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Death Scenes: A Homicide Detective's Scrapbook
The strange and gruesome crime-scene snapshot collection of LAPD detective Jack Huddleston spans Southern California in its noir heyday. Death Scenes is the noted forerunner of several copycat titles.
168 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
September 10, 2016
Books to dare someone to read on public transport : this one and the Complete Works of Gottfried Helnwein - this guy:
*
This book is proof that sometimes I do go a little click crazy. When it arrived I said “I didn’t order that” but of course I had.
*
Jack Huddlestone was a cop in LA between 1921 and around 1953 and this is his collection of photos of murder victims, with a few other grotesqueries thrown into the mix, like circus freaks (hermaphrodites) and medical monstrosities (man with scrotum the size of a big beach ball). Rabies victims. Includes dead children. This is James Ellroy territory.
*
If you’re having a real bad day a quick flip through Death Scenes will get you thinking well, could be worse.
*
Jack has a sense of humour. Cop humour that is. On a page of photos of suicides by hanging his caption is "A Little Throat Trouble". Har har.
*
This could be an excellent leaving present for the work colleague you never really got to know.
*
This book is proof that sometimes I do go a little click crazy. When it arrived I said “I didn’t order that” but of course I had.
*
Jack Huddlestone was a cop in LA between 1921 and around 1953 and this is his collection of photos of murder victims, with a few other grotesqueries thrown into the mix, like circus freaks (hermaphrodites) and medical monstrosities (man with scrotum the size of a big beach ball). Rabies victims. Includes dead children. This is James Ellroy territory.
*
If you’re having a real bad day a quick flip through Death Scenes will get you thinking well, could be worse.
*
Jack has a sense of humour. Cop humour that is. On a page of photos of suicides by hanging his caption is "A Little Throat Trouble". Har har.
*
This could be an excellent leaving present for the work colleague you never really got to know.
October 20, 2025
This collection is haunting and unforgettable. The photos and stories prove that human brutality isn’t new-people were just as violent and unhinged in Jack Huddleston’s time as they are now. It’s a chilling reminder of what we’re capable of and a smart warning against blaming movies, music, or media for the darkness that’s always been in us.
October 6, 2022
This book shows the darkest side of the human psyche. It’s incredible and disturbing. Some of the pictures left me completely speechless. Not for the faint hearted whatsoever.
November 5, 2010
I have absolutely no idea how to rate this. And that's a first for me. I had no idea there was any collection like this out there. Finding it on a shelf in Borders I was shocked speechless while thumbing through.
I used to read a lot of true crime books, and still read them on occasion so my curiosity has been there for a long time, years at least. So I knew I wanted to go through this and I know I'll go through a few other books I've found since this.
But this is a shocker. I don't know a single person that I would recommend this to who hasn't already seen it. The two people I can think of have already seen it. It's not for everyone. It's hardly for anyone I'd say.
The pictures of the children are hard to look at. They're all hard to look at but looking at a mutilated baby is just beyond words. I think the part that I'm most curious about is the actual human body. Our bodies do amazing, amazing things in different circumstances. Looking at a great many of these photos you just can't believe the body was able to do what it did. In some photos a face morphed into the kind of mess you just can hardly believe is real. You just can't wrap your brain around it without a photo staring you in the face.
I think I'd have like to have met Huddleston. I liked the intro guessing at Huddleston's reasons for his scrapbook. Who knows why he collected these pictures? I think maybe it's right on that he wanted others to have to see what he had to see.
I think this might just make someone thinking about suicide stop to think twice. Some, not all of course. But one thing a person probably doesn't think of is their body after - this shows that perfectly.
I used to read a lot of true crime books, and still read them on occasion so my curiosity has been there for a long time, years at least. So I knew I wanted to go through this and I know I'll go through a few other books I've found since this.
But this is a shocker. I don't know a single person that I would recommend this to who hasn't already seen it. The two people I can think of have already seen it. It's not for everyone. It's hardly for anyone I'd say.
