Before modern medicine, the dead were a commodity—and William Cunningham was the most infamous supplier of them all.
Historian and bestselling author Allen Sircy makes his fiction debut with Old Man Dead, a gritty historical crime novel inspired by true events. This unflinching look at the world of the most notorious grave robber in America.
“Cincinnati had several medical schools in the late 19th century, and those schools needed cadavers. This created an entire black-market economy where grave robbers worked in the shadows,” says Sircy. “William Cunningham was one of the best— or worst, depending on how you look at it.”
For years, Cunningham prowled cemeteries under the cover of darkness, digging up fresh corpses for doctors willing to look the other way. Feared by the public, protected by the establishment, and pursued by the law, Cunningham thrived—until his time ran out. But even in death, his story didn’t end. In a chilling twist of fate, his own skeleton was put on display in a Cincinnati medical museum—a fitting fate for a man who spent his life supplying bones to others.
“William Cunningham wasn’t just some urban legend— he was a real man, walking Cincinnati’s streets, digging up its cemeteries, and selling its dead,” says Sircy. “I wanted to bring his story back to life— warts, whiskey, and all.”
Old Man Dead is available now on Amazon and at select bookstores and retailers nationwide.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DVRLCD6Y/
