The Mummified Outlaw's 65-Year Journey Across America: A Tale of Elmer McCurdy

In December of 1976, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office found itself entangled in a bizarre case that would befit any Hollywood script. Dr. Thomas Noguchi, the coroner known for his post-mortems of stars like Marilyn Monroe and Natalie Wood, was about to face a corpse unlike any he had seen before. This particular body weighed a mere 23 kilograms and looked as shriveled as a prune left out in the sun. To add to the strangeness, it was dressed in a cowboy outfit and spray-painted a vibrant neon orange, making it a shocking sight, even by Hollywood standards.

But that wasn’t all. This peculiar corpse bore the telltale signs of death from long ago: missing ears and fingers, a hangman’s noose bolted to its neck oozing thick yellow slime, and a bullet lodged in its chest—a bullet that would tell a story spanning over 65 years. Inside its desiccated mouth, Dr. Noguchi discovered a 50-year-old penny and ticket stubs for a museum of crime. With this bizarre discovery, the mystery of this mummy began to unfold, leading us back to a man named Elmer McCurdy, an outlaw whose life and death were filled with mischief and misadventure.

The Early Life of Elmer McCurdy

Born in 1880 in Maine, Elmer McCurdy had dreams that reached far beyond his humble beginnings. After a brief stint in the army, where he learned a thing or two about explosives, Elmer decided to channel his inner cowboy and sought to emulate the daredevil outlaws of the Old West. Little did he know, his attempts at robbing trains and banks would be anything but successful.

In 1911, Elmer and his buddies set their sights on robbing a train rumored to carry $4,000 (about $100,000 today). Unfortunately, Elmer's enthusiasm and lack of experience led to disaster. Instead of simply blowing open the safe, he obliterated it entirely, along with the money and a good chunk of the train itself.

But Elmer wasn’t one to give up easily. He quickly formed a new crew and attempted to rob the Citizens Bank in Chatakuakansast—a name as confusing as his future career choices. This time, they opted for the unconventional method of bashing through the wall with a hammer. Their efforts paid off when they managed to blow the doors off the vault but found the safe inside untouched. Elmer’s crew made off with a mere handful of silver coins and two jugs of whiskey, far from the fame and fortune he craved.

The Downfall of the Outlaw

Elmer's misadventures continued when, in October of 1911, he and his gang tried to rob another train, this time with a supposed haul of $400,000. In what would go down in history as one of the smallest train robberies ever, they left with just $46, a conductor's watch, and the aforementioned jugs of whiskey. After drowning his sorrows in stolen liquor, Elmer woke up to find a bounty on his head.

Sheriffs Bob and Stringer Fenton, along with their friend Dick Wallace, tracked him down to a barn where Elmer had been nursing a hangover. A shootout ensued, resulting in Elmer being shot dead. Ironically, the very bullet that took his life would be discovered decades later by Dr. Noguchi. Little did anyone know, this was just the beginning of Elmer’s bizarre post-mortem journey.

From Embalmed Outlaw to Carnival Star

After his death, Elmer’s body was embalmed in arsenic to preserve it. Unfortunately for him, no one came to claim his remains. In a stroke of entrepreneurial spirit, the undertaker, Joseph Johnson, decided to display Elmer’s corpse in his funeral parlor, charging onlookers a nickel to see the "bandit who wouldn’t give up." Visitors even dropped coins into his mouth as if he were a gruesome vending machine!

Elmer's fame grew, attracting the attention of carnival promoters who saw a golden opportunity. He was sold to James and Charles Patterson, owners of a traveling carnival show, where he became a sideshow attraction. They posed him alongside other curiosities like the bearded lady and strongman, where he quickly became a hit.

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However, cash flow issues plagued the Patterson brothers. To secure a loan, they used Elmer as collateral. When they failed to repay, the former police officer Louis Sonny took possession of the outlaw’s remains and added him to his traveling museum of crime.

The Wax Museum and the Ghost House

Elmer’s stardom didn’t end there. He became a prop in several low-budget films and eventually ended up at the Hollywood Wax Museum. However, time wasn’t kind to him. By the late 1940s, his body had deteriorated, and museum owners didn’t realize they were housing a genuine human corpse.

In a bizarre twist of fate, Elmer found himself at Pike Amusement Park in Long Beach, California, where he was hung from a noose in the ghost house—a macabre addition to the spooky decor. Here he remained, a ghoulish decoration in a world of phantoms and frightful fun, until he was rediscovered in 1976.

The Great Reveal and Final Resting Place

During the filming of a scene for the TV series The Six Million Dollar Man, a prop man noticed Elmer swinging from the ceiling. In an effort to remove him, the prop man's grasp was a bit too forceful, leading to the shocking realization that this was not a dummy. Production was halted as Elmer’s remains were whisked away to the coroner’s office, where his true identity was finally revealed.

After 65 years of misadventure, Elmer McCurdy's remains returned to Oklahoma, where he was finally laid to rest in Summit View Cemetery, alongside the famous outlaw Bill Doolin. The twist? Over 300 fans attended his funeral, celebrating the life and peculiar legacy of a man who, even in death, couldn’t escape the allure of fame.

Conclusion: A Journey Like No Other

Elmer McCurdy’s life and afterlife serve as a testament to the oddities of American culture, the allure of the outlaw life, and the unexpected paths our stories can take. From failed robberies to carnival sideshows and Hollywood wax museums, Elmer's journey reminds us that sometimes the most extraordinary tales emerge from the unlikeliest of places.

So the next time you find yourself at a carnival or a museum of oddities, take a moment to ponder the story behind the exhibit. You never know when you might stumble upon the mummified remains of a long-lost outlaw, waiting for his moment in the limelight.