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Undying Love: The True Story Of A Passion That Defied Death
The power of obsessive love seems to know no bounds-- yet one man took his unrequited passion to a grotesque new level that will shock even the most hardened readers. Undying Love is that story-- read on if you dare...
Carl von Cosel was a German immigrant who worked as a technician in a Key West tubercular ward. When a beautiful young woman, Elena Milagro Hoyos, was brought in with an advanced case of tuberculosis, von Cosel-- a self-named count-- was determined to cure her with his own unconventional methods. But Elena eventually succumbed to the fatal disease, and the Count was heartbroken, for despite her rebuffs, he had fallen madly in love with the fetching Latina.
For two years, von Cosel worshipped her grave-- until he could stand it no longer. One moonless night, he exhumed Elena's decomposing body and took it home with him. Through an elaborate embalming process, von Cosel managed to preserve the corpse from further decay and even garishly dressed it up to become his eternal bride. In their macabre marriage bed, von Cosel made love to his mummified wife-- and kept her shriveled corpse for eight years...until his twisted crime was discovered!
Carl von Cosel was a German immigrant who worked as a technician in a Key West tubercular ward. When a beautiful young woman, Elena Milagro Hoyos, was brought in with an advanced case of tuberculosis, von Cosel-- a self-named count-- was determined to cure her with his own unconventional methods. But Elena eventually succumbed to the fatal disease, and the Count was heartbroken, for despite her rebuffs, he had fallen madly in love with the fetching Latina.
For two years, von Cosel worshipped her grave-- until he could stand it no longer. One moonless night, he exhumed Elena's decomposing body and took it home with him. Through an elaborate embalming process, von Cosel managed to preserve the corpse from further decay and even garishly dressed it up to become his eternal bride. In their macabre marriage bed, von Cosel made love to his mummified wife-- and kept her shriveled corpse for eight years...until his twisted crime was discovered!
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 15, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
January 4, 2012
I found it unsettling, of course, but for reasons other than the obvious. What bothered me most was the fact that while the author keeps trying to present the Count as a sympathetic character (and in fact most people alive at the time the story broke in the news were also sympathetic to him), I couldn't get past the fact that this was an older man who had abandoned his wife and young daughters in a foreign country while he obsessively pursued a 'relationship' with a much younger woman, who was already married and not interested in him. The Count believes he is in love with Elena, but he barely knows her, and his condescension towards her family and her culture is really off-putting. He has fallen in love with her based on looks and how she apparently matches some dream woman he has in his head, and since the bulk of their 'relationship' takes place after she's dead, it's pretty obvious that it's not actually her he's in love with.
Since this is not a work of fiction, however, my issues with the Count himself aren't relevant to my review of the book. Overall I think Harrison did great research and really brought together the different sources to put together a multi-faceted presentation of the story. He did a good job of trying to discover how much of what the Count writes in his memoirs is actually true, and gives a good sense of the place and times where the events took place. In many places however there are typos and sometimes the text does get a bit repetitious. I do also think more cultural notes would've been useful, particularly when it comes to the way the newspaper articles at the time would put so much emphasis on the nationalities of the Count and Elena in a way no reputable modern paper would. I also think it's a bit remiss not to include a list of resources, so one could follow up and read the original sources in their entirety, and also see if one comes to the same conclusions the author did.
Since this is not a work of fiction, however, my issues with the Count himself aren't relevant to my review of the book. Overall I think Harrison did great research and really brought together the different sources to put together a multi-faceted presentation of the story. He did a good job of trying to discover how much of what the Count writes in his memoirs is actually true, and gives a good sense of the place and times where the events took place. In many places however there are typos and sometimes the text does get a bit repetitious. I do also think more cultural notes would've been useful, particularly when it comes to the way the newspaper articles at the time would put so much emphasis on the nationalities of the Count and Elena in a way no reputable modern paper would. I also think it's a bit remiss not to include a list of resources, so one could follow up and read the original sources in their entirety, and also see if one comes to the same conclusions the author did.
