Book description
In Tales from Kentucky Funeral Homes, William Lynwood Montell has
collected stories and reminiscences from funeral home directors and
embalmers across the state. These accounts provide a record of the
business of death as it has been practiced in Kentucky over the past
fifty years. The collection ranges from tales of old-time burial
practices, to stories about funeral customs unique to the African
American community, to tales of premonitions, mistakes, and even
humorous occurrences. Other stories involve such unusual aspects of the
business as snake-handling funerals, mistaken identities, and in-home
embalming. Taken together, these firsthand narratives preserve an
important aspect of Kentucky social life not likely to be collected
elsewhere. Most of these funeral home stories involve the recent history
of Kentucky funeral practices, but some descriptive accounts go back to
the era when funeral directors used horse-drawn wagons to reach secluded
areas. These accounts, including stories about fainting relatives,
long-winded preachers, and pallbearers falling into graves, provide
significant insights into the pivotal role morticians have played in
local life and culture over the years. William Lynwood Montell,
professor emeritus of folk studies at Western Kentucky University, is
the author or editor of more than twenty books, including Ghosts across
Kentucky, Killings: Folk Justice in the Upper South, and Tales from
Kentucky Doctors.
