The Tale of Carl Tanzler and His Undying Love

October will be over soon but I still have some spooky posts to share! This past weekend, I was having a conversation with my good friend Jenny and somehow the story of Carl Tanzler came up.

To my surprise, Jenny (who is also a lover of all that is creepy & paranormal) was unfamiliar with the name “Carl Tanzler” and so, I thought, perhaps most people are.

Well, not to worry because I am here to tell you this story that is 100% true and hard to believe. Sit back and read on below to learn more about who Carl Tanzler was and what did he did to earn his uhh notoriety, if you want to call it that.

Carl Tanzler (pictured below) was born in 1877 in Germany. As a young boy, he had visions of a beautiful dark-haired girl, and Tanzler was convinced that this was to be his one true love.

He eventually got married, had children, and emigrated with his family to Florida. However, after he took a job as a radiologic technician in Key West, for some reason, he left his family.

Before I go on further, let me say that Tanzler was already showing some signs of being a wack job. For one, he lied about being a count (amongst other things). However, this will be the least concerning thing about Tanzler, by far.

Tanzler in 1940

But back to the story. Tanzler was working at the U.S Marine hospital when in walked Elena de Hoyos, a beautiful dark-haired woman that looked like the girl in Tanzler’s visions. De Hoyos was Cuban American and was brought to the hospital by her mother after becoming ill.

Convinced that was his true love, Tanzler became OBSESSED. The problem? De Hoyos was dying and most importantly, she was not really that interested in the strange old white man’s affections.

She was diagnosed with tuberculosis-a disease that was still fatal back in the early 1900s (these events occurred in the late 1920s and early 1930s). This did not deter Tanzler. Although he was not a doctor, he decided he was going to save de Hoyos (Insert eye roll here)

He dedicated all his time, money, and energy to this. He made medicines, tinctures, and more in an effort to rid her of her disease. He even showered with her gifts.

I’m going to input my own personal opinion in here and say that I’m sure de Hoyo’s family thought this was strange AF, but since he was trying to save her life and even bringing in hospital equipment into her home, I don’t think they were ever in a position to really say no. But by all accounts, de Hoyos (seen below) never reciprocated the affection.

Tragically, Tanzler’s efforts failed and de Hoyos died on October 25, 1931.

Elena de hoyos

Now, this is where the story takes a turn. Tanzler offered to pay for her to be interred in a mausoleum (which her family agreed to). They, however, had no clue that he had the ONLY key to the mausoleum.

So what did lil ole Tanzler do with this key? Well, he visited her grave every night for TWO YEARS. I can’t make this stuff up people. Meanwhile, her family had no idea. This wasn’t enough for him though. So in 1931, Tanzler decided it was time for de Hoyos to uhh, well to move in with him.

Tanzler stole her body and took it home with him, where they could live as man and wife. Because this was a corpse, Tanzler had to get creative and became a DIY king. He stuffed her body with rags and made a wig out of her own hair. Essentially, he made her look like a doll instead of a rotting corpse. He also used perfume to cover the smell.

He put her body in his bed and there she lived for SEVEN YEARS. Seven years guys. And no one knew a thing. People started to talk though. Tanzler was seen buying woman’s clothes and perfume, which was strange since everyone thought Tanzler was a reclusive old man living on his own. A boy said he witnessed Tanzler dancing with a large doll, which spread around town and eventually to de Hoyo’s family.

Keep in mind, de Hoyo’s family knew this guy was off. He had lost his job (for unknown reasons) and became a recluse. And so, in 1940, one of de Hoyo’s sisters decide to pay him a random visit. At his home, the sister found to be what she believed to be an effigy of the late de Hoyos. After the police were called, it was revealed to be her actual dead sister.

Let’s take a moment here to think of what this family went through. De Hoyos was very young when she died, 22 to be exact. I can’t imagine what a loss like that would do to a family. Perhaps the only thing bringing them comfort was knowing that she was resting in a pricy mausoleum and had found peace. That was never the case though.

An autopsy revealed all of the DIY projects Tanzler had done on her body to keep her “intact”. After all this, Tanzler was arrested only for grave robbing and he was eventually let go without facing any consequences for his actions.

If this wasn’t enough, Tanzler actually had a plan for the body. Are you ready for this? This guy was building a SPACE SHIP so that he could fly de Hoyo’s into space where the radiation would bring her back to life. Can you believe this? This isn’t a movie, this actually happened. And of course, it happened in Florida.

Ok but let’s get back to what happened to Elena de Hoyo’s. After Tanzler was let go, he had the audacity to ask for her body back. Instead, she was put on display at a local funeral home for all to see. She was finally laid to rest in Key West Cemetery in an unmarked grave. Tanzler later died in 1952 and that’s the end of that.

I’m sharing this story because it macabre yes, but also because it angers me. As I write this, it’s the 89th anniversary of de Hoyo’s death. I hope wherever she is now, she has found peace. We don’t know much about de Hoyos or about her inner thoughts about Tanzler before she died. I can imagine she felt strange but didn’t feel like she could say no to his offerings.

I feel for her though and it makes me incredibly sad that this man took advantaged of the situation and did something so sick. Of course, Tanzler was most definitely mentally ill, but that does not excuse his actions.

What’s worst is that her body was put on display after this (you can google a picture of what it looked like) and Tanzler was thought to be a romantic-people felt bad for him. But what about Elena de Hoyo’s? She was a victim who could literally do nothing and she was possessed all those years by a man who I don’t think actually loved her. I think he was obsessed and clearly very very sick…

That’s all I have to say about this very strange and sad tale. If you want to learn more, check out the short video below.

When a radiologist is obsessed with you and wants to pay for your funeral the answer is NO. Thank you Patron deathlings, who make this all possible! http://w...

I hope you enjoyed learning about this story as much as I did sharing it. Remember, real life is stranger than fiction. Stay safe and stay spooky.

XOXO

-Leslie V