Learn how your comment data is processed. He had her coffin lined with formaldehyde and other preserving agents, and had a special key made for himself so he could come and go as he pleased. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. This [incident] makes so much sense. Upon returning home, Tanzler married and had two children in 1920, and the family emigrated to Zephyrhills, Florida. He was a radiologist or x-ray technician. 28, 67 69, Sagers, A. Lets hope that theyre mistaken and that Elena Hoyos has finally found peace in her second grave. Phantom Press. Perez, B. On April 22, 1930, while working at the Marine Hospital in Key West, Tanzler met Maria Elena Milagro "Helen" de Hoyos (1909-1931), a local Cuban-American woman who had been brought to the hospital for an examination by her mother. From 1930 to 1952, he had endlessly obsessed over this woman. The Countess had an interesting story herself; being the mistress of 18th century King Augustus II of Poland. Weller, T. The Lost Diaries of Elena Hoyos Vols. Von Cosel robbed her body from the grave. This time, it was unmarked so no one, including Tanzler, could find her body. Fantastic Adventures, Sep. 1947, pp.10 69. He was proud of the excellent attention hed given to her preservation and thought mistakenly that Elenas sister would feel the same. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. 1982, pp. Today's episode is dedicated to our Patron, Jacqueline! Swicegood, T. (2003). Her body was finally laid to rest once and for all in an unmarked grave in Key West Cemetery. It was there in 1930 that Tanzler met the woman he believed was the love of his life; Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos. She forbade the family to let von Cosel know until she was too far across the border to be recalled (p.1). Instead, he found plenty of things to do, including fashioning a wig for her once her hair fell out of her decomposing scalp. Headlines like A Key West Story of Necrophilic Love, Undying Love, and A Grave Affair proliferated newspapers, immortalizing the infamous necrophile. Tanzler immediately recognized her as the woman of his dreams. More than two years had already passed since Elena's death and her body had shown all the normal signs of decomposition. Meek (2017) quotes an interview Elenas sister Nana gave to the Miami Herald: [Elena] never loved [Tanzler]. Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos was a 21-year-old Cuban American beauty. Tanzler (born on February 8, 1877, in Dresden, Germany) knew from a young age that he had a soulmate. How could she possibly have a life-threatening disease? Human jealousy has robbed me of the body of my Elena, yet divine happiness is flowing through me, for she has survived death. Fans of Tanzler travelled to give him treats, public sympathy portrayed him as an eccentric romantic, an attorney offered to represent him pro bono and Elenas body was put on public display to be viewed by over 6,850 people at the Dean-Lopez Funeral Home (Tanzler von Cosel 1947, Michelfelder 1982, Harrison 1996, Sloan 2012, Meek 2017). She was only nice to him because my mother told her she should be kind to those who were kind to her. Hoyos body was finally buried in a new cemetery at Key West Cemetery. Tanzler would extensively claim in this memoir, as well as during his 1940 court hearing and in numerous newspaper interviews that he had been seeing apparitions of Elena ever since he was a child, and it was the ghost of Elena that instructed him to enshrine her body in his home. Elena was once again reduced to an object of spectacle, only this time she was a tourist attraction. Doris continued to support her deranged and estranged husband financially. Count Carl Tanzler von Cosel by Flagler / Florida KeysPublic Librariess photostream / Flickr / CC BY 2.0. In April 1933, he removed her body from the mausoleum and transported it to his makeshift laboratory that also served as his home. He provided free radiation treatments to Elena Hoyos, and a promise of marriage. Whitfield Funeral Home, Zephyrhills. Her location was to remain unknown to the creepy, controlling count. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. . What followed was an on-and-off relationship where Tanzlers medical treatments were accepted but his proposals of marriage were sidestepped. You can be sure that everything that you did was sane. It was palatable and my loved one departed this miserable world on October 25, 1931. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture, "The Trial Bay Organ: A Product of Wit and Ingenuity,", St. Petersburg Times, December 31, 1998; page 8: "Ayesha T. Bucey (Ann), 76, of Zephyrhills, died Sunday (December 27, 1998) at East Pasco Medical Center. Mason Holdings Radio Hour. She revealed her face to him in his dream, and Tanzler knew at that moment that this was the woman he was meant to marry. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The former corpse bride is now at rest. Elena remained with Carl Von Cosel for seven years. Elenas doctors decided to not disclose possibly the most disturbing discovery they had made until after Carls death. Whether this is true or not, well never know the answer, but its not something we want to ponder too closely. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. So what does he do? The findings of which were most prominently reproduced in an episode of HBOs Autopsy series: I found a tube [in Elenas vagina] wide enough to permit sexual intercourse. He claimed he was the most knowledgeable about tuberculosis and he treated her with a variety of medicines, as well as x-ray and electrical equipment. