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TWO Black Country schoolboys were left "spooked" after finding what appeared to be a human skull and bones in a Coseley [near Dudley] alleyway on their way home from school.

Corey Smith and friend Finley Jones made the gruesome discovery after deciding to take a short cut though an overgrown alley....


Police reportedly attended later that evening at around 7.30pm but have not yet responded to a request for a comment.

Corey's mum Kim Smith said it was surmised the bones had been taken by badgers from the cemetery, next to the alleyway, which has reportedly been closed for some years.

https://www.dudleynews.co.uk/news/19602553.skull-discovery-coseley-alley-leaves-schoolboys-spooked/

I've just realised that could be one of my ancestors.

It's happening everywhere now.

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Man ‘shocked’ to discover hair poking out of 100-year-old grave

A California man was given the fright of his life after allegedly stumbling upon a century-old grave with human hair sticking out of it.

Delightful photos here: https://nypost.com/2021/09/16/man-shocked-to-find-hair-poking-out-of-100-year-old-grave/

People suggesting that it's probably due to tree roots moving the body within the grave. It reminds me of the headline some years ago about a tree that had fallen over, causing a skeleton to "burst out of the ground".

It's back in the local news.

Bones, skulls and coffin handles have again been discovered in the alleyway near Dudley, having allegedly been dug up by badgers.

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Now a Facebook group for residents of Coseley called the episode a “nightmare” and expressed concern for the safety of children and the remains of their loved ones.

One user said: “Can they not be moved to somewhere else? It’s not fair on the relatives of those resting nor is it fair on those who find the bones in their gardens!

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/dudley/coseley/2022/07/26/horror-after-bones-were-dug-up-in-coseley/

And the moral of the story is - cremate your people, unless you want them to be a badgers snack, or to make a reappearance in various pieces, becoming the trauma of local school kids/amusement of local teens/curse of local gardeners (although isn't bone meant to be quite good for roses? I'm sure I've seen it in garden centres, mixed with fish blood - and I've never quite felt the same about roses since).

As this horror keeps happening, I'd move.

cosmictanya wrote:

And the moral of the story is - cremate your people, unless you want them to be a badgers snack

That's *a* reason why I'd rather be cremated. I don't want people digging me up to create a new railway line, or because the land is about to be changed from a cemetery to a football pitch.

Being sprinkled into a river sounds so much more.... delightful.