Creepier and creepier

It takes a lot to shock me. I’ve been on the Internet since the mid-1990s, so there’s not much I can even imagine that would truly shock me. And then today, through a convoluted path (including a stop here) that only the Internet can produce, I saw this:

“Lee Harvey Oswald's Original Pine Coffin That Held His Body From His Burial — Very First Time Offered for Sale”

I’m not at all squeamish, nor frightened by death, but the photos of the deteriorated pine coffin—shown along with photos of Oswald in it in 1963—gave me pause. It’s:

“Accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity by Funeral Director Allen Baumgardner, who assisted at the original embalming of Lee Harvey Oswald and later purchased the Miller Funeral Home along with all of its property.”

Okay, then. But, um, why? Why would anyone want it? It did occur to me that one could cut it up into smaller pieces and sell those to collectors of JFK memorabilia, but I can’t imagine what else one could do with it, since it’s not intact.

I’m not posting the photos because they’re, well, a little too creepy, even for me. But if you want to see them, follow the link to the auction, above. If you’re interested in the coffin, you may also be interested in the auction for a “Section of the Leather Seat Upon Which JFK & the First Lady Sat When He Was Shot — With Letter of Provenance — ‘…The spots on the leather are the dried blood of our beloved President John F. Kennedy…’”

I guess there’s a market for almost anything—Apparently With A Capital Letter For Nearly Every Word.