In early nineteenth-century England, a person who committed suicide was required by law to be buried at a crossroads with a stake through his or her...

In early nineteenth-century England, a person who committed suicide was required by law to be buried at a crossroads with a stake through his or her heart. The stake was to prevent the ghost from walking. Likewise, burying the body at a crossroads was believed to take away any evil influence of the deceased by spreading it in four directions. The actual burial of suicide victims was required by law to take place at night, between the hours of nine and midnight.