The pictures of the children are hard to look at. They're all hard to look at but looking at a mutilated baby is just beyond words. I think the part that I'm most curious about is the actual human body. Our bodies do amazing, amazing things in different circumstances. Looking at a great many of these photos you just can't believe the body was able to do what it did. In some photos a face morphed into the kind of mess you just can hardly believe is real. You just can't wrap your brain around it without a photo staring you in the face.
I think I'd have like to have met Huddleston. I liked the intro guessing at Huddleston's reasons for his scrapbook. Who knows why he collected these pictures? I think maybe it's right on that he wanted others to have to see what he had to see.
I think this might just make someone thinking about suicide stop to think twice. Some, not all of course. But one thing a person probably doesn't think of is their body after - this shows that perfectly.
December 18, 2012
It's borderline autopsy porn, but as a historical documentation of many issues (forensics, racism and sexism in general and in the police force in particular, the "losers" of Hollywood (ah, that beloved theme!), medical examinations etc) I enjoyed this coffee table book, that should be kept away from all coffee tables.
As a former researcher in forensic medicine I am desensitized, and therefor just now realized that "enjoyed" might not be the right word but whatever.
As a former researcher in forensic medicine I am desensitized, and therefor just now realized that "enjoyed" might not be the right word but whatever.
November 19, 2017
This is one of the more graphic collections of old crime scene photographs.
August 3, 2019
Interesting, but hard to stomach. I wish there was more text, and more context in general - the introductory essay was fascinating, but the rest of the book felt more like gawking at gore than anything, and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.
I did learn, however, that the dentist's office across the street from where my childhood dentist's office was (and in the same plaza where one of my favorite Hawaiian barbecue chain restaurant was located) was the scene of a very gory murder back in the 1940s. I'd always wondered about that place, too, since it was so clearly a house turned dental office! Weird.
I did learn, however, that the dentist's office across the street from where my childhood dentist's office was (and in the same plaza where one of my favorite Hawaiian barbecue chain restaurant was located) was the scene of a very gory murder back in the 1940s. I'd always wondered about that place, too, since it was so clearly a house turned dental office! Weird.
May 10, 2008
This is a scrapbook from a LAPD detective from the 20's. It has gory crime scene photos with the original notes. Some really disturbing pics and sometimes more disturbing notes. Remember, it was the 20's and they weren't very tolerant of what they did not understand. And they got the wrong impression about a lot. I would not recommend this book to anyone with a weak stomach. But I loved it. It's on my coffee table.
April 25, 2024
Death Scenes was an interesting read. It does contain some "sensitive" matter, so one should definitely read what the book is about before picking it up.
With that said, this book was informative, interesting, and easy to stay engaged with.
It's under 200 pages, so can be a quick read for most as well.
Well worth the read.
With that said, this book was informative, interesting, and easy to stay engaged with.
It's under 200 pages, so can be a quick read for most as well.
Well worth the read.
November 24, 2010
This is not a book for the weak stomached kind. It's no worse then some true crimes with pictures. I really felt for the detective who compiled all these pictures for his scrapbook. In the book I got the impression some people might have found this sick on his part. I go along with Katherine Dunn on that Detective Jack Huddleston wanted people to see what he saw, feel his pain. Pictures leave out so much the officers see on a daily basis. The smells, the 3D real life image of these people who have just passed away. I would say this book made me feel more insight of what we should feel for our Police Officers, Fire Fighters, EMT & Doctors. I can honestly say I have always valued these people but even more so now. The only thin that left me wondering was ......Did Detective Huddleston's wife and or children ever see this and feel ashamed of him for attaining these pictures? My son is going to e a Police Officer it has been his dream since he was little..This makes me worry for him. These pictures being from 1920's - 1950's....are grusome yes but unfortunaly mankind has found even sicker ways of treating each other.So in 3 years when he is a cop..what's it going to be like for him? Thank you Katherine Dunn and Sean Tejaratchi for compiling this into a book we can all learn from. Was a 10 star book in my eyes.
April 22, 2009
Hard to believe these grisly relics record the violence of the 1930s and 40s, before television became a "bad influence."
