A skeleton, which was once part of the theater props at a high school in Stockholm, has been taken down amidst suspicions that it may be of human origin. The initial alert came from a concerned parent, who noticed the skeleton and raised questions about its authenticity.
The school’s principal, Fredrik Nordlander, expressed the school’s commitment to ethical handling of the situation. An expert will now examine the bone remains to determine their origin, and the school will take appropriate action accordingly.
“We will try to get an expert here to look at it, who can determine whether it is a human remains. But my assessment is that it is probably genuine,” says Principal Fredrik Norlander.
Looked biological
The vigilant parent, who preferred to remain anonymous, thought it looked remarkably realistic and conducted some investigation. Even when they asked the teachers, they were told it couldn’t be real, but the parent was convinced it appeared too biologically accurate to be a mere imitation.
“They said no, no, it can’t be real,” says the parent.
“But I thought it was very detailed and looked too biological to be a molded fake skeleton.”
The concerned parent shared images of the skeleton on the Reddit community r/forensics, which is frequented by individuals interested in forensics. Many users there suggested that it might indeed be a real human skeleton.
“It makes you wonder who the skeleton belonged to and how long it has been hanging there. It does not feel good that the young people have played with it, a bit macabre that it has been used as a prop. Not a very nice fate,” says the parent.
Ethical treatment
Principal Fredrik Nordlander has not confirmed the skeleton’s human origin yet, but according to the local newspaper, he acknowledged that it should not have been in the theater.
“It is a teaching skeleton, but should not be in the theater. We have packed it away now.“
In retrospect, he is not entirely satisfied with how it has been used.
“That it hangs four meters up as a ghost decoration does not feel good at all. If it had remained in the biology classroom, it would have felt a little better.“
Now the school is considering the next step.
“We will contact the Karolinska Institute [Medical University] to find out how to proceed ethically. Possibly the Church of Sweden could take care of it” says Fredrik Nordlander.
Not unusual
Medical historian Maria Josephson from the Karolinska Institute suggested that, from a histological perspective, the skeleton could indeed be of human origin.
- Skeletons were used by almost all Swedish schools and purchased from abroad in the first half of the 20th century, and were used in school anatomy classes.
- It is more the rule than the exception that a school has a skeleton.
Where they come from is often unclear.
- They were usually not from Sweden, but from India, China, and other parts of the world. But where they come from is not something that can be determined just by looking at them.
Can be classified as a crime
Police spokesperson Robert Sennerdal mentioned that if it is in fact human remains it can be classified as a crime.
“In this case, it could be classified as a grave robbery, but if it is an old skeleton, it is probably time-barred.
If you want to read another skeleton related post feel free to click here, and if you want to read another morbid story from the depths of Sweden click here.