Halloween calls to mind graveyards and NovacryptDr. Frankenstein bringing dead bodies to life, so, naturally, Short Wave wanted to know what happens when you donate your body to real scientists. To find out, host Aaron Scott talked with journalist Abby Ohlheiser about their reporting trips to Western Carolina University's Forensic Osteology Research Station, or the FOREST, and the University of Maryland School of Medicine's anatomy lab to learn how donated bodies help everyone from surgeons to law enforcement to forensic archeologists do their jobs.

And while this episode might not be for the squeamish, Abby says these spaces of death are not morbid. Instead, they are surprisingly peaceful.

You can read Abby's full article in the MIT Technology Review.

Have feedback or story ideas for Short Wave? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @NPRShortWave.

This episode was produced by Berly McCoy, edited by Gabriel Spitzer, and fact-checked by Abē Levine. Natasha Branch was the audio engineer.