MYTHCONCEPTIONS

287: NAUGHTY CORPSES

Mat Coward

The myth It is illegal to die in Parliament. The “truth” Often seen in lists of daft legislation, this story is remarkably widely believed. Putting aside the practicalities for a moment – how would a ban be enforced? What would the penalty be for breaking it? – no one has ever succeeded in locating the relevant legislation. What makes this myth special to forteans is that it is based on another myth: that anyone who dies in a royal palace (such as Parliament) is entitled to a state funeral. So that if a cleaner suffered a fatal miasma attack while scrubbing the House of Lords loos, the state would have to give her a full formal send-off with all the expense and bother that would involve, not to mention the…

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Fortean Times (Digital) - 1 Issue, 454

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