12 Historic Tidbits About The Afterlife & Death

What happens when we die? Until Cracked gets an exclusive interview with the Big Guy Upstairs, we, unfortunately, can’t answer that question. But it’s a question we assume has been plaguing humans since humans have had questions. We may not know anything about the great unknown, but we do know a little about what people have historically thought about death …and whatever, if anything, comes next. 

Previously we’ve covered attempts to prove the afterlife (spoiler: they all failed) and as far as we know there’s been no successful update since then. Faith in an afterlife can be a beautiful way of imagining reuniting with departed loved ones and incentivize not being a douchebag, but, especially with the added perspective of examining beliefs of ancient religions, it can also bring out the truly weird and disturbing imaginations of people.

Here’s a round-up of interesting facts about the history of death, funerals, and the beliefs of the afterlife for your entertainment and/or future belief system.