In the mid-1600s, German chemist Johann Schröder had a recipe for vitality he thought would benefit anyone looking to add pep back into their step.
First, he acquired the body of a recently executed convict. Not just any corpse would do. Schröder wanted a healthy man, ruddy in complexion and around 24 years old. The man must have died a violent death, as opposed to passing from illness. And second, the corpse needed to sit in the moonlight for at least one night before Schröder smoked the flesh in a way he promised was “without any stench.” The energy of the corpse, he believed, would then pass on to the person who took a few bites.
Schröder was one of many medical practitioners who practiced corpse medicine, a form of medical cannibalism that dated to ancient times. For thousands of years, physicians used human flesh, blood or bones to treat a variety of ailments. It’s a nauseating part of medical history that persisted in places like Europe, well into the 19th century.