October 4, 2021
This was one book whose author needs to go back to school and learn all the actual parts of the story. There was a prologue that was included that surely wasn't a prologue as it told a great portion of the exhumation and body-snatching of Elena Milagro Hoyos from von Cosel's memoirs and which would later appear in the book and then the actual epilogue should have had a great amount of it included as an introduction to the book as it talked about the mood, the suggestions, the creative licensing needed to tell the story and nothing really in particular to finish as a follow-up to the story.
At the same time Ben Harrison really didn't write this book. Most of his information was taken from the memoirs of von Cosel and that was based in part on the published "Halloween Love Story" by Rodman Bethel. Has anyone ever had a chance to read this before reading this one? Plus there were included also a lot of secondary sources such as newspaper articles and letters so again not really nothing not already written.
As someone already pointed out there was at least one error but since I don't really know much about the events I can't really say as to what else may have been wrong besides von Cosel's thinking. And what is with this point that everyone was trying to suggest that Elena was a young girl and/or unmarried woman instead of the married matron that she was?
Truly I wish that we had had more information from the victim herself since I can't imagine have to deal with a stalkerish doctor while having a terminal illness and with people being fine with what happened to her corpse once the events were found out. Most definitely I feel for her sister and the hell that she must have gone through in having to face down Key West, the whole country and its mood of support for this strange crime while having to struggle with the same disease that killed her whole family off in just a matter of years.
All in all for those who don't mind the glaring indifference of unhinged stalking and necrophilia being suggested as a love story or the fact that Elena was given as a voluntary party, especially after her death, this is an okay introduction into von Cosel's madness. But otherwise it isn't really worth being ranked as a top true crime novel in my opinion.
At the same time Ben Harrison really didn't write this book. Most of his information was taken from the memoirs of von Cosel and that was based in part on the published "Halloween Love Story" by Rodman Bethel. Has anyone ever had a chance to read this before reading this one? Plus there were included also a lot of secondary sources such as newspaper articles and letters so again not really nothing not already written.
As someone already pointed out there was at least one error but since I don't really know much about the events I can't really say as to what else may have been wrong besides von Cosel's thinking. And what is with this point that everyone was trying to suggest that Elena was a young girl and/or unmarried woman instead of the married matron that she was?
Truly I wish that we had had more information from the victim herself since I can't imagine have to deal with a stalkerish doctor while having a terminal illness and with people being fine with what happened to her corpse once the events were found out. Most definitely I feel for her sister and the hell that she must have gone through in having to face down Key West, the whole country and its mood of support for this strange crime while having to struggle with the same disease that killed her whole family off in just a matter of years.
All in all for those who don't mind the glaring indifference of unhinged stalking and necrophilia being suggested as a love story or the fact that Elena was given as a voluntary party, especially after her death, this is an okay introduction into von Cosel's madness. But otherwise it isn't really worth being ranked as a top true crime novel in my opinion.
June 12, 2020
The "author" has a lot of nerve putting his name on this book. He actually wrote very little of it. Most of it is excerpts from the memoirs of Count von Crazypants, plus a lot of newspaper articles, most of which say the same thing. The parts he did write contained a lot of editorializing and speculation. This book is only borderline nonfiction and I wish it had contained more actual facts. I also wish it was less sympathetic to the selfish stalker who abandoned his actual, living family.
February 16, 2021
This book makes me want to build a time machine so I can punch the author in the face before traveling farther back in time to punch Carl Tanzler in the face.
January 17, 2021
Did he...or didn't he?
No spoilers (nonfiction account)
This is the story of Count Carl Von Cosel, a middle-aged German man, who fell in love with a 22 year old Cuban girl, Elena Hoyos, while living in in Key West Florida.
Carl was an x-ray technician at The Marine Hospital where he was treating her for tuberculosis.
Von Cosel extracted from Elena a promise to marry him. Her husband had abandoned her when she got the deadly diagnosis and Carl had already left his wife and daughters. Carl promised the girl that he would always care for her even if she died.
He kept his promise; 2 years after she died he disinterred her decaying body and preserved her with wax and plaster. He kept her at his home and slept beside her until his secret was uncovered 7 years later.
The big question was...did he or didn't he...have sex with her dead body? The answer to that question and how it was accomplished is answered in detail just before the end of the book.
