Featured Image Credit: Blaspheme Boutique/Facebook - Shawna Elizabeth Hollister
Topics: US News
Jess Hardiman
Topics: US News
A shop in Las Vegas is selling bottled ‘corpse water’ as a twisted nod to the bodies of suspected mafia victims recently found in Lake Mead.
Earlier this month, a barrel containing a dead body was found the large lake in Nevada, with investigators later ruling the death to be a homicide resulting from a gunshot wound. Just days after, the National Park Service rangers received a witness report of another set of human skeletal remains.
Police believe the initial victim was killed sometime in the mid-70s to early-80s due to the clothing and footwear they were wearing, with some speculating whether the death is linked to the mafia as it unfolded at a time when mob-connected casinos were rife in Las Vegas.
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In the wake of the news, one nearby shop has started selling ‘corpse water’, retailing at $7.77 for 2oz.
The product description on the Blaspheme Boutique website reads: “Lake Mead was formed by the building of Hoover Dam between 1935-1938.
“For decades rumors floated around that those who crossed the Vegas Mob ended up at the bottom of that lake.
“In 2022 a corpse in a barrel was found as the lake reached a record low.”
It adds: “For entertainment purposes only. Not real corpse water. Do not drink.”
Speaking to 8 News Now, owner Charlie Hanks explained that the product was just ‘for fun’ and did not really contain water from the lake.
Hanks explained: “Traditional corpse water is used in different witchcraft practices. However, this is not real corpse water.
“It’s for fun. It’s a joke. Most of us who have lived in Vegas for a long time have been questioning our water quality for years. And that just kind of worked out when we found out that there was a corpse floating in a barrel. So I made this as a joke.”
She added: “I don’t want to steal water from Lake Mead to sell to people, but it’s a nice little concoction of water, some witch hazel, some glass rocks, dirt, and some green mica to give it a little bit of a green tint to it. It’s just for entertainment purposes, do not ingest."
Hanks – who has operated Blaspheme Boutique with her husband for almost a year – said the Lake Mead Corpse Water was dreamt up on a whim, hoping that the product might help attract business via social media.
She understands that the corpse water won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, stressing: “I don’t want to make light of the fact that there are dead bodies in the lake. Those people, their families, and loved ones probably miss them and want to know what happened to them.”
Hanks clarified: “What I’m making light of is the darker history of Vegas.”