Jack Huddleston served as a homicide detective in Los Angeles in the first half of the last century. He collected these photos into a scrapbook, to which he wrote a preface that implies he intended the work for the edification of the general public. One wonders if he ever had the nerve to approach a publisher. After an estate sale in the mid-1980s, the scrapbook came to a used bookstore, where employee Nick Bougas adopted it.
Huddleston's high-minded preface aside, there is no way to look at these pictures in anything other than a rubbernecking Ripley's Believe-It-or-Not frame of mind. The photos make no pretense at art. Often the fatal wound is the focal point, the person to whom it is attached secondary. These are no longer people, valuable in themselves; now they are evidence of crimes. Taken for cops, for use by cops -- I pity any jury on which these photos were inflicted.
Jack Huddleston served as a homicide detective in Los Angeles in the first half of the last century. He collected these photos into a scrapbook, to which he wrote a preface that implies he intended the work for the edification of the general public. One wonders if he ever had the nerve to approach a publisher. After an estate sale in the mid-1980s, the scrapbook came to a used bookstore, where employee Nick Bougas adopted it.
Huddleston's high-minded preface aside, there is no way to look at these pictures in anything other than a rubbernecking Ripley's Believe-It-or-Not frame of mind. The photos make no pretense at art. Often the fatal wound is the focal point, the person to whom it is attached secondary. These are no longer people, valuable in themselves; now they are evidence of crimes. Taken for cops, for use by cops -- I pity any jury on which these photos were inflicted.
April 10, 2011
If you dont like gore DO NOT even open this book. It is a Los Angeles detectives scrapbook of homicide, suicide and just bizarre photos of men women children hemaphrodites and animals, he is not prejudiced, its all inclusive. The pictures (especially babies n children) burn your retinas, but its like a car crash, you cant not look...
July 6, 2017
"When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes into you."
Friedrich Nietzsche
Disturbing, haunting, and profound. These images linger in my mind long after I've finished.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Disturbing, haunting, and profound. These images linger in my mind long after I've finished.
Read
November 11, 2025Yeah, I’m a little edgy, what about it?
No, admittedly, I bought this thinking there’d be much more text than there is. On that point, it’s hard to recommend.
That said, the introduction by Katherine Dunn was quite good, wherein she gently rips Jack Huddleston (the photo collector/scrapbooker) and his preceding page of copaganda a new one, highlighting the truth of American policing as that which protects the white and wealthy and oppresses all others, and further dispelling the myth of the “good old days”. Hell yeah.
The scrapbook? Pretty gnarly, but often relatively tame compared to most modern gore/shock videos*, mondo films/documentaries- the low quality and b&w photography usually leaves much to the imagination. The murdered children and women were confronting though.
*I promise this isn’t an edgy flex, many of us who grew up in the 2000s with the internet were exposed to this - and other generations too, of course. TikTok, YouTube and other sites have a history of exposing both adults and children to gore videos, and as of September 2025, there was (/is) a TikTok trend of posting gore, shooting footage, and even extremist content with a Minions AI filter overlaid.
I remember the first time I saw a shock video; my friend’s older brother showed us both split face (/diving accident, whatever it’s called) when we were around 12-14. Today, some kids are seeing this shit before they’re 9 years old. Idk man.
Written in July 2025 (excluding addendum), forgot to post.
No, admittedly, I bought this thinking there’d be much more text than there is. On that point, it’s hard to recommend.
That said, the introduction by Katherine Dunn was quite good, wherein she gently rips Jack Huddleston (the photo collector/scrapbooker) and his preceding page of copaganda a new one, highlighting the truth of American policing as that which protects the white and wealthy and oppresses all others, and further dispelling the myth of the “good old days”. Hell yeah.
The scrapbook? Pretty gnarly, but often relatively tame compared to most modern gore/shock videos*, mondo films/documentaries- the low quality and b&w photography usually leaves much to the imagination. The murdered children and women were confronting though.