This was a good account, never boring, told through newspaper accounts and Von Cosel's own journal. The pictures are fascinating. I would have rated this 5 stars but I removed a star for some (not many) typos.
What can I say...I like unusual, off-beat stories...
No spoilers (nonfiction account)
This is the story of Count Carl Von Cosel, a middle-aged German man, who fell in love with a 22 year old Cuban girl, Elena Hoyos, while living in in Key West Florida.
Carl was an x-ray technician at The Marine Hospital where he was treating her for tuberculosis.
Von Cosel extracted from Elena a promise to marry him. Her husband had abandoned her when she got the deadly diagnosis and Carl had already left his wife and daughters. Carl promised the girl that he would always care for her even if she died.
He kept his promise; 2 years after she died he disinterred her decaying body and preserved her with wax and plaster. He kept her at his home and slept beside her until his secret was uncovered 7 years later.
The big question was...did he or didn't he...have sex with her dead body? The answer to that question and how it was accomplished is answered in detail just before the end of the book.
This was a good account, never boring, told through newspaper accounts and Von Cosel's own journal. The pictures are fascinating. I would have rated this 5 stars but I removed a star for some (not many) typos.
What can I say...I like unusual, off-beat stories...
October 20, 2013
I bought this book because of a ghost tour in Key West. The tour guide promised graphic detail, as did the reviews. I was sadly disappointed. One weak paragraph at the end of the book was all I got. Call me morbid but I wanted to know more! Although fascinating the book is extremely repetitive. News paper article after news paper article recounting the same events.
July 9, 2025
DNF - The writing is… rough.
November 11, 2025
2.5
Not really what you'd call a very good book, or deep research (the assumptions sometimes are painfully unfounded/underreaserched), but it does put the story together into a relatively coherent narrative. Even if it's kinda representative of the creep's perspective mostly.
Not really what you'd call a very good book, or deep research (the assumptions sometimes are painfully unfounded/underreaserched), but it does put the story together into a relatively coherent narrative. Even if it's kinda representative of the creep's perspective mostly.
February 23, 2017
***spoilers***
If you removed quotes from newspapers and von Cosel's memoir there would be around 20 pages of the author's own writing, and most of the time he was simply summing up the quoted material.
The story was very interesting and that is what the 2 stars are for. The writing, when we heard from the author, was terrible. a couple of errors didn't improve it any. Eg. year of birth was quoted as being 1908, but on the photo of the headstone it clearly reads 1909. This is probably more a copy editor problem than an author issue but it makes for a bad reading experience when I'm going back and forth to confirm which fact is right.
Probably the most interesting thing about this story is how much sympathy and support von Cosel received after his crime became public. I wonder what the effect would be if it happened today. He was never charged with anything so I feel a little bad for the family but, again, this is because there was so little about them that made sense. In the beginning they were caring, although overbearing, and opposed von Cosel, but at the end Elena's family apparently knew about what von Cosel had done but were paid by him to keep quiet, even though this had never been suggested throughout the whole story.
It's a thin book so didn't take long to read. I'd recommend it if you just wanted a basic overview of the story.
If you removed quotes from newspapers and von Cosel's memoir there would be around 20 pages of the author's own writing, and most of the time he was simply summing up the quoted material.
The story was very interesting and that is what the 2 stars are for. The writing, when we heard from the author, was terrible. a couple of errors didn't improve it any. Eg. year of birth was quoted as being 1908, but on the photo of the headstone it clearly reads 1909. This is probably more a copy editor problem than an author issue but it makes for a bad reading experience when I'm going back and forth to confirm which fact is right.
Probably the most interesting thing about this story is how much sympathy and support von Cosel received after his crime became public. I wonder what the effect would be if it happened today. He was never charged with anything so I feel a little bad for the family but, again, this is because there was so little about them that made sense. In the beginning they were caring, although overbearing, and opposed von Cosel, but at the end Elena's family apparently knew about what von Cosel had done but were paid by him to keep quiet, even though this had never been suggested throughout the whole story.
It's a thin book so didn't take long to read. I'd recommend it if you just wanted a basic overview of the story.
