# Urban Legend Comes True: The Body Under the Mattress! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 14, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440 "2003-07-14T18:11:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/1 "2003-07-14T18:11:22Z")
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - After a motel guest complained for three days about a foul odor in his room, the cleaning crew found a man’s body hidden under the bed, police said. The guest started complaining about the smell when he checked in Thursday at the Capri Motel, just east of downtown Kansas City, police Capt. Rich Lockhart said in a statement. Management told the man nothing could be done about the odor, and he finally checked out Sunday, saying he could no longer tolerate the smell, Lockhart said. Police were called Sunday when the cleaning staff lifted the mattress on the only bed in the room and found the body, which had been concealed by the wooden panels around the base of the bed. The remains had not been identified. No arrests had been made, police Sgt. Darin Snapp said Monday. Lockhart said the body’s advanced stage of decomposition suggested it had been in the room for several days. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/2 "2003-07-14T18:14:09Z")
Are they sure it wasn’t the Bates Motel? ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/3 "2003-07-14T18:16:52Z")
[Not an uncommon occurrence](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/gruesome/bodybed.htm), reports Snopes–over ten cases since 1982. Which begs the question: how many times does an event have to occur before we can remove it from “urban legend” status? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/4 "2003-07-14T18:24:00Z")
Yeah but they still haven’t found the ones I left. Maybe I shouldn’t be bragging about that. ---
**Author:** ![Capcha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Capcha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capcha)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/5 "2003-07-14T18:45:24Z")
here’s a question: what would be you first thought (apart from SHIT!!) upon discovering a dead human in your room? ---
**Author:** ![Undead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b3f665/32.png) [@Undead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Undead)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/6 "2003-07-14T19:09:48Z")
My first thought would be something along the lines of: “I’ve been sleeping with a dead guy for 3 days?!” I don’t think I would ever get the scent of ‘corpse’ out of my head after something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/7 "2003-07-14T19:12:48Z")
“No tip.” ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/8 "2003-07-14T19:28:44Z")
“Its times like this I wish I were into necro…” ooooh, I’m gonna get letters for that one. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/9 "2003-07-14T19:43:44Z")
You know, it’s just plain _murder_ disproving Jan Harold Brunvand! ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/10 "2003-07-14T19:54:57Z")
I would be sleeping on the floor for the rest of my life! Horrors. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/11 "2003-07-14T19:58:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Undead \* > \*\*My first thought would be something along the lines of: > > “I’ve been sleeping with a dead guy for 3 days?!”\*\* Hey…_you’re_ the one they call “Undead”! ---
**Author:** ![roadrunner70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/12 "2003-07-14T19:59:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by 5U1C1D3 \* > \*\*here’s a question: what would be you first thought (apart from SHIT!!) upon discovering a dead human in your room? \*\* Wallet!!! [sub]what? he doesn’t need it anymore…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/13 "2003-07-14T20:05:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by 5U1C1D3 \* > \*\*here’s a question: what would be you first thought (apart from SHIT!!) upon discovering a dead human in your room? \*\* I should stop drinking. The consequences are NEVER good… ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/14 "2003-07-14T20:18:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ethilrist \* > \*\*“No tip.” \*\* That is the funniest thing I’ve read today. Thank you. =) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/15 "2003-07-14T20:40:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duke \* > \*\*how many times does an event have to occur before we can remove it from “urban legend” status? \*\* On one of their FAQ pages, Snopes makes clear that just because it’s an urban legend doesn’t make it necessarily true or false. The whole point of urban legends is that they get passed around in order to teach moral lessons and/or reinforce common prejudices and beliefs. Whether they actually happened or not is immaterial. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/16 "2003-07-14T20:43:00Z")
Hey, a girl I used to work with went to a hotel with her mom and her son. They unpacked all their stuff, turned on the TV and pulled the blankets back, only to find…A BLOOD-SOAKED PILLOW! They had to press the management for a new room, I shit you not. This is the kind of thing that gives people nervous tics. ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/17 "2003-07-14T22:07:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by \*\*roadrunner70 \*\*\* > Wallet!!! Funny, my first thought was going to be along the lines of ‘how can I make money and/or fame from having this happen to me,’ but going for the actual dead guy’s wallet did not occur to me. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/18 "2003-07-15T01:52:41Z")
first thought: " ick, death cooties." second thought: “hhhmmm, wonder how to get hold of the coroner’s report.” ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/19 "2003-07-15T02:10:44Z")
Looking at the Snopes link… What’s up with all the Germans finding the dead people? That’s a bit suspicious, don’t you think? ---
**Author:** ![drpepper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@drpepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drpepper)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440/20 "2003-07-15T03:27:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Police were called Sunday when the cleaning staff lifted the mattress on the only bed in the room and found the body, which had been concealed by the wooden panels around the base of the bed. _Insert ‘Princess and the Pea’ joke here_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-comes-true-the-body-under-the-mattress/188440.md?page=2)