Story

“Anatomy practical exams, from my experience, have two parts: identifying samples on a microscope and general gross anatomy. The identifying sample part was set up to have multiple microscopes around the anatomy lab. Students would have to identify what was under the microscope and also be able to answer related questions. The gross anatomy exam just had pieces of organs fresh from a cadaver on display and students also had to answer questions on that.

There was a tradition in my university of people fearing to enter the anatomy room the night before the exam. The story was that few years’ prior, a nearly failing student decided to sneak into the anatomy room on the night before. He was expecting both the microscope test and gross anatomy test to be set up. However, none of the tests were set up, and all there was in the room was a cadaver in the middle of the room. The student, out of desperation, decides to stay the night in the anatomy lab and study the cadaver in preparation of the upcoming test. The student studied but could not resist his sleep late at night. So he turned off the lights of the lab. He decides to sit on a chair and rest his head on an empty table to sleep. During his sleep, the student felt something cold brushing slowly against his arm, which caused him to wake up. When he turned on the lights to see the room, the cadaver was missing from the middle of the room. The student left the campus instantly and could not make the anatomy exam out of fear.

Whenever there was an anatomy exam near, all the students would talk about the living anatomy room cadaver and the variants they heard. Even our anatomy professor told us to stay out of the anatomy room the day before the exam.”

Context

I collected this piece from my mother, who attended and trained to become a doctor at Hallym University in Chucheon, South Korea. This story is significant to my mother as she says it is one of the few memories she has about the culture and tradition of her university life. Being on a path to become a surgeon, my mother says she did not have ample time to thoroughly experience the diverse regional culture that her universiry experience provided.

Analysis

This is an urban legend has the moral to not cheat. Had the student not attempted to cheat, the whole ‘supernatural’ experience could have been prevented. Additionally, this leads to other students deterring away from cheating.