April 29, 2022
This story is morbidly fascinating, but not for the faint of heart (or weak of stomach). More than once I LITERALLY gagged while listening to the details about how Tanzler kept Elana’s body and the things he did to prevent it from further decomposition.
While the bizarre story kept me listening, my complaints about the book are all about the author. He just isn’t that great—he has MASSIVE sections where he just reads excerpts from Tanzler’s own memoir, newspaper articles, or letters. There really isn’t much of the author’s own voice. Also, he seems weirdly sympathetic towards the man who STOLE A DEAD BODY AND SLEPT WITH IT FOR SEVEN YEARS??? Gross. In his epilogue he also says “This never would have happened if Elena hadn’t translated the song ‘La Boda Negra’ [The Black Wedding] for Carl.” WHAT?? IT’S THE DEAD GIRL’S FAULT A CREEPY MAN STOLE HER BODY BECAUSE SHE ONCE SHARED HER FAVORITE SONG WITH HIM??? Absolutely not.
Overall, The story itself has so much potential, but the author doesn’t deliver.
While the bizarre story kept me listening, my complaints about the book are all about the author. He just isn’t that great—he has MASSIVE sections where he just reads excerpts from Tanzler’s own memoir, newspaper articles, or letters. There really isn’t much of the author’s own voice. Also, he seems weirdly sympathetic towards the man who STOLE A DEAD BODY AND SLEPT WITH IT FOR SEVEN YEARS??? Gross. In his epilogue he also says “This never would have happened if Elena hadn’t translated the song ‘La Boda Negra’ [The Black Wedding] for Carl.” WHAT?? IT’S THE DEAD GIRL’S FAULT A CREEPY MAN STOLE HER BODY BECAUSE SHE ONCE SHARED HER FAVORITE SONG WITH HIM??? Absolutely not.
Overall, The story itself has so much potential, but the author doesn’t deliver.
March 17, 2017
DNF
I was so excited to find this book because this story has always intrigued me. The story is written around the published memoirs of Von Cosel and to me that is where I find a problem. Harrison in his research on Von Cosel's life hints that these accounts are the factitious ramblings of a man who was mentally ill. If that is true why create a story based on those accounts as if they were completely true? Maybe some of the details are true but it would take a lot of research to find what parts were true and what parts aren't. Von Cosel's accounts were written long after his days of body snatching and necrophilia and for a pulp magazine so I doubt he could recall in perfect detail everything that was said or happened. If the author could of written a book without it revolving around such questionable material I would of enjoyed it and finished it.
I was so excited to find this book because this story has always intrigued me. The story is written around the published memoirs of Von Cosel and to me that is where I find a problem. Harrison in his research on Von Cosel's life hints that these accounts are the factitious ramblings of a man who was mentally ill. If that is true why create a story based on those accounts as if they were completely true? Maybe some of the details are true but it would take a lot of research to find what parts were true and what parts aren't. Von Cosel's accounts were written long after his days of body snatching and necrophilia and for a pulp magazine so I doubt he could recall in perfect detail everything that was said or happened. If the author could of written a book without it revolving around such questionable material I would of enjoyed it and finished it.
July 13, 2015
There is a lot I could say about this book. I was in a store for some other reason when I ran across this book. I like to read some true crime stuff so I bought it. On the good side: It was what one would expect. It is deeply disturbing as is the situation and the man whom the book is about. I was trying to figure out what was wrong with this man that caused him to live this way, and I don't think those questions were answered.
Is this story for the weak of mind and the easily sickened?....nope.
I am not sure that my life was enriched by reading it, but I am also positive it did me no detriment.
Sorry I can give more of a glowing recommendation. If you have the slightest curiosity about true crime, then I would suggest that this book may be for you.
Is this story for the weak of mind and the easily sickened?....nope.
I am not sure that my life was enriched by reading it, but I am also positive it did me no detriment.
Sorry I can give more of a glowing recommendation. If you have the slightest curiosity about true crime, then I would suggest that this book may be for you.
