News

The Gruesomely Real Origin Of The Term “Stiff Drink”

Published

3 years ago

November 29, 2020

Forget the fancy alcohols of today in their decorative little bottles. People in the early 19th century used to get their libations straight from the barrel; whiskey in particular.

Back in the 1800s things were a little bit different in America. Whiskey was served in plain barrels, but some of those vessels had more than just hooch–they were storage containers for preserving stolen dead bodies and unknowing customers were getting served from them.

How? You ask. Well, it’s quite a story:

pixabay.com

Medical science has come a long way in the past 200 years. But in its early stages, it required research of course. That research consisted of using cadavers as learning tools. But people were funny about donating their loved-ones to science, so academia employed gravediggers to bring them fresh ones.

Gravedigging was a sort of an unregulated occupation back then. Everyone from students to janitors to doctors participated in the practice and it was good money.

But unlike today, shipping these large forms wasn’t easy. However, thanks to the new railway system it wasn’t impossible.

These heavy dead-weight bodies were hard to excavate. It required a crude pulley system in which the bodies were hoisted from the ground and then shipped to the client. The question was how to ship them to someone in New York from St. Loius.

Still Life, Skull, Whiskey, Glass, Cigarette Case, Cap

pixabay.com

Enter the railroad.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the only long-distance mass transit service at the time. So gravediggers would fold and stuff their stolen corpses inside whiskey barrels and send them down the rails in cargo holds. There was only one problem: the stench. How to disguise the smell of a decomposing body to a train full of people?

Easy: whiskey. The barrels were filled with whiskey and that seemed to hide the unpleasant odor. Once the barrels were received the bodies were removed and on their way to labs to be explored.

Ever resourceful, the grim thieves found another way to make a buck. They sold the leftover whiskey to unwitting customers. These were called “stiff drinks” according to Ripley’s. The term was actually coined to describe a dead English Admiral whose body was preserved in brandy.

“Burke and Hare” — 2010

Grave robbing wasn’t legal in America, but lawmakers seldom did anything about it. Cemetary owners were sometimes cut in on the deal so they often turned a blind eye.

Eventually, sometime in the 1900s, the laws were enforced and the practice was discontinued.

The most famous “graverobbers” in history are probably William Burke and William Hare. In the early 19th century, Scotland’s cadavers for scientific study were in short supply. Laws were put into place so that only dead prisoners, suicide victims or orphans could be used. This limited the available quantity of usable dead bodies so Burke and Hare decided to make their own.

They killed 16 people in just under a year in 1828. A comedy movie, directed by John Landis, about the grave-robbing duo was made in 2010, starring Simon Pegg.

So the next time you use the term “stiff drink” to describe your cocktail you’ll know that it doesn’t describe the amount of alcohol in it, but pays homage to the dead bodies pickled in a barrel in the name of medical research so many years ago.

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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

8 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

9 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Movies

’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

Published

11 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

**Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes**

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.