The Afterlife Circus of Elmer McCurdy
In this episode of the NVus Alien Podcast, Heather Woodward is joined by Michael Williams, Director of the Oklahoma Territorial Museum and the Historic Carnegie Library. Together, they drag the spotlight onto one of the strangest, most chaotic afterlives ever recorded. Elmer McCurdy wasn’t a successful outlaw, but he became a postmortem celebrity. His mummified body spent sixty-five years touring carnivals, wax museums, sideshows, and even a funhouse where workers thought he was a prop until someone realized the truth.
In this episode of the NVus Alien Podcast, Heather Woodward is joined by Michael Williams, Director of the Oklahoma Territorial Museum and the Historic Carnegie Library. Together, they drag the spotlight onto one of the strangest, most chaotic afterlives ever recorded. Elmer McCurdy wasn’t a successful outlaw, but he became a postmortem celebrity. His mummified body spent sixty-five years touring carnivals, wax museums, sideshows, and even a funhouse where workers thought he was a prop until someone realized the truth.
Williams walks through Guthrie’s history and the long, unbelievable journey that finally brought McCurdy back to Oklahoma for a real burial. Heather digs into the bigger story under the spectacle. What we do with the dead. Who profits. Why the American obsession with entertainment doesn’t stop at the grave. The result is a grim, funny, unsettling look at how a man found the fame he never got in life.
The episode wraps with a look at McCurdy’s next act. A Broadway musical and a new documentary are on the way, because apparently the man refuses to stay buried, even now.
What You’ll Hear:
• How a failed train robber became a postmortem attraction
• McCurdy’s body traveling through carnivals, wax museums, and a Hollywood set
• The discovery that exposed his remains in a funhouse
• How Guthrie, Oklahoma, ended up claiming and burying him
• The ethics of exploiting a human body after death
• The upcoming Broadway musical and documentary based on his story.
Mentions in the Episode:
Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library | Oklahoma Historical Society
Everything you need to know about 'Dead Outlaw' on Broadway | New York Theatre Guide
Elmer McCurdy: The Funhouse Dummy That Was Actually A Corpse
🔮 Want the universe to spill its secrets?
Book a tarot reading with Heather and pull the receipts straight from the void: Tarot Readings
💌 Subscribe to the Substack
For unsanitized takes, psychic dispatches, and updates on new episodes: https://substack.com/@heatherwoodwardashera
📢 Tell your weird friends
Seriously. This podcast grows by word-of-mouth. Share it with your favorite conspiracy theorist, ghost hunter, or lowkey witchy cousin.