October 24, 2014
I got this book after taking a ghost tour in Key West, FL. The story the tour guide told us is nothing compared to reading the story told from the actual diaries of Carl Von Cosel. He was a man who lived with the corpse of his (unrequited, although he didn't seem to know that) love for years. Definitely the most bizarre and disturbing love story you will ever read. Sometimes truth is way weirder than fiction. Honestly, I couldn't put this book down.
April 25, 2014
Addicting and creepy. Fairly well written.
May 21, 2020
This was honestly not very good.
My primary issue is that most of this book is directly lifted from von Cosel's memoir, an account that is shockingly well written. It reads like a classic gothic novel, old castle and ghosts included. It was published originally (I believe) in the September 1947 issue of Fantastic Adventures, an old pulp magazine, as "The Secret of Elena's Tomb." I found scans of the entire story on vaultofevil.proboards for free.
My second complaint is the speculations the author made regarding the inner thoughts of assorted persons. I understand that telling the stories of persons past does involve some guessing, but when your writing a historical narrative as opposed to historical fiction you want to keep this to a minimum.
Here is an example:
""Doesn't she look lovely? She looks as though she's sleeping," the funeral director said softly, more as a compliment to himself than Elena. He couldn't help but think how much easier things were when they were young and died from natural causes."
This may not bother most, but it jars me out of the story, and when it happens repeatedly it makes me question the remainder of the author's additions.
My third issue is forgivable, but only just. Not everyone can write well and this is fine. So long as the story can be told I'm willing to read it. I prefer a book to be proofread prior to publication, but I think this may have been self published (?), and it's pretty easy to miss a few things. And the author did miss a few things that could have made the story marginally better, such as"
"Irrationally, von Cosel still clung irrationally to the delusion that there could be a cure..."
That's just bad composition.
I will give the author this, he didnt plagiarize his material. He may not have cited the many, many, many excerpts from von Cosel's memoirs correctly, but I do recall him saying that a quote was taken from the memoir, and he consistently put the quotations in bold face to distinguish them from his own additions. When he quoted a newspaper, he said which newspaper it was taken from. He clearly read the material, it's just that his own attempts to add to the material were superfluous. He would have done better to reprint the original memoir.
My primary issue is that most of this book is directly lifted from von Cosel's memoir, an account that is shockingly well written. It reads like a classic gothic novel, old castle and ghosts included. It was published originally (I believe) in the September 1947 issue of Fantastic Adventures, an old pulp magazine, as "The Secret of Elena's Tomb." I found scans of the entire story on vaultofevil.proboards for free.
My second complaint is the speculations the author made regarding the inner thoughts of assorted persons. I understand that telling the stories of persons past does involve some guessing, but when your writing a historical narrative as opposed to historical fiction you want to keep this to a minimum.
Here is an example:
""Doesn't she look lovely? She looks as though she's sleeping," the funeral director said softly, more as a compliment to himself than Elena. He couldn't help but think how much easier things were when they were young and died from natural causes."
This may not bother most, but it jars me out of the story, and when it happens repeatedly it makes me question the remainder of the author's additions.
My third issue is forgivable, but only just. Not everyone can write well and this is fine. So long as the story can be told I'm willing to read it. I prefer a book to be proofread prior to publication, but I think this may have been self published (?), and it's pretty easy to miss a few things. And the author did miss a few things that could have made the story marginally better, such as"
"Irrationally, von Cosel still clung irrationally to the delusion that there could be a cure..."
That's just bad composition.
I will give the author this, he didnt plagiarize his material. He may not have cited the many, many, many excerpts from von Cosel's memoirs correctly, but I do recall him saying that a quote was taken from the memoir, and he consistently put the quotations in bold face to distinguish them from his own additions. When he quoted a newspaper, he said which newspaper it was taken from. He clearly read the material, it's just that his own attempts to add to the material were superfluous. He would have done better to reprint the original memoir.
January 1, 2020
Who doesn't like a morbid story of necrophilic romance? I heard the tale on the podcast Criminal and had to check out the book.
While not badly written, the Kindle version is full of typos. I suspect someone scanned a physical copy of the book and did not proofread it closely.