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. It was palatable and my loved one departed this miserable world on October 25, 1931. This article seeks to bring light to these, with the hope that people will learn what really happened as per these key findings. (Yes, to a real, live, breathing woman.). When John Dorschner wrote the sordid details of the case, he was met with remarkable contention. However, the case was eventually dropped and Tanzler was released from prison because the statute of limitations for the committed crime had expired. The Living Doll of Key West: Elena Hoyos & Count Von Cosel. They vow to stay together, even after death. Not surprisingly, he was still obsessed. Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos' family knew of Carl Tanzler's infatuation, per Atlas Obscura. Tanzler had had visions since childhood of a dark-haired woman who was destined to be his true love. Determined to save his newfound paramour, Von Cosel connected her wasting body to his homemade contraption. Before she died, Carl wrote in his journal how he had hopes that, despite the extensive damage, the lesions would heal again. There was a problem getting your location. Additionally, there is his threat towards Elenas father if there is not a wedding before Christmas, there will be a funeral (Michelfelder 1982, p.56) and his declaration to Perez that he would kill Elena if necessary (n.d., p 68). Learn about one of Key West's most haunted homes. Although reporters wrote that Carl Von Cosel died alone in 1952, this is somewhat untrue. Elena did not reciprocate Tanzlers feelings whatsoever. She was said to be extremely beautiful, shy and an accomplished singer, to the point where tourists would ask for pictures with her in the street. For the past eighty years, the story of Elena Hoyos has been told primarily through the point-of-view of Carl Tanzler, a man who portrayed himself as so in love he could not bear to live without her. Carl Tanzler had the corpse wrapped in a dress, gloves, and jewelry, and placed the body in his own bed, which he shared with the corpse for the next seven years. Of course, she was shocked to find Hoyos body and she ran out of the laboratory to notify authorities. Tanzlers body was discovered on the floor of his home. (p. 54). As the hair fell out of Elena's decomposing scalp, Tanzler fashioned a wig from her hair, which he had previously obtained from her mother. Over seven thousand visitors arrived, each desperate to peek at this well-preserved woman. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. His behaviour became too erratic to hold a job, and the hospital had found out he was stealing medical equipment from them. [1][8] Two physicians (Dr. DePoo and Dr. Foraker) who attended the 1940 autopsy of Elena's remains recalled in 1972 that a vaginal tube had been inserted in the vaginal area of the corpse that allowed for intercourse. Whichs been recounted a million and one times. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. It was told back then and is still revered now as a love story, even with the more sinister evidence of necrophilia that came out after Tanzlers death. To some, it is the ultimate romance, and to others, it is a grotesque tale of violation. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. Bizzarrepedia This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Von Cosel was arrested for body snatching but was not indicted because the statute of limitations had passed. Most curiously, he had made a death mask of her face to preserve her beauty. He recognized her from a vision he had many years ago, when his dead ancestor Countess Anna Constantia von Brockdorff came to him in a dream and showed him the face of his true love and soulmate: a gorgeous dark-haired woman who looked exactly like Maria. American Hauntings writes that it's unlikely she ever requited his affections. She was diagnosed with fast-acting tuberculosis. [10], In October 1940, Elena's sister Florinda heard rumors of Tanzler sleeping with the disinterred body of her sister and confronted Tanzler at his home, where Elena's body was eventually discovered (he was also caught dancing with her corpse in front of an open window). Try again. She came into the hospital he worked at due to contracting tuberculosis. Historically, the Cosel family seemed to be haunted by bad luck. In 2009, Mike Glendinning released two songs inspired by Tanzler's story, "Elena" and "Dust Off My Bride," on his "Psychotic America: Lullabies & Necrophilia" album. Tanzler immediately recognized Hoyos as the woman from his dream. The only thing she wanted from Tanzler was a proper medical treatment. By all appearances, she was an attractive dark haired beauty queen who often wore red roses in her hair, drawing the attention of strangers who desired to photograph and court her. When Carl von Cosel was released he set out to find his mother from whom he had not heard since the beginning of the war. Tanzler immediately recognized Hoyos as the woman from his dream. Eventually, in 1920, he married Doris Schafer and they had two children, Ayesha and Clarista. Tanzler never met this mysterious woman. Failed to delete memorial. Before leaving, he dynamite bombed the mausoleum he had created for Maria, to spite authorities. 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