Las Momias de Guanajuato

Guanajuato, Mexico is home to El Museo De Las Momias, a unique museum where the mummified remains of over one hundred 19th century cholera victims are on display.

The cholera epidemic gripped the city of Guanajuato in 1833, causing large numbers of deaths in a short period of time, causing new cemeteries to be opened. Years later local taxes made it quite costly to keep the remains interred, so families began to remove them. The naturally mummified bodies were stored in a building which eventually became this museum.

In an attempt to control the spread of the disease, bodies were buried very quickly. This lead to dying people being buried accidentally. As a result, some of the mummies bear eternally horrified expressions.