The Bizarre Afterlife of Elmer McCurdy, Wild West Undertaker Turned Sideshow Attraction

The Peculiar Tale of Elmer McCurdy, Undertaker of the Wild West

The Wild West of the late 19th century was a dangerous place filled with lawlessness and violence. In this rugged environment, the job of undertaker took on special significance. Burying the dead on the frontier was not just a profession but a humanitarian service, providing a measure of dignity and final rest for those who met an untimely demise. One undertaker became posthumously famous long after his own death - Elmer McCurdy, whose corpse was discovered in a funhouse over 60 years after he was killed.

Elmer McCurdy's Early Life

Elmer McCurdy was born in Washington, Maine in January 1880. Not much is known about his early life, but at some point he made his way out West as a young man seeking opportunity and adventure. He worked a variety of odd jobs like farmhand, lumberjack, and miner throughout Kansas, Oklahoma, and eventually Texas.

Life was hard for McCurdy, who turned to alcohol and petty crime to get by. By 1910, the 30-year old was living in Oklahoma and decided to try his luck at robbing a train. On October 7, 1911, McCurdy and two accomplices attempted to rob a Missouri-Kansas-Texas train near Okesa, Oklahoma. The robbery went terribly wrong - McCurdy got drunk beforehand and mistakenly targeted a passenger train rather than a freight train carrying money.

Death of an Outlaw

When the armed and intoxicated McCurdy confronted the train crew, a chaotic shootout ensued with lawmen onboard. McCurdy took a gunshot to the chest and died at the scene. His partners escaped without his body, which was taken to the undertaker in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. With no family or funds to claim him, McCurdy was embalmed with an arsenic preparation and buried in a $5 casket.

The next year, a man claiming to be McCurdy's brother showed up to exhume the corpse. It was actually a representative of a carnival sideshow, looking to make some money by displaying McCurdy's body as a Wild West outlaw. For five years, McCurdy's mummified remains were presented at carnivals under names like "The Bandit Who Wouldn't Give Up" and "The Embalmed Bandit."

From Sideshow to Funhouse

By the 1920s, Elmer McCurdy's body was bought and sold several times over, eventually ending up abandoned in a Los Angeles warehouse. In 1926, a film crew discovered the corpse and used it as a prop in a movie about bootleggers. McCurdy even appeared briefly on screen in a scene filmed inside a wax museum.

After filming wrapped, the undertaker's neglected remains found a permanent home at the Pike amusement zone in Long Beach, California. For decades, McCurdy's body was a fixture inside the Laff in the Dark funhouse, propped up in a corner draped in cobwebs. Customers mistook him for a wax dummy, unwittingly giving themselves a real fright when they strayed too close.

The Embalmed Bandit Unmasked

Elmer McCurdy's bizarre posthumous journey came to light in December 1976, when the Laff in the Dark funhouse was being prepped for demolition. Crews removing props found that what they thought was a mannequin was actually a real mummified corpse. An autopsy including fingerprinting revealed the body's true identity.

The news shocked and fascinated the public. Authorities finally laid McCurdy's remains to rest at the famous #Boothill Graveyard in #DodgeCity, #Kansas in April 1977, 66 years after his death. His grave was encased in concrete to prevent further disturbance. To this day, Elmer McCurdy remains one of the American Wild West's most extraordinary stories.

The Legacy of Elmer McCurdy, Undertaker to Outlaws

In life, Elmer McCurdy was a small-time crook who met an unglamorous end. But his afterlife as a sideshow curiosity and funhouse prop made him a legend of the Old West. McCurdy's tale offers a fascinating glimpse into the undertaker's essential role on the 19th century frontier.

As an outsider drifting between jobs and criminal misadventures, McCurdy represented the lawless, transient nature of the Wild West. His desire to be buried properly, even in death, led to the indignity of being turned into a human spectacle. Yet in a macabre way, McCurdy achieved the notoriety that eluded him in life.

Over a century after his fatal robbery, the name Elmer McCurdy remains woven into Wild West lore. His misadventures continue to enthrall Wild West aficionados and historians alike, as befits an odd life - and afterlife - lived on America's strange and violent frontier.

FAQs

How did Elmer McCurdy die?

Elmer McCurdy died during a bungled train robbery in Oklahoma in October 1911. He was shot and killed by lawmen onboard the train when he and two others tried to hold up a passenger train while drunk.

What happened to McCurdy's body after he died?

McCurdy was embalmed and buried in Oklahoma. His corpse was later exhumed by a carnival representative and displayed as a sideshow attraction. His body was bought and sold over the years, eventually ending up in a California funhouse.

When was McCurdy's true identity discovered?

McCurdy's corpse went unidentified for decades as it was displayed across the country. His body was finally identified by fingerprinting in 1976 after being discovered in a funhouse that was set to be demolished.

Why did people think McCurdy's body was a dummy or wax figure?

Since McCurdy's heavily embalmed corpse was put on public display, it took on a waxy, mummified appearance over the years. Funhouse patrons assumed it was a fake prop and not an actual human body.

Where is McCurdy buried now?

After being identified in the 1970s, Elmer McCurdy's remains were finally buried at Boot Hill in Dodge City, Kansas in 1977. His grave was encased in concrete to prevent any further disturbance.