The book itself, while very readable and fascinating, gets thin and repetitive. The author quotes many newspaper articles, and they often provide the same details over and over again, summarizing what we already know. Chunks of this could have been left out, without reducing the book. But then it might be more of a pamphlet.
Some (fake) suspense is created where the author holds back details. He reveals them in the final chapter. To be fair, it's a secret that comes out in the 70s, decades after the main events of the book. I understand why he did it, but it also bothered me. (And, by the way, I'm shocked this "secret" was left out of the Criminal podcast about the story.)
What is most fascinating is how a man steals a corpse from a grave and lives with it for seven years. And when he gets caught, people side with him and feel sorry for him. They appear to find the whole thing romantic. It's hard to imagine that kind of public opinion if these events happened today.
Another aspect of the book that somewhat irked me: the author admits in the last chapter that he made a lot of things up, speculating as best he could. I assumed the quotes from the trial were real, based on a transcript. Nope. He admits these bits were based on newspaper accounts and possibly in some cases just speculative fiction. This admission late in the book felt weird.
I'm still giving the book four stars. Despite all my criticism, it's a good read. I did enjoy it. But I have to say it feels like the work of a talented amateur, and not a professional writer. That, in itself, is both the strength and the weakness of the book. It's clear the author is obsessed with this story, and that energy fills the book with a sense of wonder.
While not badly written, the Kindle version is full of typos. I suspect someone scanned a physical copy of the book and did not proofread it closely.
The book itself, while very readable and fascinating, gets thin and repetitive. The author quotes many newspaper articles, and they often provide the same details over and over again, summarizing what we already know. Chunks of this could have been left out, without reducing the book. But then it might be more of a pamphlet.
Some (fake) suspense is created where the author holds back details. He reveals them in the final chapter. To be fair, it's a secret that comes out in the 70s, decades after the main events of the book. I understand why he did it, but it also bothered me. (And, by the way, I'm shocked this "secret" was left out of the Criminal podcast about the story.)
What is most fascinating is how a man steals a corpse from a grave and lives with it for seven years. And when he gets caught, people side with him and feel sorry for him. They appear to find the whole thing romantic. It's hard to imagine that kind of public opinion if these events happened today.
Another aspect of the book that somewhat irked me: the author admits in the last chapter that he made a lot of things up, speculating as best he could. I assumed the quotes from the trial were real, based on a transcript. Nope. He admits these bits were based on newspaper accounts and possibly in some cases just speculative fiction. This admission late in the book felt weird.
I'm still giving the book four stars. Despite all my criticism, it's a good read. I did enjoy it. But I have to say it feels like the work of a talented amateur, and not a professional writer. That, in itself, is both the strength and the weakness of the book. It's clear the author is obsessed with this story, and that energy fills the book with a sense of wonder.
May 16, 2023
Count Karl Tanzler Von Cosler was a German immigrant who arrived in Florida in 1926 and met a young Cuban-American woman named Elena Milagros Hoya. He worked as a radiologist at a hospital and the man was immediately smitten with the nineteen-year-old beauty. He was fifty and had abandoned his German wife and two children.
Elena died from tuberculosis and the grief stricken would-be lover visited her mausoleum every day for eighteen months. The dead woman asked to be removed from her stuffy surroundings and Karl did so and placed her in an old airplane on wheels.
With chemical disinfectants and prodigious amounts of soap, Ms. Hoya was cleaned up. Karl also pumped blood and other substances into his forty pound beloved. The bride of Frankenstein was restored to a healthy one hundred pounds. Alas, it was to be a temporary weight gain as the rotting corpse eventually reduced back to a svelte forty pounds. Plaster of Paris and wax gave the cadaver a mummy like appearance.
Elena's sister grew suspicious when Karl no longer visited the mausoleum and he showed her the restored woman in his bed at home. For seven years he slept with his one and only love.
The public, especially women, were sympathetic to the grave robber and it became a media sensation. Tanzler wrote a manuscript which was published by a pulp magazine.
The final chapter reveals the horrifying result of a then undisclosed autopsy. The "doctor" had manufactured realistic breasts and a tube was strategically placed for Karl's sexual gratification. 'Nuff said. Read at your own risk.
