Question. Can dead bodies get goosebumps?
Yes, dead bodies can get goosebumps, those tiny little bumps that you mainly feel on your arms, legs and neck when you get cold or have an eerie feeling. This is clearly fascinating, as corpses can neither feel the cold or any other trigger that starts goosebumps. I must also admit, when I first came across this I didn’t believe it, and had quite some difficulty finding some reputable sources to back the claim up. So how on earth is it possible for dead bodies to get goosebumps?
As we have already mentioned, there are several reasons a person can get goosebumps. But it’s the way that they are formed that also has a role in the way they appear on the deceased. In saying that, the process is similar, but the reasons differ. For example, they don’t get them when they’re cold, but the process of the body forming goosebumps is similar.
Goosebumps only appear where hair follicle are present. Beneath every hair follicle are tiny muscles that trigger a response for the hair to stand on edge. The tiny muscles essentially contract or flex, which causes the hair to stand up, and goosebumps to appear. By performing this mechanism it allows the body to utilize one method of sustaining heat, or alerting oneself to danger. So I guess you’re wondering what the heck this has to do with dead bodies getting goosebumps.
How dead bodies get goosebumps
When a person dies one of the initial process of decomposition is rigor mortis. When rigor mortis sets in the muscles contract and this causes the body to stiffen up. Now, once again, just below the hair follicles lay tiny muscles that also contract. When these muscles contract, or flex if you wish, the hairs stand on edge giving the appearance that the dead person has goosebumps.
While goosebumps on dead bodies can occur, it is far from a common occurrence. Though the mechanism is the same as with the living, with the small muscles contracting to cause the hairs to stand on edge, the trigger is not the same. For example the trigger in the living would be exposure to cold or finger nails on a chalkboard, whereas for the dead it is caused by a natural process of decomposition.