*I promise this isn’t an edgy flex, many of us who grew up in the 2000s with the internet were exposed to this - and other generations too, of course. TikTok, YouTube and other sites have a history of exposing both adults and children to gore videos, and as of September 2025, there was (/is) a TikTok trend of posting gore, shooting footage, and even extremist content with a Minions AI filter overlaid.
I remember the first time I saw a shock video; my friend’s older brother showed us both split face (/diving accident, whatever it’s called) when we were around 12-14. Today, some kids are seeing this shit before they’re 9 years old. Idk man.
Written in July 2025 (excluding addendum), forgot to post.
March 1, 2025
Guys I can handle a lot but seeing photographs of real people who went through real ordeals of being murdered…harrowing.
Very very interesting book though, learnt a lot about suicide and murder cases, and the man who made the scrapbook picked up a wide variety to cover.
Very very interesting book though, learnt a lot about suicide and murder cases, and the man who made the scrapbook picked up a wide variety to cover.
Read
December 26, 2010This book lives up to its title. The pics are crime scene photos, dating from the 20s to the 50s, taken with the stark, staring, unrepentant eye of a police photographer. Most are murders, some are suicides, some are physical oddities. It's a pretty harsh book.
The introduction does a fair job of analyzing what this book can do for its reader. Help him/her sympathize with what homicide detectives do on a daily basis, discard the rose-colored-glasses effect of nostalgia, and understand the part of human psychology that comes into play when dealing with such violence. Not just the often inherent violence of the crimes, but the violence of the photographer and the detective as well.
This is not a pleasant book, but if you're able to stomach some pretty brutal and creepy images - and if you've got a "true crime" streak - then you'll probably be interested in it.
The introduction does a fair job of analyzing what this book can do for its reader. Help him/her sympathize with what homicide detectives do on a daily basis, discard the rose-colored-glasses effect of nostalgia, and understand the part of human psychology that comes into play when dealing with such violence. Not just the often inherent violence of the crimes, but the violence of the photographer and the detective as well.
This is not a pleasant book, but if you're able to stomach some pretty brutal and creepy images - and if you've got a "true crime" streak - then you'll probably be interested in it.
October 23, 2022
3.5
Would have loved some more text by Katherine Dunn. It is morbidly fascinating to see death scenes from this era and that it’s..”proof that there were no “good old days.”” It is also viscerally reinforces that we are sacks of meat and bones.
However, I thought the images of the hermaphrodite were rather exploitative.
Overall, I think if you are curious or have an interest in crime scene photography and American crime from the 1940-50s time period it’s a must buy. Just make sure you can stomach it.
Would have loved some more text by Katherine Dunn. It is morbidly fascinating to see death scenes from this era and that it’s..”proof that there were no “good old days.”” It is also viscerally reinforces that we are sacks of meat and bones.
However, I thought the images of the hermaphrodite were rather exploitative.
Overall, I think if you are curious or have an interest in crime scene photography and American crime from the 1940-50s time period it’s a must buy. Just make sure you can stomach it.
January 23, 2016
This is simply the annotated reproduction of -- as the title says -- a homicide detective's scrapbook. I thought the annotations, by Katherine Dunn, went on far too long and explained too much, as if she thought the readers were stupid. But some of the insights in there -- like, humans are no worse now than they were in the 1930s -- are strikingly shallow and shortsighted. The photos -- super-grody crime-scene and autopsy candid snaps -- more than spoke for themselves.
January 2, 2013
This book is reality at its worst. I know that this was just a scrap book kept by a police officer many years ago but the one thing I really wanted out of this book was a little more story to the people in the photos. I realize that he more then likely didn't have much back story but without it the book just makes me feel like some kind of creepy peeping tom looking that the end game without knowing what happened to end it.
December 23, 2011
All I can say is this is as close to death as I care to be!! Stomach churning photos taken from a scrapbook compiled by a homicide detective, the scrapbook was found in books bought at an estate sale and digitally remastered to create this book. Really opened my eyes to what police officers, EMT's and the like have to cope with just doing their jobs. Great introduction by Katherine Dunn!
