Back in 1991, when I was a teenager living in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, I heard about a guy who shot himself in the woods surrounding the Volo Bog. His corpse was discovered by kids who never told authorities and they would revisit it over the course of 5 months. The word got around, naturally, and the body was finally taken away after someone fired the remaining bullets into the corpse with it's own gun. I never saw the body, but I sometimes wonder what degree of decomposition it must have been in towards the end. Anyway, the story has always lurked in the back of my mind all these years and so I decided to pay a visit.
After learning more about bogs, I’ve become fascinated with them; carnivorous pitcher plants, wild orchids and, of course, the bog people of Scandinavia, many of which were victims of ancient ritual sacrifice, their bodies preserved for thousands of years due to the unique chemistry of peat bogs that prevent decay. I highly recommend,
“The Bog People,” by P. V. Glob, if you’re interested in reading more on the subject. I plan to visit more bogs over time.
"The Volo Bog in February," 2012 Oil on canvas, 38 x 48
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