It’s certainly not a job for the faint-hearted. 

In the US, there are thought to be more than 23,000 morticians who are required to deal with death on a daily basis. 

For outsiders, it appears to be a job shrouded in mystery, with only films and TV shows offering a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes. 

But speaking out anonymously, a handful of funeral workers have stepped forward to spill the creepy, sad, and uncomfortable secrets about their business no one knows. 

While the industry is dominated by men, one 25-year-old woman says she bucks this trend by running a funeral home with her sister. They inherited the business from their grandparents. 

One of the strangest incidents she dealt with was the death of her mother, father and great grandmother, who all died within days of one another at the end of Covid. 

From her line of work, she says the biggest thing she has learned is that ‘death is not that bad’.

She adds in a ‘ask me anything’ Reddit thread: ‘Like [death] CAN suck, but it can be really beautiful.’

In the US, there are thought to be more than 23,000 morticians who are required to deal with death on a daily basis (stock photo)

Quizzed about how she prepares bodies which have been through trauma, she reveals that she had one man who had ‘almost been cut in half’.

To make him look more presentable for an open casket, she packed his chest cavity and stapled his body back together. 

Another mortician who speaks out anonymously on Reddit reveals that he remembers sewing the hands back on a gentleman who had died in an accident to make him look more presentable.

Meanwhile, another undertaker said they remember trying to put an anklet back on the ankle of a dead body, only to realize they had been a bone donor and their leg joint ‘bent backwards’.

Clothing also helps to hide injuries during open casket sessions, as does make-up, they explain.

Many of the morticians say they carry out embalming to help preserve the bodies. 

This process, which can take from 2 to 4 hours, involves draining blood from the body and replacing it with a mixture of chemicals, including formaldehyde, methanol, and ethanol. 

In another thread, a man who has been a mortician for 25 years reveals some more gruesome trade secrets.

He explains to keep the eyes of people closed during an open casket, small pieces of plastic are inserted under the eyes to keep them closed. 

One of the morticians describes the smell of dead bodies as being like ‘not so fresh meat’ and ‘kind of metallic’ (stock image)

As for mouths, the lips are usually sutured shut. 

In terms of the smell of dead bodies, the longtime mortician says he ‘still hasn’t gotten fully use it’ but it doesn’t effect him as much anymore.

He adds that the odor still ‘sticks to clothing’ and he has to make sure he showers as soon as he gets home, so he doesn’t subject his partner to ‘too much suffering’.

Another of the morticians describes the smell of dead bodies as being like ‘not so fresh meat’ and ‘kind of metallic,’ while another says that it is ‘almost sweet, but not quite, and kind of gassy’.

In terms of memorable incidents as an undertaker, one contributor recounts the scene of a bizarre natural death he witnessed. 

He reveals: ‘I remember going to a job where an elderly woman had passed away in her walk in wardrobe. 

‘There was a chair centered in the middle of the wardrobe, and she had sat down to rest while changing her clothes. Except she never got up and passed away. 

‘I remember it was a cool month and she had not decomposed but there were ants crawling around her face, in her nose and around her mouth.’

And another story set to make your skin crawl involves a common thing that apparently happens after death. 

One undertaker writes, in response to being asked what makes his stomach turn: ‘The thing that really grosses me out the most, honestly, is cleaning boogers out of peoples’ noses. 

‘A lot of the time people have been laying in bed for weeks, unconscious or with very little energy, and I guess blowing your nose gets kind of over-looked when you’re dying. So, that’s really the only thing that still makes my stomach turn.’