In 1930, 53-year-old Carl Tanzler fell in love with 21-year-old Elena de Hoyos who was dying of tuberculosis in a Florida hospital. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Convinced that this young woman was the love of his life, Carl Tanzler did everything he could to save her. He tried everything from homemade concoctions to newfangled medical equipment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When his efforts failed, he made sure that she would remain with him forever\u2026 no matter that Elena de Hoyos was already dead. This is the disturbing story of Carl Tanzler, the man who loved a corpse and went to eerie lengths to keep her by his side.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCount Carl Tanzler von Cosel at his building on Flagler Av. C 1940. From the DeWolfe and Wood Collection in the Otto Hirzel Scrapbook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The Death of Elena de Hoyos<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In 1930, Elena de Hoyos entered the U.S. Marine Hospital in Key West, Florida to be treated for tuberculosis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elena\u2019s prognosis was poor, but an X-ray technician named Carl Tanzler \u2013 who liked to go by Count Carl Von Cosel \u2013 decided to do everything he could to save the 21-year-old beauty. This was despite the fact that Carl was not a doctor. He was an X-ray technician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During his childhood in Germany, Carl often dreamt of his true love. In these vivid visions, Carl always saw the same radiant young woman \u2013 a woman whose beauty he could not resist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When he ran into Elena de Hoyos in the hospital, he was convinced that the person he was looking at was the same woman who had visited him in his dreams. He showered her and her family with gifts and expensive X-ray equipment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He declared his love to Elena over and over again. Despite all of Tanzler\u2019s desperate efforts, however, Elena died a few months later, at the age of 22. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although it\u2019s not clear what Elena thought about Carl Tanzler, it\u2019s worth noting that she was three decades younger than him and already legally married.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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