April 29, 2008
Highly combustible nightmare fuel: a vivid parade of crime-scene corpse photos from a long-dead homicide detective's secret "necro-porn" stash. I love it. Not for the faint of heart. Or even the relatively sturdy of heart.
April 29, 2015
Interesting book. But some of the pictures, ugh! It just shows human depravity is timeless.
July 19, 2018
Death Scenes. How I came across this book I cannot recall but I had had it on my wishlist for a while, hesitant about purchasing it because of the price and the fact that it wasn't available in my country, which would add shipping expenses. But since I've recently turned into ebooks I looked it up again and it showed up, affordable and instantly available.
From what I had read about the book I was expecting something shocking and very crude, the most graphic crime scenes from the old days. Right off the bat I was underwhelmed... Yes, there were bodies alright but nothing that out there. That was the first part of the book, though. An introduction, I assume, to ease us down the road of the real, shocking crime scenes.
I'm not one to be easily shocked or disturbed by images of death. I've read and followed many crime cases online and, well, you stumble upon some very gruesome photos from time to time. So I was cruising down this book, finding the photos sad and interesting from an historic point of view but not necessarily disturbing. Until I got to the murdered children section, that is. The caption of one photo read: "Mrs Rosary Shelfo put her two weeks old son, on the bread board and cut his head off, with a butcher knife." The photo was exactly that: a baby head and body on a cutting board. That gave me pause. No blood was visible and the baby was actually nicely dressed, so it wasn't the graphic aspect that hit me, it was the idea of the woman who committed the crime, holding down his newborn baby and going at him with a knife just like that. If there ever was an appropriate moment to utter god damn, this was it. Can you imagine having to find that scene and work that case? That's PTSD material right there.
If anything, this book made me a bit humbler about the things law enforcement deal with. Any fool can find his way to gruesome crime scenes and autopsy photos online, get some morbid shock and walk away from it unscathed with one easy click... But to have to face it in person day after day after day? Must be damn hard.
Other realization I had while reading this book was how frustrating it must have been to work in law enforcement back when detective work had so little tools. I mean, I was aware of it but it sure feels different when you see the faces and read the names and stories and you wish something could be done to solve these crimes. So, yes, I got a glimpse at how frustrating of a job working these cases must have been. I have no statistics to quote but I would assume that the number of unsolved crimes outweighed the solved ones by a lot. Sadly, I think that's still the way things are now in a way but with the improvement of DNA technology more crimes and cold cases are getting solved recently and maybe we're walking towards a new age for detective work in which justice is serve more frequently and accurately.
Many questions raised in me while reading this. Could we still solve some of these cases? Does any evidence still survive, stored in some old box somewhere? Were the culprits really caught on the solved cases or were the people convicted just the most suitable suspects? It's hard to say. These cases are no priority. Who knows if some of them ever were, even back when they took place. I doubt much thought would be given to finding the identity of a starved to death homeless black man or finding the killer of a murdered lesbian. I'm no historian so I might be exaggerating what discrimination was like in the first half of the 20th century in America. It was a different time, that's for sure.
My only complaint with this book was the writing. Although a couple of good statements were made most of the text felt rambling, speculative and over the top. A not very successful attempt at being lyrical and edgy at the same time.
I would recommend this book to people interested in true crime, forensics and anatomy. Not apt for those easily shocked. Expect depictions of murder, rape, accidental deaths, suicide and severe medical conditions. All photos are black and white.
From what I had read about the book I was expecting something shocking and very crude, the most graphic crime scenes from the old days. Right off the bat I was underwhelmed... Yes, there were bodies alright but nothing that out there. That was the first part of the book, though. An introduction, I assume, to ease us down the road of the real, shocking crime scenes.
