Macabre – Five Unique Companies That Deal with Death Would Say “Absolutely!”
Working in the business of death ourselves, we at Advanced Bio Treatment know that any death is complex and difficult. In an attempt to cope with the fear and mystery of death, cultural traditions that celebrate and honor death and the dead in very festive ways, like Halloween in this country, exist all over the world. Over the course of our many years in the business of death, we have also discovered a few very unique companies right here in the United States.
These companies take a different approach to the traditional macabre, occult aura that shrouds death. Take a fascinating walk on the not-so-dark side with us . . .
National Association for the Preservation of Skin Art – Cleveland, OH
NAPSA (National Association for the Preservation of Skin Art) is a company based in Ohio that offers a service called “Save My Ink,” which preserves tattoos by cutting the tattoos away from a deceased person’s body and framing them. The company views tattoos as an art form worth preserving and views tattoo artists as talent worth supporting. Hence, the company keeps tattoos of its members “alive” even after they have died.
The services are available only to members who pay registration and annual fees, register their tattoos for the service, and name the beneficiaries of each tattoo. Some of the most talented tattoo artists from around the world have joined NAPSA’s artist directory. This enables tattoo seekers to search the directory for artists in their area and choose one based on the artist’s tattoo design. Upon notice that a member has died, the company overnights the funeral director instructions for removing the tattoo from the deceased along with temporary preservation chemicals and a prepaid return package. The company then chemically processes the skin to stop decay, frames it, and sends it to the member’s beneficiary.
Undertaking LA – Los Angeles, CA
Undertaking LA is a progressive and fully licensed funeral home in Los Angeles, California. Their goal is to empower families to get closer to death and to see it as a natural process by restoring a hands-on approach to the death of a loved one. Before the rise of medical and funeral industries, death was handled at home by the family and friends of the deceased. This company’s mission is to encourage families to reclaim control of the dying process by caring for the dead themselves once again. The company does not offer traditional funerals or burials, caskets, or embalming. Instead, they offer services that involve the family in the death process. This is including home funerals in which family members prepare a loved one’s body in their own home. Cremations that loved ones are encouraged to witness, and a natural burial with no vault or embalming.
Eternal Reefs – Sarasota, FL
Eternal Reefs is a service provided for people who are cremated in which the cremains are mixed with an environmentally safe concrete reef mixture. Molded into a “Reef Ball,” and then adorned and decorated by the family with mementos, hand prints, and written messages. Finally, a bronze plaque is attached to the Eternal Reef before final curing. The Eternal Reef, or “Reef Ball,” is then lowered to an approved spot in the ocean by a charter boat. A second boat carrying family and friends follows and accompanies the Eternal Reef to its final destination where the family participates in a dedication ceremony before the Eternal Reef is lowered to its resting spot in the sea.
The purpose of the Eternal Reef is to develop, support, and create habitats for fish and other marine life. Made with a specialized concrete formula to which the cremains are added. Eternal Reefs allow microorganisms to flourish on the surface of the Reef Ball and allow the deceased to be an eternal part of supporting existing and creating new sea life.
Ramsey Creek Preserve – Westminster, SC
The Ramsey Creek Preserve was the first “green cemetery” in the United States. It was opened in 1998 by Memorial Ecosystems, a company “committed to being the leaders in environmentally and socially responsible death care.” The company’s mission is to encourage a more meaningful burial option that also serves “a higher, significant conservation purpose.” Through a partnership with Upstate Forever, the largest land-trust in upstate South Carolina. The Preserve was able to draw up a protection agreement.
This includes a legal fund and a guarantee that the site will stay wild forever, will be maintained. It will be protected from development regardless of how the parent company’s management changes. Burials in the Preserve must be “green,” meaning no embalming fluids are used. Only biodegradable caskets made from wood that is not tropical or endangered are used, and no vaults are used. Ramsey Creek Preserve is committed not only to green burial but equally to maintaining a natural setting. This in which the green burial enhances and encourages the environment and habits of native wildlife and flora.
1-800-Autopsy – Los Angeles, CA
1-800-AUTOPSY is a specialty service morgue that provides most autopsy and postmortem services for celebrities. Run by a pathologist, this private morgue handles high-profile cases that you read about in popular media. One “fun” aspect of the business is the signage: the “Creepy Crypt” is the refrigeration until where bodies are stored. Another is the collection of posters and artifacts lining the walls. They include surgical instruments and pictures of autopsies from horror movies. The business maintains a whole collection of old, outdated autopsy equipment from the 30s and 40s that it rents out to movie sets. Maybe directors prefer this old equipment because it’s creepier?
We are Advanced Bio Treatment, and we care about the communities we serve. Should you need our services, please call us at 800-295-1684. Providing emergency services, work with your insurance company, and respond 24/7/365.
