A TikTok sensation is shedding light on her experiences working in a mortuary, including eerie encounters she believes to be of supernatural origin.
Josiane Cristina de Oliveira Portes, a 42-year-old mother of two from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, transitioned from her previous role as a cleaner to pursue a career in preserving and disinfecting deceased bodies. With a passion for her unconventional job, Josiane has amassed over 718,000 followers on TikTok (@josianetanatopraxia) where she candidly shares her unique stories.
Josiane’s path to her current profession was not without its challenges. “When I was young, I was afraid of the dark, deaths, and ghosts,” she revealed. However, she found a calling in caring for those who can no longer care for themselves, tending to the bodies of the departed with deep compassion.
On her social media platform, Josiane offers insights into the methods used in her profession. She details the preservation process, which involves a specific fluid for disinfection and gas removal, administered through the circulatory system. “In thanatopraxia, it is important to slow down the progress of a body decomposing,” she explained.
Josiane’s responsibilities extend beyond preservation to assisting families with their wishes for the deceased, such as dressing the body for the funeral and attending to personal grooming details. Her meticulous approach ensures that families can say their goodbyes with peace of mind.
Amid her professional duties, Josiane claims to have experienced unexplainable occurrences. “Sometimes when I am with a body at the table doing the procedure, I am completely certain that I am being observed,” she said. Despite such eerie sensations, Josiane remains composed and unafraid. She recounted one chilling episode involving a body she left on a table for treatment. Upon returning, she observed lights flickering and claimed to see another figure standing alongside the body, an event she described as “terrifying and exciting at the same time.”
Josiane remains impartial about the lives lived by the individuals she cares for, stating, “If a person dies and has crimes in his life, for example… I’m not a judge. I work in an attempt to help the family.”
However, not everyone is accepting of her chosen profession. Josiane acknowledges facing prejudice, especially online, but she maintains respect for differing viewpoints. “My profession, as I always say; I live by death, I respect death and I am not afraid of it,” she asserted.
Josiane’s journey from fear to a compassionate career, along with her accounts of unexplained phenomena, continues to captivate her TikTok audience, offering a rare glimpse into a world that few venture into.
