Pictures of the Deceased

[Marblez]

I was clearing pictures from my old PC (now my son's) and found that along with a whole gallery of pictures of my mother during her life, my family had also uploaded a collection of her pics when she was in her casket. This evokes a slurry differing emotions from repulsion to curiousity.

What do you feel about seeing pics of your loved ones bodies after they have gone?

[saechalyn]

I would prefer to remember my loved ones as they were when they were living. I wouldn't want pictures of the body in the casket, but that's just me.

[JaneDead]

...

[The_Dark]

I've never understood the concept.. but it's been going on since the camera was invented. I used to work in a historical library. Most of my job was sorting through old boxes of donated stuff and cataloging it. Oh joy fun. I was looking at some pictures of people one day at the Historian that I worked for asked me what i thought of looking at dead people. I didn;t really get what he meant... the pics were old as hell and I could not imagine any of the people people pictured as being alive now... thats when he pointed out that they were all pics of dead people... posed and dressed in thier finest. That gave me the willies for sure... the dead baby pics bothered me the most.

[saechalyn]

thats when he pointed out that they were all pics of dead people... posed and dressed in thier finest.

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Oh ick, that's really creepy.

[JaneDead]

I've never understood the concept.. but it's been going on since the camera was invented. I used to work in a historical library. Most of my job was sorting through old boxes of donated stuff and cataloging it. Oh joy fun. I was looking at some pictures of people one day at the Historian that I worked for asked me what i thought of looking at dead people. I didn;t really get what he meant... the pics were old as hell and I could not imagine any of the people people pictured as being alive now... thats when he pointed out that they were all pics of dead people... posed and dressed in thier finest. That gave me the willies for sure... the dead baby pics bothered me the most.

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yes i heard that is what people used to do. be dressed and posed like that.

i actually even saw that in a movie once too.

[Homicidalheathen]

SAME HERE! But my family got upset I would not go view the body at the funeral of my grandmother. Why? She had skin cancer real bad and even though they did a good job........you could see a dark shadow and indent. She would not have wanted people to see her that way. It embarressed her. I just don't see the point anyway.....I like to remember people as they were.

I would prefer to remember my loved ones as they were when they were living.  I wouldn't want pictures of the body in the casket, but that's just me.

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[The_Dark]

The odd thing... as creepy as pictures of dead people is to me... i keep my Dad on my Dresser.

[JaneDead]

The odd thing... as creepy as pictures of dead people is to me... i keep my Dad on my Dresser.

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my friend's aunt just died. she inherited where she lives. i was there and her mom shows me this box - it was a tiny box. it was her aunt's husband's remains. i had never seen them before. at first i was weird-ed out by that, and backed away. but then i reopened it 2 more times to really look at it. interesting really.

[The_Dark]

I've got Dad in an Urn with rampant dragons for handles.

[bean]

My family is insane (who would have guessed?) and takes lots of pictures and videotapes funerals. That's right, I said videotape. Funerals are hard enough to go to as it is, so I wouldn't want to go through it again by watching a tape of it.

[Homicidalheathen]

Hee hee leave it too you to have the most morbid family tree. Yer so goth.

My family is insane (who would have guessed?) and takes lots of pictures and videotapes funerals.  That's right, I said videotape.  Funerals are hard enough to go to as it is, so I wouldn't want to go through it again by watching a tape of it.

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[Onyx]

The odd thing... as creepy as pictures of dead people is to me... i keep my Dad on my Dresser.

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For some reason that does not seem creepy to me.

[Onyx]

yes i heard that is what people used to do. be dressed and posed like that.

i actually even saw that in a movie once too.

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This is very true. I remember a photo of a dead man propped up in a chair in his Sunday best. When I asked about it I was told that back then that was done because photos were expensive and often there weren't any to remember the deceased by, so they were done sometimes as a last chance thing. Maybe it became a tradition that way.

With that said though, I would not EVER want a photo of me taken after death. I don't like open casket funerals. I can't get the image of my great grandmother out of my mind and I wish I hadn't looked, all these years later. Her body was just an empty shell. It wasn't her. I'd rather have remembered her alive and smilling.

The appearance changes after death, even if disease has not marred a person.