Elena died from tuberculosis and the grief stricken would-be lover visited her mausoleum every day for eighteen months. The dead woman asked to be removed from her stuffy surroundings and Karl did so and placed her in an old airplane on wheels.
With chemical disinfectants and prodigious amounts of soap, Ms. Hoya was cleaned up. Karl also pumped blood and other substances into his forty pound beloved. The bride of Frankenstein was restored to a healthy one hundred pounds. Alas, it was to be a temporary weight gain as the rotting corpse eventually reduced back to a svelte forty pounds. Plaster of Paris and wax gave the cadaver a mummy like appearance.
Elena's sister grew suspicious when Karl no longer visited the mausoleum and he showed her the restored woman in his bed at home. For seven years he slept with his one and only love.
The public, especially women, were sympathetic to the grave robber and it became a media sensation. Tanzler wrote a manuscript which was published by a pulp magazine.
The final chapter reveals the horrifying result of a then undisclosed autopsy. The "doctor" had manufactured realistic breasts and a tube was strategically placed for Karl's sexual gratification. 'Nuff said. Read at your own risk.
January 9, 2018
The story was incredibly intriguing - a man falls in love with a woman he has only known from afar and sets about to make her his own forever, even after death. I could not put the book down! So bizarre and fascinating!
While the story was compelling, the writing was not. I kept with the book despite the writing style. The last several chapters are mainly word for word the newspaper clippings that are found in the photos section.
I recommend this book to anyone who can look past repetitive, purple prose to dig into an incredible true story. It made me ask myself the question "Has anyone ever loved me like this?" But I'm not dead yet to seel
While the story was compelling, the writing was not. I kept with the book despite the writing style. The last several chapters are mainly word for word the newspaper clippings that are found in the photos section.
I recommend this book to anyone who can look past repetitive, purple prose to dig into an incredible true story. It made me ask myself the question "Has anyone ever loved me like this?" But I'm not dead yet to seel
January 30, 2020
All around, I found this book to be quite boring. The author directly quoted the subject’s own memoir and newspaper stories for most of the book, rather than actually writing much of his own material. And von Cosel’s writing, though I am sure may have been a result of the time period and his supposed educational background, was grating and pretentious as well as, at times, ridiculously unbelievable. Should have stopped with the short podcast account I had heard of this true crime story and not wasted my time on this book.
July 31, 2018
Absolutely terribly written—and even worse, it talks about an old man harassing a young woman then defiling her corpse as some grand love story, which is how Key West has apparently framed this awful tale for years. The writer has far, far too much respect, bordering on adulation, for this criminal and, like his subject, hugely (and badly) oversexualises a teenage girl. This book only scrapes 2/5 because the subject matter is fascinating and I read it as research for a new novel.
May 26, 2019
Strange, but true
I first heard of this tale many years ago, in the pages of Fortean Times Magazine. It would make a great play, or movie. Ben's account avoided sensationalism and paints a great picture of a bizarre tale. It avoids making judgement also, which is quite an achievement when you realize what actually happened between the subject and his 'bride'.
I first heard of this tale many years ago, in the pages of Fortean Times Magazine. It would make a great play, or movie. Ben's account avoided sensationalism and paints a great picture of a bizarre tale. It avoids making judgement also, which is quite an achievement when you realize what actually happened between the subject and his 'bride'.
September 24, 2019
Very interesting read that is both shocking and sad in equal amounts. It seems hard to believe that this really happened! With Cosel being such a fantasist his account can hardly be fully believed, and the author allows for this, trying to find relevant documentation instead of relying on here-say. A well put together review of this strange but fascinating case. Well worth a read!
February 6, 2018
The story is enthralling (heard about it on This American Life), but damn, this book itself was just bad. How many news articles essentially saying the same thing must be shared, for example? Just listen to the TAL podcast instead.
What a letdown.
What a letdown.
January 2, 2026
This book is insane. Not only are there sections of essentially fan fic where the author sexualizes an underage, actively dying and eventual victim of necrophilia, but he seems to think that the Count was driven by love? Bizarre.
