Hamlet once used real human skulls onstage

Because papier-mâché just doesn't scream 'existential dread' loud enough, 19th-century theater actors used actual human remains. Gravediggers or bequeathed donors would supply real skulls to be used as Yorick in stage productions of Hamlet. Nothing elevates a gloomy monologue quite like holding the literal remains of someone who thought they were donating their body to science.