I'm not one to be easily shocked or disturbed by images of death. I've read and followed many crime cases online and, well, you stumble upon some very gruesome photos from time to time. So I was cruising down this book, finding the photos sad and interesting from an historic point of view but not necessarily disturbing. Until I got to the murdered children section, that is. The caption of one photo read: "Mrs Rosary Shelfo put her two weeks old son, on the bread board and cut his head off, with a butcher knife." The photo was exactly that: a baby head and body on a cutting board. That gave me pause. No blood was visible and the baby was actually nicely dressed, so it wasn't the graphic aspect that hit me, it was the idea of the woman who committed the crime, holding down his newborn baby and going at him with a knife just like that. If there ever was an appropriate moment to utter god damn, this was it. Can you imagine having to find that scene and work that case? That's PTSD material right there.
If anything, this book made me a bit humbler about the things law enforcement deal with. Any fool can find his way to gruesome crime scenes and autopsy photos online, get some morbid shock and walk away from it unscathed with one easy click... But to have to face it in person day after day after day? Must be damn hard.
Other realization I had while reading this book was how frustrating it must have been to work in law enforcement back when detective work had so little tools. I mean, I was aware of it but it sure feels different when you see the faces and read the names and stories and you wish something could be done to solve these crimes. So, yes, I got a glimpse at how frustrating of a job working these cases must have been. I have no statistics to quote but I would assume that the number of unsolved crimes outweighed the solved ones by a lot. Sadly, I think that's still the way things are now in a way but with the improvement of DNA technology more crimes and cold cases are getting solved recently and maybe we're walking towards a new age for detective work in which justice is serve more frequently and accurately.
Many questions raised in me while reading this. Could we still solve some of these cases? Does any evidence still survive, stored in some old box somewhere? Were the culprits really caught on the solved cases or were the people convicted just the most suitable suspects? It's hard to say. These cases are no priority. Who knows if some of them ever were, even back when they took place. I doubt much thought would be given to finding the identity of a starved to death homeless black man or finding the killer of a murdered lesbian. I'm no historian so I might be exaggerating what discrimination was like in the first half of the 20th century in America. It was a different time, that's for sure.
My only complaint with this book was the writing. Although a couple of good statements were made most of the text felt rambling, speculative and over the top. A not very successful attempt at being lyrical and edgy at the same time.
I would recommend this book to people interested in true crime, forensics and anatomy. Not apt for those easily shocked. Expect depictions of murder, rape, accidental deaths, suicide and severe medical conditions. All photos are black and white.
August 24, 2021
Overall: 3.5 stars. A gruesome and brutally honest collection of crime scene photos from the 1930s and 1940s that touches on issues of racism, police brutality, sexism, homophobia, and poverty but doesn’t really settle on a thesis.
This is an interesting book and a hard one to rate. In one sense, it’s really two books: 1) the private scrapbook that Henderson assembled during his life for whatever reason, and 2) the published collection of those photos with an introductory essay that attempts to contextualize them. My rating considers the intro heavily because without it, we don’t have anything that was intended to be published.
The photos here are brutal, gruesome, and fascinating. I personally found it touching to still see the humanity of these people, long dead and mutilated by their injuries, coming through the humble black and white photography. As the intro rightly points out, hardcore pornography is readily available if you look, but photos of death and human corpses are censored and hidden away as “shocking.” Where our Victorian ancestors once created home death portraits to remember their loved ones, we shove the dead away into funeral homes to be sanitized and “prepared” for living eyes. There’s value here, I think, in honestly studying these images and not immediately reacting with an “ewww” of revulsion but instead of considering the corpses’ humanity - and our own mortality.
The above reading, however, is really my own. Besides the intro, the photos are presented with only the original notes by Henderson which he made for some unknown reason that certainly did not include a 21st century audience reading them. The value of the book is really up to the individual reader, for although the essay raises some interesting questions about racism, police brutality, sexism, etc, it doesn’t really come to a concrete conclusion or thesis: any broader sense-making of these images is left to the reader.
Overall, this is a challenging, strange, and interesting book for the right reader willing to ponder larger themes themselves. If someone’s only reaction is to go “ew, gross,” well, I don’t think this is really for them (or maybe shouldn’t be).
This is an interesting book and a hard one to rate. In one sense, it’s really two books: 1) the private scrapbook that Henderson assembled during his life for whatever reason, and 2) the published collection of those photos with an introductory essay that attempts to contextualize them. My rating considers the intro heavily because without it, we don’t have anything that was intended to be published.
