Dead house

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A dead house or deadhouse is a structure used for the temporary storage of a human corpse before burial or transportation, usually located within or near a cemetery. Such edifices were more common before the mid-1900s in areas with cold winter climates, before which time grave excavation during the winter was either difficult or impossible. Dead houses were common to some religious groups, such as the Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum)^[1]

[edit] The octagonal deadhouses of Ontario

Unique to south-central Ontario, Canada were octagonal deadhouses built in the mid- to late-1800s.^[2] The design of these structures is thought to be inspired by a fad in the United States, promoted by Orson Squire Fowler,^[3] of erecting octagonal buildings in the early 1800s. These deadhouses were built in areas bordering Yonge Street north of Toronto, primarily in York County (now the Regional Municipality of York). At least two are classified as heritage sites, one in Richmond Hill and the other in King.^[2]

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