This Man Lived With A Corpse For 7 Years And Nobody Noticed

We've all done some crazy things for love, like writing a mushy Valentine's Day poem or watching a movie you hate with your partner. But none of that compares to the mind-boggling tale of Carl Tanzler and his "corpse bride."

Carl, a guy from Dresden, Germany, had a pretty uneventful childhood until he turned twelve. In a dream, one of his ancestors revealed the face of his one true love – a stunning foreign girl with dark hair. This dream set Carl on a lifelong quest to find this mysterious woman, though it would take him over 40 years.

During those years, Carl traveled the world, got married to a woman named Doris, and had two kids. But he couldn't shake the disappointment that Doris wasn't the dream girl from his childhood. In 1926, he moved his family to the United States and rebranded himself as 'Count Carl von Cosel' in search of a fresh start.

The strange part of the story begins in 1930 when Carl, now working as a radiology technician, encounters a 21-year-old Cuban woman named Elena at the hospital. He believes she is the girl from his dream. But here's the kicker: Elena was very sick with tuberculosis, a deadly disease. Carl was determined to save her, even though he wasn't a doctor.

With Elena's family's permission, Carl started treating her at their home, using unconventional methods and gadgets he stole from the hospital. He was genuinely trying to save her, which makes him seem like a well-meaning but misguided guy. But things take a dark turn.

Elena eventually succumbs to tuberculosis in 1931, and Carl pays for her funeral and a mausoleum in Key West Cemetery. Her family sees it as a kind gesture, but it should have been a red flag. Carl keeps the mausoleum's only key, and for over a year, he visits Elena's grave every night. He believes her spirit asked to be taken back to his house, and so he exhumed her body.

To maintain the illusion of her being alive, Carl embarks on a macabre journey. He builds a makeshift lab, stabilizes Elena's body with wires, stuffs her with rags, applies mortician's wax, and even replaces her eyes with glass orbs. He disinfects her regularly, trying to mask the smell.

As you can imagine, this bizarre situation doesn't last forever. Over time, Elena's body deteriorates, and Carl replaces her skin with silk cloth, wax, and plaster of Paris. Somehow, this madness continues for about seven years without anyone noticing that Elena had been dead for almost nine years.

Carl's ultimate plan was to launch Elena's body into space, hoping radiation would bring her back to life. This plan is, to put it mildly, a bit ambitious. However, he never got to test it. Suspicion in the town grew, and in 1940, Elena's sister, Florinda, paid Carl a visit and discovered the horrifying truth. Authorities were alerted, and Carl was arrested.

Despite all the evidence of his bizarre actions, a psychiatric evaluation declared Carl mentally competent to stand trial. He was charged with disturbing a grave and removing a body without authorization. But the case was dropped because the statute of limitations had expired for his offense. People at the time saw his actions as romantic, which is utterly strange.

Elena's body wasn't reburied after being rescued from Carl's clutches; it was displayed at a funeral home for a while, with thousands of people coming to see it. Even Carl asked if he could have the body back, but his request was denied. Elena was finally laid to rest at a secret location.

In his later years, Carl became a U.S. citizen and wrote an autobiography. Strangely, he remained friends with his first wife, Doris, who even supported him financially. When Carl passed away in 1952, his body was found with a life-sized doll that looked like Elena, though there's no concrete evidence to support the idea that he switched the real body with a fake one.

Carl Tanzler's life is undoubtedly one of the weirdest love stories never told, serving as a stark reminder of what not to do in the name of love.