Bones

Abstract

The skeleton provides definition and form to the human body, yet it is also synonymous with death and decomposition. Bones can bear the mark of a violent death and are grisly records if flesh or tissue remains attached. This chapter looks at the films The Bone Collector (1999) and The Creeping Flesh (1973), in which forensic investigators and scientists probe the secrets of discovered bones. The Gothic nature of disinterred bones is explored in Patrick McGrath’s 1989 novel The Grotesque and in the film A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 (1987). Bones as aesthetic objects are considered in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), while Robert Bloch’s short story ‘The Skull’ and its 1965 film adaptation are examined for the uncanny nature of animated bones.