The Forged & The Filched: Stealing (From) the Dead - Atlas Obscura Experiences

The Forged & The Filched: Stealing (From) the Dead

1 hour
$12 per device
See Dates
$12 per device
$12 per person
See Dates
What We’ll Do
This experience is part of Halloweek (Oct. 26–30) at Atlas Obscura, a full five days of terrifying tales, wicked games, and creepy crafts. Via Zoom, join us as we gaze into Victorian divination mirrors, glimpse the scarier side of spelunking, unearth stories of stolen bones, and more. Find a trusty nightlight and book your tickets now, lest they disappear into the night!

Craving more mystery with your art history? Join Kylie Holloway and Erin Thompson for an exploration of the most fascinating forgeries and thefts in the art world. We’ll zoom in on the secret history of the works of art themselves and then hear the scandalous story of the work’s theft or forgery from the only full-time professor of art crime in America.

In a very special October edition, hosts Erin Thompson and Kylie Holloway will be braving the hijinks of looting from tombs and the trade in ancient human remains! Missing sarcophagi, filched urns, and how much does a looted ancient skull cost anyways? Erin and Kylie are diving into the bizarre and bloodcurdling stories of raided tombs and stolen bones. Haunting heists, spook-tacular stealings, and a lot of bad Halloween costumes here we come!

(This event is also available on Wednesday, October 14th, get tickets for that date here!)

Where We’ll Be

ZOOM!

About Your Host
Erin Thomson & Kylie Holloway
Erin Thomson & Kylie Holloway

Erin Thomson is America’s only full-time professor of art crime. She studies the damage done to humanity’s shared heritage through looting, theft, and the deliberate destruction of art. She has discussed art crime topics in, e.g., The New York Times, CNN, NPR, and has been invited to lecture at MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and Columbia. Her book, Possession: The Curious History of Private Collectors, is now out from Yale University Press.

Kylie Holloway is a performer and live events producer who uses comedy to celebrate the forgotten women of history and artists you should know about. She is an in-house producer at Caveat where she runs the Nevertheless She Existed live show and podcast as well as Ride or Die: Oregon Trail Live and Blood in the Water: Drag Queens and Scientists Roast Sea Creatures. You can catch her onstage as Art Expert In-residence at Modern Whitney or as a tour guide at museums across the country.

What Else You Should Know

Once registered, you can access the Zoom room for this experience through your confirmation email or Eventbrite account. Atlas Obscura online experiences are recommended for attendees age 13+. Following the experience, we’ll send you a recording of your Halloweek experience, which you’ll be able to view for up to five days after the event. Head to Atlas Obscura to see more of our upcoming online experiences.


This event is one of Atlas Obscura’s Online Experiences. At Atlas Obscura, our mission has always been to inspire wonder and curiosity about the incredible world we all share. Now, more than ever, there’s a need to stay connected—not only to our sense of wonder, but to each other.


We encourage you to follow and share the hashtag #AOExperiences for more incredible online experiences and our newest addition of Online Courses with Atlas Obscura and our friends. And check out AtlasObscura.com, the definitive guide to the world’s hidden wonders, to keep virtually exploring the world through the website’s atlas of amazing places, unique stories, and videos.

Dates and Availability

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