Trail Off Tuesday: The Mummified Outlaw

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Death isn't always the end of one's journey, as proven by the bizarre tale of Elmer McCurdy. After being killed in a 1911 shootout following a failed train robbery in Oklahoma, this unremarkable outlaw embarked on an extraordinary posthumous adventure that lasted over six decades.

When no one claimed his body, an enterprising funeral director embalmed McCurdy and turned him into a paying attraction. What followed defies belief—his corpse was sold, traded, and displayed across America in carnivals, freak shows, and haunted houses. 

This macabre journey finally ended in 1977 when authorities buried McCurdy under two feet of concrete, ensuring he would remain at rest. 

Follow Clue Trail for more bizarre historical tales that fell through the cracks, and share your thoughts on this outlaw who couldn't stay out of the spotlight—even in death.

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Episode Transcript

Host (00:10):
Welcome back to Trail of Tuesdays, the short, strange pit
stop on the Clue Trail.
Here we leave the headlinesbehind and dig up the stories
that didn't just fall throughthe cracks, they crawled through
them.
This episode is about a corpse,but not just any corpse.

(00:33):
This one went on tour.
It was displayed at carnivals,amusement parks and even haunted
houses.
But here's the twist it wasn'tsupposed to be there.
No one even knew it was real,until one day when it helped

(00:57):
solve its own murder.
Let's rewind to 1911.
An outlaw named Elmer McCurdywas killed in a shootout with

(01:20):
law enforcement after a failedtrain robbery in Oklahoma.
He wasn't exactly Jesse James.
His crimes were clumsy, poorlyplanned and often ended in
failure.
But when no one claimed hisbody, the funeral home director
got creative.

(01:40):
He emboldened McCurdy and stoodthe body up in a corner,
charging visitors to see thebandit who wouldn't give up.
Strangely, the corpse became ahit.
Other sideshow and carnivalowners came calling, offering to

(02:02):
buy the body.
Eventually, someone pretendingto be a relative claimed Elmer
and took him on the road.
Over the next six years yes, sixdecades Elmer McCurdy's body

(02:27):
changed hands multiple times.
It was part of a travellingfreak show, wax museums and
haunted attractions.
As the years went by, the bodywas repainted, patched and
propped up so many times thatpeople forgot it was even real.

(02:48):
He was treated like a propshoved in closets, hung from
ceilings, even glued to walls.
By the 1970s no one rememberedwho he was.
He was just that creepy waxfigure.
But that was until 1976, whenhe ended up at the Pike, an

(03:13):
amusement park in Long Beach,california.
It was during the filming of aTV show, the Six Million Dollar
man, that changed everything.
A crew member was prepping ahaunted house scene when he

(03:34):
tried to move what he thoughtwas a mannequin hanging from an
oose.
But when the arm snapped off henoticed it wasn't made of
plastic.
There were bones inside,obviously.
Police were immediately calledand the coroner examined the

(03:56):
body and discovered somethingbizarre.
Inside the chest was a bullet,the same kind used by sheriffs
in the 1900s.
But how could a wax figure havea bullet in her side?
Well, it wasn't wax and itwasn't a dummy.

(04:16):
It was a real human corpse.
And somehow that corpse had beentouring the country for over 60
years.
Using old records, forensicwork and some help from
newspaper clippings,investigators eventually

(04:39):
identified the body as ElmerMcCurdy, the failed outlaw
turned sideshow attraction.
In 1977, elmer was finally laidto rest and this time
authorities made sure hewouldn't go on tour again.
They buried him under two feetof concrete.

(05:03):
The outlaw, who spent most ofhis life trying to stay out of
jail, spent his afterlife in thespotlight and in the end it
took a broken arm and a filmcrew to give him the burial he
never got.
So next time you see a waxfigure that looks too real,

(05:35):
maybe keep your distance.
Thanks for joining me on anotheroffbeat stop here on Trail of
Tuesdays.
Follow Clue Trail.
Drop a review if this one gaveyou chills and message us if
you've got a bizarre story youwant to hear next.
We'll be back next Tuesdayswith another bite-sized mystery,

(05:58):
maybe something a littlelighter or maybe weirder.
See you next time.