February 19, 2018
Interesting book, even more interesting/funny musical! Good Valentine's Day Book Club read...
January 15, 2022
A fascinating and disturbing look into obsession. Like a train wreck, you can't look away. I read this in one sitting.
January 19, 2022
Interesting topic. Did not care for the format of the book. Lots of news articles which seemed repetative.
January 27, 2013
It is unbelievable to me that this story was never made in to a B movie. Having gone on a ghost tour of Key West last year, I was intrigued by the story of the "doctor" who preserved his young love in wax and kept her body in his bed for 7 years. It just sounds lurid and creepy, but the story is in the details: he claimed to be a Count in Germany, but no one ever found any evidence. He claimed to have something like 27 degrees, but again, no proof. He claimed to have built a castle out of rock off the coast of Australia...He was refinishing an old airplane on the grounds of the Key West hospital where he was employed as an xray technician. He built numerous pipe organs and strange medical machines including something he called a "million volt machine" to rejuvenate his beloved.
This would be a great fiction story, but the fact that these events really happened makes it even more amazing.
I gave it only 3 stars because the writing is a bit muddled at times. The author quotes extensively from the memoirs of the doctor which were published in a "true stories" serial in the 1940s--sometimes it's hard to tell where a quote ends and the author's analysis begins. The author clearly took the time to research some of the doctor's outlandish claims, but lets others go by without comment. The final few chapters are pretty lurid with the author playing up the titillation of "did he or didn't he?" with respect to a physical relationship with the corpse. (if you are curious, ask me)
I would recommend this book to people who like a good true crime story, or goths, or sociologists (one of the most interesting things to me is the reaction of the general public to the doctor's trial)
This would be a great fiction story, but the fact that these events really happened makes it even more amazing.
I gave it only 3 stars because the writing is a bit muddled at times. The author quotes extensively from the memoirs of the doctor which were published in a "true stories" serial in the 1940s--sometimes it's hard to tell where a quote ends and the author's analysis begins. The author clearly took the time to research some of the doctor's outlandish claims, but lets others go by without comment. The final few chapters are pretty lurid with the author playing up the titillation of "did he or didn't he?" with respect to a physical relationship with the corpse. (if you are curious, ask me)
I would recommend this book to people who like a good true crime story, or goths, or sociologists (one of the most interesting things to me is the reaction of the general public to the doctor's trial)
Read
December 15, 2009The story "Undying love" is a chilling story of one of key West's most famous tales that has been told to almost all who pass through this area. historical and Paranormal tours bother tell the story of this morbid man and his obsession. After reading the book "Undying Love" and taking the tour of the area you get a strange feeling about this creepy city.
The author does a fantastic job of painting the image of this man and the city during this time. He both portrays the body thief, Count Carl Tanzler, as a sick in the mind criminal who deserved to be punished as well as a man with a love that deserves the sympathy of the masses.
This week written, unbiased book gives you a look at both angles. It shows you how the people in Key West and the government viewed this situation and how the Count himself viewed this morbid situation.
I would suggest this as a must read for many different circumstances such as a death or dying class in school or for any tourist interested in Key West and its interesting history.
The author does a fantastic job of painting the image of this man and the city during this time. He both portrays the body thief, Count Carl Tanzler, as a sick in the mind criminal who deserved to be punished as well as a man with a love that deserves the sympathy of the masses.
This week written, unbiased book gives you a look at both angles. It shows you how the people in Key West and the government viewed this situation and how the Count himself viewed this morbid situation.
I would suggest this as a must read for many different circumstances such as a death or dying class in school or for any tourist interested in Key West and its interesting history.
July 8, 2013
I was attracted to this due to my love of the bizarre, and this certainly satisfied my curiosity. The only critique I have is that after a while the long reproduction of newspaper articles in the later chapters became dull due to their repetitious nature. Maybe it would've been better if he had included only one or two, and paraphrased any extra important contributions from other articles. I was fine with the lengthy quoting of the Count's memoirs, since it gives an insight into his mindset -assuming of course this was what he truly believed, and not a cover for 'standard' necrophilia. I personally believe it's somewhere near the truth of his feelings for Elena but we can never know for sure.
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