Urban Angst

Previous legend || Urban Angst || Next legend

The Body In The Bed

Copycat: A couple stays in odoriferous hotel room in the Big City (usually Las Vegas, but other cities are often substituted). The next morning they complain about the smell. Following up on the complaint, housekeeping checks the room, only to find a decaying corpse in the mattress.

This is another of the "classic" ULs detailed by J.H. Brunvand, this time in his book "The Baby Train." The legend first came to Brunvand's attention in 1991, so it is at least that old. The details (like in what city it happened) vary, but usually the room is expensive and the body has been there for a long time. Mafia connections are often hinted.

This one, however, is one of those ULs that eventually does come true (after a fashion). In March 1994, well after the UL had been firmly established, a corpse was found under the bed in a cheap Miami hotel. Initial reports had a German tourist complaining about the smell and housekeeping subsequently discovering the body. This part, however was untrue. No hotel guest had complained about a smell, rather a staff member noticed the smell in the hall and the corpse was discovered by the maintenance crew (they thought they were looking for a dead mouse, surprise, surprise).

It was determined the corpse had been in the room for six nights, with different guests occupying the room for five of them. After a few days the body was identified and a suspect wanted for questioning. The suspect, known to police as a motel room burgler, shot himself before police could discover exactly what had happened.

References:

• http://tafkac.org/death/corpse_in_mattress.html
• Miami Herald Online: Clues Sought in Mystery of Corpse Under Hotel Bed, 14 Mar 1994
• Miami Herald Online: Motel Corpse Suspect Shoots Himself in Head, 22 Mar 1994
• "The Baby Train," by J.H. Brunvand