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    Killer History: A Gruesome and Grisly Trip Through the Past
    Killer History: A Gruesome and Grisly Trip Through the Past
    Killer History: A Gruesome and Grisly Trip Through the Past
    Ebook269 pages1 hour

    Killer History: A Gruesome and Grisly Trip Through the Past

    By Clive Gifford

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    About this ebook

    Some kids are natural bookworms and others you have to chase down with a book. But every kid, even the ones that scowl when you say “read” will devour this mega mix of history’s grisly stories. From all corners of the globe and dating back to ancient Egypt, this book leaves no tombstone unturned to deliver a glimpse at some of the weirdest traditions, most gruesome methods, craziest causes, and most fascinating facts surrounding death in history. Kids will discover:
    • The ancient Egyptians didn’t mummify and bury their dead alone. Oh, no. They also entombed cats, dogs, hippos, crocodiles, and even beetles with their dearly departed.
    • As queen, Marie-Antoinette lost her head for all the fine things France had to offer, and she delighted in them as the country grew poorer and poorer. When the revolution came, she literally lost her head for her frivolity.
    • The guillotine was used for almost 200 years in France. It was the cutting edge of death technology when it was invented in 1792 and stayed in style until 1977.
    • History’s most surprising murder weapons
    • The top-ten potent poisons
    • The worst epidemics in history
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTrusted Media Brands
    Release dateFeb 7, 2013
    ISBN9781621450320
    Killer History: A Gruesome and Grisly Trip Through the Past
    Author

    Clive Gifford

    Clive Gifford is an award-winning author of books for children and adults who has had over 170 books published, including the astonishing Dead or Alive, the creepy Book of Bad Things and the brain mangling Think Again and Eye Benders. He is passionate that books should entertain, inform and amaze whenever possible. His books Cool Technology and Think Again! both won the School Library Association's Information Book Award.

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      Book preview

      Killer History - Clive Gifford

      ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK…

      Welcome to the most gory, gross, and downright gruesome collection of facts and stories about death, doom, and destruction!

      From mummies and murderers, accidents, and autopsies, to blood, bones, and body bits, this bountiful book of death has it all, but be warned, it’s not for the fainthearted.

      7-1.jpg

      There are hundreds of facts and haunting tales to freak out your friends, plus dead cool things you can make. If you come across a word you don’t understand, check out the Dreadfully Deadly Definitions here.

      Are you brave enough to discover history’s deadliest bits? Read this book if you dare….

      A DISAPPOINTING DEATH

      In 1911, daredevil Bobby Leach sailed over the gigantic Niagara Falls in New York in a barrel and survived.

      He went on to perform many other death-defying stunts.

      8-1.jpg

      However, in 1926, he died after slipping on a piece of orange peel.

      FEET FIRST

      In the 19th century, a dead person was usually carried out of the house feet first. This was to stop the spirit from looking back into the house and calling another member of the family to come with him or her.

      Photographs or paintings of family members were also placed facedown or covered so that the dead person could not possess them.

      8-2.jpg

      EIGHT MORBID MUSEUMS

      If you find yourself on a wet day with nothing weird to do, check out one of these monstrous museums.

      1. The Museum of Funeral Carriages, Barcelona, Spain.

      2. The Torture Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

      3. The National Museum of Funeral History, Houston, Texas.

      4. The Museum of Death, Hollywood, California.

      5. The Mummy Museum, Guanajuato, Mexico.

      6. The Medieval Torture Museum, San Gimignano, Italy.

      7. The London Dungeon, London, England.

      8. The Vienna Undertakers’ Museum, Vienna, Austria.

      9-1.jpg

      ANCIENT ROMAN SITES

      In ancient Rome, when someone died, a number of rituals were performed before the body was taken from the home and buried or cremated.

      1. A family member, often the eldest son, performed the conclamatio—leaning over the body and calling the dead person’s name to make sure he or she was really dead and not just pretending.

      2. The eyes of the dead person were then closed.

      3. The body was washed with warm water, and the legs and arms were straightened out.

      10-1.jpg

      4. If the deceased held an important position in the Roman Empire, a wax impression of the face was taken so that a sculpture could be made later.

      5. The body was dressed in a toga and placed on a funeral couch with flowers around it.

      6. Branches from mountain pine or cypress trees were pushed into the ground outside the front door to let passersby know that someone had died.

      7. In some cases, a coin was placed with the body, usually in the mouth. This was to pay Charon, the ferryman. In Roman mythology, he was the god who transported dead Romans across the River Styx to Orcus, the Underworld.

      10-1.jpg

      MAKE A MUMMY IN EIGHT SIMPLE STEPS

      Throughout history, people have had different ideas about what to do with the bodies of people who have died. One method that was especially popular in ancient Egypt was to mummify dead friends or relatives, to keep them fresh as a daisy for all eternity. Here’s how they did it:

      1. First, you have to get the body ready for embalming—preserving the flesh, so it doesn’t rot away. You’ll need a long hook, a knife, some salt called natron, some canopic jars to store the body parts in, and a strong stomach!

      12-2.jpg

      2. Start by pushing the hook into the nose of the body, toward the brain. The hook should help you to break up the brain matter, so you can pull it out through the nostril.

      3. Take the knife and cut a slit in the side of the body to get to the organs.

      12-1.jpg

      4. Pull out the lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines, but leave the heart (the Egyptians believed the dead would need it later). Use the natron to dry the organs and store each one in a separate canopic jar.

      5. Pack natron in and around the body and leave it to dry for 40 days.

      6. While you are waiting, you might use your time effectively by choosing some amulets to wrap up with the body.

      13-1.jpg

      7. Once the body is dry and odor-free, you need to stuff it with linen, sawdust, herbs, spices, and more natron, then sew up the gap.

      8. Now get wrapping! Cover the body completely in bandages. You’ll need to use several layers—place an amulet between each layer.

      The body is now ready

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