Ep 147 - Touched by the Dead: Bound to the Dead

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They say every mystery leaves a mark. Some are loud, sudden, unforgettable. But others, they just vanish into the shadows.

I'm your host, Hopper Daily. And I'm Mackenzie.

And every week, I tell a story to my best friend. She's hearing the story for the first time. And just like you, she doesn't know what's coming next.

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And I always have so many questions.

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So many. Disappearances, unsolved murders, eerie cold cases, and the occasional haunting twist.

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And here's the thing. You don't have to know the case to feel the chill.

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You just have to press play.

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Because in every case, there's always something left behind. A clue, a feeling, a final trace.

Follow The Final Trace wherever you listen to podcasts. And come find what still lingers in the shadows. The Final Trace.

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New episodes every True Crime Tuesday.

Rob Kirkup (1:48)

I'm Rob Kirkup, and this is How Haunted, the paranormal podcast where each episode, we explore the horrible history and terrifying ghost stories of one of the scariest places on the planet. In episode 147, our journey through our Touched by the Dead series continues, as we turn our attention to objects. Most of us own something we would never throw away. An old watch, a piece of jewelry, a favourite book. Usually they're reminders of the people we've lost. Sometimes they're said to be something more. A doll blamed for strange events. A chair linked to death. A box people claim should never be opened. Tonight, we'll explore some of the world's most infamous haunted and cursed objects. And we'll ask, can an object really become haunted?

Listener discretion is advised as each episode of How Haunted will feature gruesome tales, horrific happenings, bloody murder and ghosts. So many ghosts. Listen on a few day.

For as long as people have been burying their dead, they have also been burying possessions alongside them. Archaeologists have uncovered graves containing weapons, jewelry, tools, coins, and countless other personal belongings. Some were practical objects that a person may have used every day, whilst others appear to have held symbolic importance. Whatever the reason, somebody made the decision that those possessions should accompany the deceased into the grave, rather than remain amongst the living.

The ancient Egyptians famously filled tombs with items intended for use in the afterlife. Viking burials sometimes included weapons, jewelry, and even entire ships. Here in Britain, graves have been discovered containing everything from brooches and combs to pottery and personal ornaments. These objects were not considered haunted in the modern sense of the word, but they were clearly important. Important enough to remain connected to a person after death, and important enough to accompany them into whatever came next. As the centuries passed, that relationship between people and possessions evolved in interesting ways.

Throughout Medieval Europe, religious relics attracted enormous attention. Pieces of bone believed to belong to saints. Fragments of clothing and personal possessions associated with holy figures were preserved and displayed, often attracting visitors from great distances. Stories naturally followed. Some relics were said to heal the sick. Others became associated with miracles and divine intervention. And whether those stories were true or not, people clearly believed that certain objects retained a special connection to the individuals who had once owned them. By the Victorian period, that idea had become woven into everyday life in ways that might seem unusual to us today.

As we discussed in the previous episode, the Victorians had a complicated relationship with death. They did not necessarily hide it away in the way we often do today, and remembrance played a much more visible role in everyday life. Families preserved locks of hair in lockets, commissioned mourning jewellery, treasured photographs and carefully stored letters and items of clothing belonged to the loved ones who had passed away. These possessions served as physical reminders of people who were no longer there, and for many families they became cherished links to the past. It was during this period that a curious notion began to gain popularity. If a photograph could preserve the image of a person, and if a piece of jewellery or a treasured possession could help keep their memory alive, some people began to wonder whether certain objects might do more than simply remind us of the dead. Could an object somehow retain part of the person who had once owned it?

It sounds like a modern paranormal idea, but in reality people were asking exactly that question well over a century ago. And the answer some of them arrived at would help shape almost every haunted object story that followed.