Grave robbing on the rise in China for 'ghost brides' for dead bachelors
It's being reported that the theft of women's dead bodies is on the rise in China. This weekend it was revealed that grave robbers in rural China have plundered at least three dozen women's burial places and stolen their bodies or skeletons. These remains will be used in a bizarre ceremony called a "'ghost wedding". In this ritual, the stolen bodies or skeletons, which have been reinforced with steel wires, are re-clothed and reburied as "brides" alongside dead bachelors. Though this practice was outlawed by the People's Republic of China almost 70 years ago, many old-school, rural, superstitious residents still believe that failure to find a burial partner for an unmarried male relative is bad luck.
