Trail Off Tuesday: The Mummified Outlaw

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.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to the Corpse on Tour
• 1:09 Elmer McCurdy: Failed Outlaw
• 2:19 Six Decades as a Sideshow Attraction
• 3:17 Discovery During TV Show Filming
• 4:47 Final Resting Place

Transcript

Host: 0:10

Welcome back to Trail of Tuesdays, the short, strange pit stop on the Clue Trail. Here we leave the headlines behind and dig up the stories that didn't just fall through the cracks, they crawled through them. This episode is about a corpse, but not just any corpse. This one went on tour. It was displayed at carnivals, amusement parks and even haunted houses. But here's the twist it wasn't supposed to be there. No one even knew it was real, until one day when it helped solve its own murder.

Host: 1:10

Let's rewind to 1911. An outlaw named Elmer McCurdy was killed in a shootout with law enforcement after a failed train robbery in Oklahoma. He wasn't exactly Jesse James. His crimes were clumsy, poorly planned and often ended in failure. But when no one claimed his body, the funeral home director got creative. He emboldened McCurdy and stood the body up in a corner, charging visitors to see the bandit who wouldn't give up. Strangely, the corpse became a hit. Other sideshow and carnival owners came calling, offering to buy the body. Eventually, someone pretending to be a relative claimed Elmer and took him on the road.

Host: 2:19

Over the next six years yes, six decades Elmer McCurdy's body changed hands multiple times. It was part of a travelling freak show, wax museums and haunted attractions. As the years went by, the body was repainted, patched and propped up so many times that people forgot it was even real. He was treated like a prop shoved in closets, hung from ceilings, even glued to walls. By the 1970s no one remembered who he was. He was just that creepy wax figure. But that was until 1976, when he ended up at the Pike, an amusement park in Long Beach, california.

Host: 3:20

It was during the filming of a TV show, the Six Million Dollar man, that changed everything. A crew member was prepping a haunted house scene when he tried to move what he thought was a mannequin hanging from an oose. But when the arm snapped off he noticed it wasn't made of plastic. There were bones inside, obviously. Police were immediately called and the coroner examined the body and discovered something bizarre. Inside the chest was a bullet, the same kind used by sheriffs in the 1900s. But how could a wax figure have a bullet in her side? Well, it wasn't wax and it wasn't a dummy. It was a real human corpse.

Host: 4:27

And somehow that corpse had been touring the country for over 60 years. Using old records, forensic work and some help from newspaper clippings, investigators eventually identified the body as Elmer McCurdy, the failed outlaw turned sideshow attraction. In 1977, elmer was finally laid to rest and this time authorities made sure he wouldn't go on tour again. They buried him under two feet of concrete. The outlaw, who spent most of his life trying to stay out of jail, spent his afterlife in the spotlight and in the end it took a broken arm and a film crew to give him the burial he never got. So next time you see a wax figure that looks too real, maybe keep your distance.

Host: 5:39

Thanks for joining me on another offbeat stop here on Trail of Tuesdays. Follow Clue Trail. Drop a review if this one gave you chills and message us if you've got a bizarre story you want to hear next. We'll be back next Tuesdays with another bite-sized mystery, maybe something a little lighter or maybe weirder. See you next time.