''Cemetery Gun''

By Crusader1307

A traditional practice in Medical Schools the World over, is the dissection of human cadavers. This is an integral part of learning the human body with regards to performing actual operations.  Future Doctors have done such for Centuries. In the 18th and 19th Centuries, it was common practice for Schools to purchase unclaimed remains from Asylums, Prisons and Morgues. However, as it became hard to procure the many often needed, some schools began to purchase bodies from more unscrupulous sources - namely Grave Robbers. The unsavory practice came to light in the early 1820s with known murderers and "corpse snatchers" William Burke and William Hare. Although eventually captured, tried and executed, a process was needed to protect the "dearly departed". Enter "Necessity being the Mother of Invention". Many more wealthy families began installing Cemetery Guns. The theory was to not only provide security for their deceased, it stopped would be thieves from stealing valuables buried with them. Some of these firearms were actually built into the coffin or added to crypts and mausoleums. Pressure activated, trip wire systems would discharge a lead round in the direction of an entrance or even straight up into the violator. Calibers used varied. A common issue was obviously gunpowder remain dry enough to fire. With time better security was increased thus removing the need for "Cemetery Guns" altogether.