SIGHTS
Covered bodies being wheeled into or out of the facility, bright lights, secure doors with keypad or card swipe entries, a sterile room filled with metal furnishings and tools, autopsy tables with raised edges to catch bodily fluids, step stools, technicians wearing varying degrees of safety garb (scrubs, booties, gloves, a face mask, splash guard, goggles, hairnets), a cooler for holding bodies (either a large walk-in cooler or smaller cabinets where the bodies are rolled in), bodies in bags or covered with sheets, naked bodies lying on tables with toe tags attached, sinks with hoses, trays of sterilized tools, metal bins for holding organs and other evidence, hanging scales, X-ray machines, a shelf or desk where reports are written and paperwork is filled out, patient files, biohazard garbage bags, cabinetry and drawers for storage, a shelf filled with binders and reference books, boxes of latex gloves, typed reminders on the wall (about hand washing, proper procedures, etc.), a whiteboard with information written on it, a computer and printer, a telephone, cameras for taking pictures of the body, clipboards with information or forms attached to them, bags holding a patient’s clothing and personal items, a rack where specimens are stored to be picked up by pathologists, blood spatters on the tile floor
SOUNDS
Squeaky gurney wheels, doors buzzing or swinging open, rubber-soled shoes on a tiled floor, the shuffle of booties, phones ringing, technicians verbally recording findings during an autopsy, papers being flipped on a clipboard, music playing, the snick of scissors as clothes are cut, items being placed into a plastic bag, water running into a sink, hands being washed, surgical instruments clanking against a metal tray, slightly muffled voices speaking through face masks, the stretch and rattle of a hanging scale as something is placed in the tray, objects plopping or clanging into an evidence tray, a scalpel slicing through flesh, the rev of a surgical bone cutter or electric saw, a body bag being zipped closed, cabinet doors opening and closing, the rustle of protective wear being unfolded and put on, a pen scratching on paper, latex gloves snapping on or off, the click of a digital camera as a technician photographs a body
SMELLS
Antiseptic, bleach, blood, a sickly sweet decomposing or “death” smell, formalin (for preserving specimens), one’s own breath being expelled into a face mask, menthol ointment spread under the nose
TASTES
Some settings have no specific tastes associated with them beyond what the character might bring into the scene (chewing gum, mints, the waxy flavor of lipstick, etc.). For scenes like these, where specific tastes are sparse, it would be best to stick to descriptors from the other four senses.
TEXTURES AND SENSATIONS
A very chilly temperature-controlled room, the dry feel of latex gloves, a paper mask chafing one’s skin, an itchy hair net or cap, punching buttons on a keypad, a headset scratching one’s ear or scalp, a corpse’s dead weight, slightly lessened sensitivity from wearing gloves, the feel of ebbing resistance as a scalpel cuts into flesh, slippery blood on one’s hands or under one’s feet, squishy organs, the cooler strip of skin under one’s nose where menthol has been applied, keeping a firm grip on one’s scalpel, cold water on one’s skin, scrubbing one’s skin in an effort to remove any residual smell, a blast of cold air as one enters the cooler
POSSIBLE SOURCES OF CONFLICT
Losing a body
Misplacing the deceased’s important personal items
Being unable to determine a cause of death or determining an unpopular cause of death
Circumstances that cause power sources and backups to fail
Getting stuck in the morgue
Faulty safety wear that compromises one’s health
Mixing up tissue samples
Mislabeling a body
Having to house or autopsy the body from a high-profile case
Political pressure from medical examiners and law enforcement
Being embarrassed by one’s job at the morgue
Difficulty separating one’s emotions from one’s job
Family members who have moral or personal objections to one working with dead bodies
PEOPLE COMMONLY FOUND HERE
Coroners, family members identifying a body, forensic technicians, grief counselors, medical examiners, medical students or law enforcement personnel doing a tour, nurses, pathologists
RELATED SETTINGS THAT MAY TIE IN WITH THIS ONE
Rural Volume: Graveyard, mausoleum
Urban Volume: Ambulance, emergency room, funeral home, hospital room, police station
SETTING NOTES AND TIPS
When you think of a morgue, a set group of services usually come to mind: conducting autopsies, collecting and sending off samples for testing, holding bodies, and identifying the bodies of loved ones. However, not all morgue facilities offer all of these services. Some hospitals, depending on their size and funding, may use morgues as basic storage facilities until the bodies can be taken offsite for autopsy, usually to a medical examiner’s or coroner’s office. In some cases, autopsies can also take place at the funeral home (though the morgue here is usually called a mortuary); if so, procedures here are typically performed by a private pathologist and come at a cost. When family members need to identify a body, this can take place at any location along the way, depending on when this step occurs in the overall process. So when it comes time to write your morgue scene, you’ll have to weigh your options and decide between the morgue at the hospital, the medical examiner’s or coroner’s office, or the funeral home.
SETTING DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE
Julia opened the door, glad to see that maintenance had finally oiled the hinges, and escorted the grieving husband into the room. The smell always hit her first—the faintest sickly sweet odor disguised by liters of antiseptic. It was so subtle that no one else seemed to notice, not the desensitized technicians and certainly not the destroyed family members. The woman’s husband stifled a sob as he stared at her covered body on the metal gurney. Julia placed a hand on his shoulder and waited for him to take that first impossible step.
Techniques and Devices Used: Multisensory descriptions
Resulting Effects: Establishing mood, reinforcing emotion, tension and conflict