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Poster for the lost Fritz Lang film Totentanz, or The Dance of Death, 1919 . The film tells the tale of a beautiful dancer who is “used by an evil cripple to entice men to their deaths.” The idea of the Dance of Death stretches back to the middle ages, but continues to have relevance and fascination today. Find out more about this--and over 1,000 other works at the intersections of art and death--in the new book Death: A Graveside Companion by our founder Joanna Ebenstein . You can find out more--and order a copy of your own!-- here .

Greetings! We have lots of exciting news and events to announce today. First up is the new book Death: A Graveside Companion , edited by Morbid Anatomy founder Joanna Ebenstein . This nearly 400 page book is packed with over 1,000 images (many never before published!) and 19 essays exploring the intersections of art and death. You can find out more about the book--or pre-order a copy--by clicking here . We have organized a number of events to celebrate the book's release. The first will take place at London's Horse Hospital next Wednesday, October 18. This will consists of short talks by a number of contributors including John Troyer, Eleanor Crook and Mark Pilkington . Books will also be available at a discounted rate. Find out more--and get tickets-- here . We also have three book-related events taking place in New York City. The first is our official book release, taking the form of an all day symposium exploring the intersection of death and beauty with nearly a doze...

Chiara Ambrosio--a good friend of Morbid Anatomy and a contributor to our recent Morbid Anatomy Anthology --has created a charming, miniature series of zines she describes as a "paper Wunderkammer." More on this project, in her own words, below. For more information--or to get a copy for yourself-- click here . Questions or comments can be emailed to Chiara Ambrosio at chiaraambrosio [at] gmail [dot] com. As Far As The Eye Can Travel is a paper Wunderkammer that gathers together geographies of the mind, topographies of the soul and physical excavations: curious chance encounters, moments of discovery, unexpected revelations that will surprise, enchant and spark uncharted flights of the imagination as far as the eye can--and will--travel. It is a magnifying glass through which to look at the real world anew and reveal all the magic and wonder that lies within it. Published monthly, entirely handmade, and distributed through the post, these zines are a celebration of the smal...

Attention New Yorkers: On Saturday, October 28, we will be hosting a day-long symposium dedicated to the intersections of art and death at Green-Wood Cemetery to celebrate the publication of Death: A Graveside Companion , edited by Morbid Anatomy creator Joanna Ebenstein . Tickets and more can be found here . This book, published by Thames and Hudson , features over 1,000 images exploring humankind's imaginings of death, many largely unseen and drawn from The Richard Harris death collection. It also contains 19 essays by a variety of Morbid Anatomy regulars on a variety of art and death related topics. Presenters--most of whom also contributed to the book--include medical historian Michael Sappol ; Evan Michelson of Obscura Antiques and Oddities and TV's Oddities ; hair artist and art historian Karen Bachmann n ; filmmaker Eva Aridjis Porter ; Ronni Thomas of the The Midnight Archive ; photographer Shannon Taggart ; Bruce Goldfarb of Baltimore’s Office of the Chief Medica...

I stumbled across this dance--called The Huehue (or so a bemused resident explained)--on a recent trip to Puebla, Mexico . It said that one of the main characters of this dance is always the devil, as seen here. It is also said that the tradition has its roots in Day of The Dead, and depicts the wise old men--or huehues--who would help the newly widowed women find shelter.

This wonderful figurine, from Mexico City and sourced by our friend Daisy Tainton, depicts the miraculous Niño del Consuelo, or The Holy Child of Consolation. It is a copy of a miraculous 18th century statue in Chalma, Mexico. This figure is best known as an advocate for children; when he grants a miracle on behalf of the child, offerings of toys or baby clothes are left in thanks. [Source]

My new book Death: A Graveside Companion will be published by Thames and Hudson this October. A large scale picture book of nearly 400 pages, it contains over 1,000 images--many never before published, and largely drawn from the Richard Harris Art Collection --tracing humankind's attempts to imagine and that great, inevitable unknown mystery of human life: namely, death. The book features 19 essays by a broad variety of thinkers that will be familar to readers of this blog, including Mel Gordon (author of Voluptuous Panic and Grand Guiginol ), Michael Sappol (formerly of the National Library of Medicine), Mark Pilkington of Strange Attractor, cultural critic Mark Dery , and John Troyer of the Centre for Death and Society. Essays cover topics ranging from paintings created via channeling the spirits of the dead to eros and thanatos (sex and death) to 19th century horror theater to anatomized figures of Jesus Christ crafted for unknown purposes in 17th century Europe; See belo...