Mother of Ick!

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Embrace the Ick.”

Get your ICK on!

Does the thought of death creep you out? How about human remains? I can tell you that it for sure creeps Old Mamasan out. Still, I willingly entered the Sedlec Ossuary, knowing a big ick was in store for me. Not only that, I actually brought with me the Karate Kid, who was then only 6 years old. It has to be said, the Karate Kid was far less creeped out then his mother.

 It was during a visit to Prague, Czech Republic, we got the brilliant idea of exposing ourselves to Creepers McCreeperson himself. So we hopped on a tourist bus and got in line to have chills run down our spines. The Karate Kid, being a big fan of monsters, ghosts and Halloween was delighted by the thought, Old Mamasan – not so much!

Standing in line to get creeped out, so not amused at the thought.

Now – what is this Mother of Ick? It is a small Roman Catholic chapel, located in Sedlec – a suburb of Kutnà Hora in the Czech Republic. The ossuary is estimated to contain the skeletons of some 40.000 people, probably close to twice that. Countless really.  Ok, there is really not anything special about that. The ick part is that they have decided to decorate the church with human remains. Yanno, skulls and leg bones and ribs and what have you. Actual human remains. No plastic copies. Actual bones who once supported living humans. Sculls that contained thinking brains. Mmhmm – ick much?

Old Mamasan just wants to run out of the bone church. Not the Kid though, he thought it was “waaaaay cool”!

I was so creeped out by the whole thing that I hardly took any pictures, which I regret today. You see, however creepy and ick it was – isnt turning the bones and sculls into artwork, a much better way of honoring the departed, then to hide them six feet under? I am sure the dead won’t mind, as they are no longer here – they have ceased to excist.

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Let me end this post on a less icky way by showing some pictures from the beautiful town of Kutna Hora:

 

Aesthetic