Anydeathrelics «2025-2027»

Artists like Walter Schels (who photographed the dying before and after death) and websites like FindAGrave (which crowdsources cemetery photographs) produce millions of anydeathrelics. The subjects never consented. Is the public benefit—normalizing death, preserving genealogical data—greater than the intrusion? The debate remains open.

By J. H. Vane
Cultural Forensics & Digital Afterlife Studies anydeathrelics

In the crowded lexicon of digital memorials, collectible memorabilia, and spiritual iconography, a strange and evocative keyword has begun to surface: anydeathrelics. Artists like Walter Schels (who photographed the dying

Unlike traditional heirlooms (which are passed down within families) or funeral artifacts (which are bound by ritual), anydeathrelics refers to a radical, democratic category of objects. The prefix “any” is critical. It suggests that any death, regardless of status, fame, wealth, or circumstance, can produce a relic. Not just saints. Not just heroes. Not just ancestors. Any ending yields a fragment worthy of preservation. The content of Anydeathrelics is often described as

But what, precisely, is an anydeathrelic? Is it a physical token (a watch from a stranger’s wrist after a subway accident)? A digital trace (a final, un-sent text message saved on a forgotten server)? Or is it a psychological construct—an anchor we latch onto to make sense of the universal, yet deeply personal, experience of loss?

This article will dissect the concept of anydeathrelics from three angles: historical precedent, digital reincarnation, and future ethics. By the end, you will understand why this awkward compound word may become one of the most important terms of the 21st century.

The content of Anydeathrelics is often described as a "digital museum of the macabre." Unlike the jump-scare horrors of the modern web, the site operates on a mood of deep melancholia. Reported artifacts found on the page include: