of which silent film star were stolen from the grave in 1978 and held for ransom? Here are the results of this week’s contest.
For the first week of the October Instagram contest I decided to ask a question regarding one of my favorite tales of grave robbery: The remains of which silent film star were stolen from the grave in 1978 and held for ransom?
The answer, of course, is Charlie Chaplin. Just a couple months after his death two men dug up his remains from his grave in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland and demanded a large sum of money from his wife Oona. She refused to pay, stating that Charlie would have thought it was ridiculous. The men were caught a short time later. Chaplin’s coffin was found buried in a nearby field. He was re-interred, this time in concrete to prevent another such incident.
For the contest, correct answers have to be submitted in the form of a photo or video post on Instagram. The more creative, the better. I had to narrow down the entries to the top 4 finalists, then let the Cult community vote for their favorite.
The competition was stiff (with rigor mortis) but the clear winner of this week’s memento mori Box of Weird is this submission from @loriroes:
The other three finalists did some fine work as well:
By Troy Walter @fiend4halloween
By @danahuffsmith. Watch the video right here.
By Squid @spookysquids
See all the entries at #cultofweird
Box of Weird: Memento Mori Edition
There are three more chances this month to win a Box of Weird filled with a copy of the brand new release Ghostland by Colin Dickey courtesy of Viking Books, Hearse Driver’s Union buttons from Dead Sled Brand, a black beeswax spine candle from Grave Digger Candles, morbid patches and stickers from Poison Apple Printshop, real antique coffins screws, a diecast Matchbox hearse, and more macabre oddities. Follow @cultofweird on Instagram.
The next question is coming Monday.
UPDATE: 10/29/2016 The contest has ended. Here are the results of the other weeks:
