Virgil Shah AP Lit Morbid Research 2013: Steps from Death to Burial/Cremation in the United States 1.

Arrange for the body to be transported to a funeral home or other funeral service facility from place of death or coroners (if death from unnatural causes) 2. When the body is transferred, the transfer crew will put an ID tag on the body and document any clothing and valuables on the body 3. At the funeral home, the body is put in a fridge after relevant information is put in the mortuary board and mortuary register. 4. Proper precautions are taken to prevent leakage from the body 5. Embalmment can take place now 6. Clothes at the time of death are removed, the body is cleaned, and the body is redressed. 7. The body is coffined and put into a hearse 8. Hearse is taken to the cemetery, where a ceremony will occur, after which the body is buried. Late 19th Century: Steps from Death to Burial/Cremation in England 9. Close windows, stop clocks, and cover mirrors 10. Dress in black to prevent being haunted from the ghost of the deceased 11. Women can wear jewelry, hair accessories, stationary, purses, and/or fans, and men can wear gloves or a hat; Furs, satin, and velvet are forbidden. 12. Get a black silk crepe if possible. 13. Store the cadaver in the house until burial 14. Plan for an elaborate and expensive procession 15. The procession is led by various foot attendants: pall bears, feathermen, pages, and mutes/mourners 16. A hearse, a black coach with glass sides and silver and gold decorations, is the first coach in the procession and contains the coffin. Six black horses will pull the coach. 17. The rest of the coaches follow the hearse 18. Procession slowly makes its way from the house of the deceases to the cemetery. Make detours to allow for maximum display 19. At the cemetery chapel, the coffin must be carried in and laid on a bier. 20. After the ceremony, lower the coffin into the catacombs or bury it. Only men remain to witness the actual interment. 21. After the funeral, a feast is held at the home of the deceased. 22. Sent out funeral cards 23. After death of their husbands, widows are expected to only leave their home dressed in black and with a weeping veil

Bibliography: Alirangues, Loretta. Funerary Practices in the Victorian Era. Morbid Outlook. Wed. 9 September 2013. Handy, A. The Process From death to funeral. The Other Side of Funerals. Web. 9 September 2013. Rothman , Heather. Mourning in the Victorian Era. College of the Liberal Arts & Sciences. Web. 9 September 2013.