'Occult Candles Made from Victims': Philadelphia Med Article, Nov. 1888

[Archaic]

Lynn,

I unplugged my TV so long ago that I'm considering removing its insides and making it into an aquarium... or better yet, a wet bar.

Archaic

[lynn cates]

uses

Hello Archaic.

"I unplugged my TV so long ago that I'm considering removing its insides and making it into an aquarium"

Capital! Now THERE'S a decent use for it. Or, perhaps it could be hollowed out to store our ripper books. My collection has become a bit unwieldy.

The best.
LC

[Archaic]

'Uterus As A Candlestick': Nov. 3, 1888 Medical Record

Here's another one from a contemporary medical journal.

This is from The Medical Record, November 3, 1888.

This one is quite similar to the Polyclinic article, as it too is referring to the article in the Journal Of The American Medical Association, but this article specifically mentions the idea of making candles from a uterus rather than referring more generally to "extracted organs".

Best regards, Archaic

[Archaic]

Casebook Press Reports Newspaper Article: January 1889

This article is archived in the Casebook Press Reports section and was published shortly after the medical journal articles.
It mentions the Whitechapel Murders and a Russian folk-belief in "candles made of human fat", but does not specifically mention female reproductive organs.

Davenport Morning Tribune
Iowa, U.S.A.
27 January 1889

"Curious Russian Superstition:

A curiously unpleasant peasant superstition has just been revealed at a trial in Southern Russia, which ended in the conviction of four peasants for the murder of a girl 11 years old. The superstition recalls that about thieves' candles narrated in connection with the Whitechapel murders.

These peasants, it seems, were believers in the superstition that candles made of human fat rendered the bearers invisible. To obtain these articles they first attempted to murder a boy in a forest.

They next tried to kill an old peasant, thirdly a Russian clergyman, and being disturbed on all three occasions they at last succeeded in murdering Sukena Cherkaschina. With the fat from the child's body they made candles, and with their help attempted to commit a robbery. The light of the candles betrayed their doings, and on being arrested they confessed everything.

The evidence in court showed the belief in the thieves' candle superstition to be widespread in Russia. "

Article Link: http://www.casebook.org/press_report.../18890127.html

Best regards, Archaic

[Archaic]

'The Alienist & Neurologist' Article On "Occult Candles"

The same article which appeared in the Philadelphia Medical Journal (Post #1 of this thread) was also published in
another American Medical and Psychiatric journal, 'The Alienist and Neurologist' in January 1889.

Both of these articles cite the earlier Journal of the American Medical Association article.

When this article was published in 'The Alienist & Neurologist' it was presented in the midst of a longer article that also discussed the recent murder of Mary Kelly and the theories of Forbes Winslow.
Due to it having multiple topics I will post the complete article on a different thread.

Here is the section which is pertinent to this 'Occult Candles In American Medical Journals' thread.

Too bad I didn't know I'd find coverage of this topic in several different medical journals, or I'd have titled the thread that way.

Best regards, Archaic