My Kingdom for a...Hearse Trivia Quiz

Answer: From the word for a candelabra on a coffin

The Middle English word "herse" signified a candelabra typically placed on the coffin. It is believed that perhaps in the 17th century, the word began to also be used for the carriages (horse-drawn) that were used to move the coffin to the burial location. These carriages began to take on distinctive characteristics (enclosed structure, openings for viewing, curtains, etc.) and the hearse was born.

Answer: Beginning of the switch to motorized hearses from horse-drawn

Before roughly 1900, hearses were pulled by horses. The first motorized hearse is believed to have been built around 1901. Initially, motorized hearses used electric motors (did you think electric vehicles were new?), but as internal combustion engines became the preferred mode for transportation, hearses followed suit.

In the U.S., the first internal combustion engine-powered hearse is believed to have appeared in 1909, used for the funeral of a Wilfrid Pruyn. The vehicle was custom built for an undertaker by the name of H.D. Ludlow, and it was constructed from the carriage of a horse-drawn hearse and the chassis of a bus. For some years, undertakers and funeral directors continued to prefer horse-drawn hearses because the new motorized ones cost about four times as much, but gradually as automobiles and trucks became more common, so did the motorized hearse.

Answer: Landau bar

The closed-side design hearses used in the U.S. and some other nations are often called "landau style." A landau style roof at one time meant a "simulated convertible" and the elongated "S" was used to mimic the folding bracket for the top. That use of the term landau is believed to come from the days of horse-drawn carriages, where a landau was an open carriage with a soft roof that could be raised and lowered. On a hearse, the polished chrome or silver landau bar is purely decorative, though it sometimes does signal which company built the particular hearse.

It is commonly believed that Sayers & Scovill produced the funeral industry's first landau hearse, including the closed rear side panels with the landau "S."

Answer: Small Buddhist temple

You really should find some photos of these. They're often beautifully decorated, dramatically designed structures, ornately carved and gilded. The temple-like structures extend over the vehicle's sides a significant amount and can be quite tall. They very often extend frontward over the cab portion of the hearse. Sometimes called casket coaches or funeral coaches, these vehicles are used to transport the deceased to a crematorium.

Answer: Sam the Sham of the Pharaohs

Sam the Sham had a 1952 Packard hearse that he transported his equipment in. His website had a photo of Sam driving the hearse, waving to the camera. The story of the hearse is that in 1963 Sam had started a new band and needed some way to carry his speakers and organ from gig to gig. He asked the manager of the club he was to play at if he knew where Sam could find a hearse (this was before vans were very common). They found the Packard hearse, which was black with maroon curtains. Sam called the used hearse "Black Beauty."

Answer: Harold and Maude

The Superior Coach Company was a prominent U.S. builder of hearses (and other professional vehicles) and frequently used full-sized automobile chassis for their hearses. The 1959 Cadillac Superior hearse is a classic in the field. It was that model that Harold bought for himself and which he drives to funerals.

At one such funeral, Maude offers him a ride in his own hearse, which she has stolen from him without knowing whose it is. The 1959 hearse is taken away from Harold by his mother. She gives him the new Jaguar XK-E to make up for it. Harold promptly cuts parts of the Jaguar away, welds on an enclosed hearse-like rear section and creates one of the best looking hearses you'll ever see. Seriously, search for a photo!

Answer: Brigham Young

It's not true. It would be pretty creepy to have an actual hearse taken from a famous person's funeral there, but more important, Brigham Young's casket was carried by hand to its resting place, not by hearse. There are, though, a fair number of "scary" tales connected to hearses, usually involving a "ghost hearse." For example, in Louisville, Kentucky there is a story about a ghost hearse that chases after cars and forces them off cliffs. And outside Chicago there are tales of a team of ghost horses pulling a hearse, frightening local residents.

Answer: Limousine style

Possibly as a carryover from the days of horse-drawn hearses, the earliest hearses in the United States were open-styled, close to the so-called "limousine" style. Gradually the closed rear side panel hearse (landau style) became the preferred style in the U.S. The common configuration varies by country, however, with Australia being a good example of a country with generally clear window panels from to back. This obviously gives a better view of the casket. Many limousine style hearses have interior lighting, including spotlights, to highlight the casket inside.

Answer: Tony Stewart

Tony Stewart is a well known auto racer, driving a wide range of vehicles, from Indy cars to stock cars in NASCAR, to sprint cars. A 1984 Cadillac hearse was extensively customized, to Stewart's specifications, from substantial bodywork to engine modifications, to consumer electronics (Bluetooth, video iPod, DVD, etc.).

Instead of the standard glass partition between the limo driver and the passenger area, Stewart's hearse has a mechanized wall with television/DVD screen. It is done in standard landau fashion, with vinyl roof and large landau bar.

The rear door has a custom painted graveyard scene.

Answer: Helicopter

Cities and private funeral companies commonly used the same vehicle as both a hearse and an ambulance (including as a coroner's wagon of course) in the early 1900s. The connection between hearses and furniture trucks came about because some carpenters who made and sold furniture also made caskets.

The era of trolley charters as hearses is fascinating. Several cities (e.g., Baltimore and Los Angeles) had trolley companies that produced and rented out funeral trolleys. This was generally from 1900 to the 1920s.

The trolley cars typically had a casket area, a seating area for "chief mourners," a seating area for the rest of the funeral attendees, and perhaps a chapel.