Eerie footage shows museum where mum says son who took his own life has ‘body on display’

A museum which shows real body parts and was once mired in controversy when a woman accused them of putting her son's remains on display is quite the experience to go around.

In Las Vegas at the Horseshoe there is something known as the Real Bodies exhibit, which displays actual human tissue to teach people about their own bodies.

However, the exhibit was accused by a mother of putting her son's body on display without her permission, something they have categorically denied.

Chris Todd Erick had died at the age of 23 in 2012, and his death was ruled a suicide, with his remains seemingly cremated, but his mum Kim was sure she saw him as one of the bodies displayed at the Real Bodies exhibit.

In 2018 she saw a preserved human body in the pose of 'The Thinker' at the Real Bodies exhibit and became convinced it was her son, claiming she was 'actually looking at pictures of my son’s skinned, butchered body'.

Chris Todd Erick passed away in 2012, his mother claimed his body was used in a museum exhibit (Find a Grave)

She told The Sun: "I knew it was him. It was so unbelievably painful to look at. My words cannot describe how this shook me and my family to its core."

Describing a 'gut-wrenching' feeling, the mum alleged that the body she saw had been shaved down in a particular area to hide a tattoo that Chris had.

The Real Bodies exhibit denied the woman's claims, explaining that the body Kim alleged was her son had been part of their collection since 2004 and thus had been with them for several years before Chris died.

They said: "We extend our sympathy to the family, but there is no factual basis for these allegations. The referenced specimen has been on continuous display in Las Vegas since 2004 and cannot be associated with the individual named in these claims.

"All specimens are ethically sourced and biologically unidentifiable. We remain committed to ensuring that all exhibits meet the highest ethical and legal standards."

Footage of the exhibit taken by YouTuber Passage Pioneer shows some of the exhibit's macabre displays, though it's hard to get more informative about the workings of the human body than using actual human bodies.

On their website, Real Bodies explains they get the human remains from donations from China.

They say: "The specimens in Real Bodies are provided by Dalian Hoffen Bio-Technique Co. Ltd.

"The specimens are all unclaimed bodies that have been donated by the relevant authorities to medical universities in China.

"The specimens featured in the exhibition were donated legally, were never prisoners of any kind, showed no signs of trauma or injury, were free of infectious disease and died of natural causes."

'Unclaimed bodies' are all people who have no next of kin, so when they die there is nobody to claim their remains and be responsible for their burial.