The photos here are brutal, gruesome, and fascinating. I personally found it touching to still see the humanity of these people, long dead and mutilated by their injuries, coming through the humble black and white photography. As the intro rightly points out, hardcore pornography is readily available if you look, but photos of death and human corpses are censored and hidden away as “shocking.” Where our Victorian ancestors once created home death portraits to remember their loved ones, we shove the dead away into funeral homes to be sanitized and “prepared” for living eyes. There’s value here, I think, in honestly studying these images and not immediately reacting with an “ewww” of revulsion but instead of considering the corpses’ humanity - and our own mortality.
The above reading, however, is really my own. Besides the intro, the photos are presented with only the original notes by Henderson which he made for some unknown reason that certainly did not include a 21st century audience reading them. The value of the book is really up to the individual reader, for although the essay raises some interesting questions about racism, police brutality, sexism, etc, it doesn’t really come to a concrete conclusion or thesis: any broader sense-making of these images is left to the reader.
Overall, this is a challenging, strange, and interesting book for the right reader willing to ponder larger themes themselves. If someone’s only reaction is to go “ew, gross,” well, I don’t think this is really for them (or maybe shouldn’t be).
September 28, 2023
The scrapbook of human carnage collected by Detective Jack Hiddleston is no place for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. With a lengthy, but incredibly informative intro by the late author and journalist Katherine Dunn, we're prepared as best we can be for the horrific pages that follow, which are a meticulously collected series of black and white photographs ranging from the 20s to the early 50s, showing the grisly underbelly of crime that permeated an era often looked at as "The Golden Age".
It was anything but.
Mafia hits, suicides, medical maladies, spurned lovers pushed to murder/suicide, mug shots, burn victims, executions, vehicular accidents, and in the book's most harrowing section, the brutal murder of children (an infant's severed head on a kitchen cutting board is not an easy image to shake by any means - nor should it be).
"Death Scenes" is as unflinching as the camera that captures the carnage, showing an America seldom talked about during those ages, and proof that not only have we not changed much in terms of violence in the last 80-100 years, but that the depression, madness, jealousy and hatred that have led to these ghastly images of murder and suicide aren't going anywhere. That the human ability to enact terrible suffering each other was as prevalent then as it is now, regardless of sex, race, creed, or, sadly, even age. Irregardless of the stomach churning sights of bodies stabbed, shot, mangled, and hung, the message is clear: We've learned very little in our history of violence. And nothing is more depressing than that.
It was anything but.
Mafia hits, suicides, medical maladies, spurned lovers pushed to murder/suicide, mug shots, burn victims, executions, vehicular accidents, and in the book's most harrowing section, the brutal murder of children (an infant's severed head on a kitchen cutting board is not an easy image to shake by any means - nor should it be).
"Death Scenes" is as unflinching as the camera that captures the carnage, showing an America seldom talked about during those ages, and proof that not only have we not changed much in terms of violence in the last 80-100 years, but that the depression, madness, jealousy and hatred that have led to these ghastly images of murder and suicide aren't going anywhere. That the human ability to enact terrible suffering each other was as prevalent then as it is now, regardless of sex, race, creed, or, sadly, even age. Irregardless of the stomach churning sights of bodies stabbed, shot, mangled, and hung, the message is clear: We've learned very little in our history of violence. And nothing is more depressing than that.
May 2, 2019
This is mostly pictures, so it took very little time to 'read'. The text explaining the context and meaning behind the photos is well put together, even if it is a little dated.
Crime scene photos have always fascinated me. I need the story behind them. I want to know how the person lived and understand how they died.
One of the most heartbreaking photos in the book is of a 74-year-old man who lost his wife to a random rape/homicide. The detective explains the basic story and the follow up with a bit of obvious anger. I did some quick math and realized that the two were born right after the civil war ended; when California was barely settled. The things they'd seen and done through their lives must have been amazing. Then, at the end, their lives are shattered with criminal violence and horror.
