I Sell the Dead

As Arthur Blake (Dominic Monaghan) languishes on death row, awaiting the inevitable consequences of a crime he vehemently denies committing, Father Duffy (Ron Perlman) arrives with an unexpected proposition: to extract a cautionary tale from the condemned man's own lips. It is here that Blake's story begins to unfold, a narrative marked by both sorrow and pecuniarity.

The threads of fate had previously entwined Arthur's life with that of Willie Grimes (Larry Fessenden), his former partner in a peculiar profession: grave robbing. Following the untimely demise of Blake's father, he was forced to find employment to support his family, and it was under Willie's tutelage that he learned the skills necessary to pilfer corpses from both hallowed grounds and more perilous locales, such as wakes. While their illicit occupation proved profitable in theory, its success was repeatedly hamstrung by the Machiavellian machinations of Doctor Quint (Angus Scrimm), who exploited their services by extorting fresh corpses for free, threatening to expose their activities to the authorities.

The duo's fortunes took a drastic turn when they procured another cadaver for Quint's morbid desires. While excavating a corpse buried at a crossroads, they were confounded by the discovery of a garlic wreath and wooden stake surrounding the deceased woman's body. Arthur dismissed these eerie trappings as mere superstition, callously removing them despite Willie's protests. It was only moments later, as they cleared their cart, that the corpse rose from the earth, its lifeless eyes now blazing with an unnatural vitality. Willie managed to fend off the undead woman momentarily with a shovel, and when she launched herself at him once more, he seized the opportunity to plunge the stake back into her chest, bringing her immediate demise. Willie and Arthur promptly delivered their grisly prize to Doctor Quint, departing hastily as the doctor's fate was sealed: the awakened corpse claimed his life.

In this bleak tableau, Arthur Blake's journey takes its first steps towards an unsettling intersection of mortality, morality, and the unyielding power of the undead.

As Arthur's narrative unfolds, Father Duffy probes him about any subsequent encounters with the notorious House of Murphy. Initially hesitant to revisit the subject, Arthur eventually yields, recounting the calamitous events that transpired when his path crossed theirs once more.

In a local tavern, Arthur and Willie were sipping their drinks alongside their new apprentice-turned-girlfriend Fanny, when they received an intriguing proposition from pub owner Ronnie. A nearby mortuary was rumored to be receiving mysterious shipments of the reanimated dead, with two crates reportedly lost at sea on a nearby island. However, there was a catch: the mortuary had already hired the House of Murphy to retrieve the missing undead. Despite initial reservations, Willie and Arthur reluctantly agreed to take on the job, largely due to Fanny's insistence.

The trio set off for the island, where they found that the crates were being guarded by Bulger, the ruthless enforcer of the House of Murphy. In a shocking turn of events, Fanny slit Bulger's throat, leaving Arthur and Willie stunned. The three then rounded up one of the undead, with Willie sustaining a bite in the process. As they attempted to secure the second crate, Fanny was suddenly killed by Cornelius, who then bound Arthur and Willie to the cage containing the captured undead.

The two were spared from death when the trapped undead broke free from its enclosure and attacked Valentine, Murphy's grotesque female assassin. In the chaos that ensued, Cornelius tried to save Valentine but was instead attacked by the second reanimated corpse. Arthur and Willie managed to break free and make their escape, but not before they had a falling out over the botched job, ultimately marking the end of their partnership and friendship. A week later, the two were apprehended for their troubles.

As the curtain draws on this peculiar tale, Father Duffy presents a conundrum: did Arthur or Willie orchestrate the demise of Cornelius? However, Arthur steadfastly maintains that his companions simply abandoned him to his destiny. The sudden eruption of ire from Father Duffy, coupled with his assertion that Willie was "fortunate" in being executed before their paths could cross, serves as a catalyst for Arthur's epiphany: the priest's true identity is Samuel Murphy. This revelation prompts the elder Murphy to attempt to bludgeon Arthur with a mace, but just as he prepares to strike, an unseen savior intervenes, felling him with a decisive blow. As Arthur finally has the opportunity to behold his rescuer, he is met with a shocking sight: Willie's decapitated body, its head held aloft in one hand like some macabre trophy. With a nonchalant air, this undead Willie explains that the bite he received on the island has granted him an unsettling immortality, which he insists is the most fortunate turn of events to have befallen him. As they make their way out of the prison cell, Willie even goes so far as to suggest that Arthur would benefit from a similar transformation – a notion Arthur promptly rejects. Undeterred, Willie jestingly pursues Arthur, claiming his undead state has awakened an insatiable hunger within him, and he playfully chases after his friend as they depart the prison. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to these two resurrected souls, Cornelius's watery grave begins to stir, its occupant poised to rise once more.