Souvenirs to die for: Grim keepsakes on offer at the GIFT SHOP of Tinseltown's busiest mortuary... but business is dying
- Staff stopped selling anoraks with the LA county coroner logo after people began using them to gain access to murder scenes
By EMILY ALLEN
Last updated at 8:45 AM on 28th June 2011
On first impressions, it looks like a regular gift shop, with T-shirts, baseball caps, key chains and beach towels on sale for thousands of tourists.
But take a look closer and you will realise this is no ordinary gift shop, but one with a macabre twist.
For one it is inside the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner - which has investigated some of history's most famous deaths, including Marilyn Monroe and Bobby Kennedy.
The only coroner's department in the world to have a gift shop, the shelves are stacked with a range of bizarre death-themed keepsakes, from water bottles marked with 'bodily fluids' to boxer shorts labelled 'undertakers'.
Dead good: A 'Coroner' t-shirt on sale for $27.50 is one of the shop's best sellers
'Don't drink and drive' coasters are on sale at Skeletons in the Closet gift shop
Michael Jackson died in 2009 and his body was sent to the mortuary
Other useful gifts include mouse mats, complete with a chalked outline of a body, and a suitcase in the shape of a body bag.
There is even a coffin-shaped couch and the shop's bestseller - a towel, priced at $30, again with eye-catching corpse detail on it.
Opened on the back of some of history's most famous deaths, the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner started the Skeletons In the Closet Gift shop in 1993.
But now it seems business is literally dying too - as the shop is losing about $50,000 a year.
It initially opened with the aim of funding anti-drink-driving courses for teenagers, which included a trip to the mortuary.
The idea was to promote how fragile life is and create awareness and responsibility towards your actions.
But now the store is being propped up by the very course it was meant to support, according to The Times.
Chief coroner investigator Craig Harvey told newspaper: 'We're in a bit of a slump.'
Famous corpses who have passed through the doors of the mortuary include Bobby Kennedy following his assassination in 1968, the 'probable suicide' of Marilyn Monroe, and just two years ago the drug-induced death of Michael Jackson, which held the headlines for days.
Dead famous: The Los Angeles Coroner has investigated the deaths of Marilyn Monroe and Bobby Kennedy who was assassinated in 1968
Staff stopped selling anoraks with the LA county coroner logo after people began using them to gain access to murder scenes.
The Department investigates about 20,000 fatalities a year as well as dozens of post mortems each week.
It is believed to be the only coroner's department in the world with an active gift shop.
Other items for sale include a foot label pin for $5, a welcome mat with a corpse outline on it for $25 and an apron with the words LA Coroner has Love' for the same price.
Grim: Skull business card holders can be picked up for $18. The gift shop is run by the Los Angeles County Coroner
Popular: A dead body mouse mat is on sale for $8 as well as hats and even post-it notes
Skeletons In The Closet Gift Store has been operating since September 1993. The purpose of the store is to promote how fragile life is
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2008917/Souvenirs-die-Grim-keepsakes-offer-GIFT-SHOP-Tinseltowns-busiest-mortuary--business-dying.html#ixzz1QYcPwRO1
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