And here I am, so many years later, wishing that it hadn't happened to them. It's powerful.
There are a lot of pictures of suicide. Not a good way to die.
Those black and white photos have a profound effect. The victims in them demand justice. They don't always get it.
This is not a book for anyone who is squeamish, obviously. It is also not for anyone who is unable to compartmentalize language and era: You will not understand the detective's writing and you will hate him undeservedly.
Crime scene photos have always fascinated me. I need the story behind them. I want to know how the person lived and understand how they died.
One of the most heartbreaking photos in the book is of a 74-year-old man who lost his wife to a random rape/homicide. The detective explains the basic story and the follow up with a bit of obvious anger. I did some quick math and realized that the two were born right after the civil war ended; when California was barely settled. The things they'd seen and done through their lives must have been amazing. Then, at the end, their lives are shattered with criminal violence and horror.
And here I am, so many years later, wishing that it hadn't happened to them. It's powerful.
There are a lot of pictures of suicide. Not a good way to die.
Those black and white photos have a profound effect. The victims in them demand justice. They don't always get it.
This is not a book for anyone who is squeamish, obviously. It is also not for anyone who is unable to compartmentalize language and era: You will not understand the detective's writing and you will hate him undeservedly.
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January 20, 2024This is a dark omen on my bookshelf.
My grandfather gave me this book a couple of years ago. The first time I knew of its existence was at Christmas at 6 or 7. My grandfather was showing it to my cousin, trying to shock him with its content. He told me not to look, but as my cousin looked upon the black and white photos I saw a man’s head several feet away from his body.
This book would become something my cousin and I would pine over, mythologizing over whispers of curiosity, “y’know the book has suicides in it from the forties. Real gruesome shit”, we didn’t know if it was really real, sold, or given away to a friend.
It wasn’t until I was 19 and my grandfather had the same experience with me as he did with my cousin, showing me the shocking pictures. I don’t think this is a book I would recommend to anybody. You have to be pretty thick in the skull to think crime, cruelty, and oddity is a modern phenomenon. However, I must say this book has an aura to it, a drawing nature. But curiosity kills the cat for most, its exploitive
My grandfather gave me this book a couple of years ago. The first time I knew of its existence was at Christmas at 6 or 7. My grandfather was showing it to my cousin, trying to shock him with its content. He told me not to look, but as my cousin looked upon the black and white photos I saw a man’s head several feet away from his body.
This book would become something my cousin and I would pine over, mythologizing over whispers of curiosity, “y’know the book has suicides in it from the forties. Real gruesome shit”, we didn’t know if it was really real, sold, or given away to a friend.
It wasn’t until I was 19 and my grandfather had the same experience with me as he did with my cousin, showing me the shocking pictures. I don’t think this is a book I would recommend to anybody. You have to be pretty thick in the skull to think crime, cruelty, and oddity is a modern phenomenon. However, I must say this book has an aura to it, a drawing nature. But curiosity kills the cat for most, its exploitive
January 4, 2024
I got a hold of this book when it was first published and really this is one crazy book. I think the line used to describe it was "proof that there was no good old days." It's full of gory crime scene photos from the black and white days of the 30s and this was pre-internet so most people wouldn't have seen photos like those featured in this bizarro coffee-table book before. I left the book lying around at work and would you believe every single person at work spent time looking at the photos. What a bunch of freaks ha. I think I ended up leaving it somewhere so someone probably found it and still has it. If that's you then you really are a sicko!
August 8, 2017
This is an interesting book, mainly photos though. Jack Huddleston was a detective who worked many gruesome crimes back in the day. Which is actually a good thing, as the photos are in black and white, and it this book was written today I'm sure they would be in color, which would have been entirely too graphic.
August 2, 2020
I'd never heard of this somehow, despite the fact that it was a true crime scrapbook with an intro by Katherine Dunn??!?! I read it through Hoopla but I'll be buying a physical copy for full effect. Dunn's analysis and commentary really amplified the snapshots of dozens of "ordinary" people and their untimely ends.
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