Mortician reveals the bizarre items people are buried with

A mortician has revealed the strange objects families request for their loved ones to be buried with. Photo / 123rf

A mortician has revealed the strange objects families request for their loved ones to be buried with.

In the latest episode of news.com.au podcast I've Got News For You, manager of mortuary services at McCartney Funerals in Queensland, Tracy Dixon, gave Andrew Bucklow a glimpse into her job.

Dixon detailed how she prepares a body for a family's final viewing, the bizarre items people have asked to be buried with and her brushes with the supernatural.

"On a busy day you can [get] from five to 12 bodies, with an average of six per day," she said, with her main role being the preparation of a body for the funeral.

This involves cleansing it and setting the facial features.

"I've been doing this for 10 years so I've worked on thousands."

She said flu season is usually her busiest time of year, barring the last two years.

Dixon said she would check IDs and speak to the family about what they would like, such as the clothing they would like the deceased to be dressed in.

Tracy Dixon reveals what it's like to be a mortician. Photo / YouTube / Are You Dying To Know?

And over the last decade, Dixon said families have asked for some standout items to be buried with.

"A surfboard was a good one, but we couldn't quite get it in so we had to ask the family if we could cut it in half," she said.

"People have asked to be buried with beer or cigarettes in their hand.

"Once, I had prepared a gentleman and left the family for the viewing. When I came back the next day, I pulled the modesty cloth down and they had put an 'It mask' on him."

The clown-averse Dixon said she freaked out when she saw it.

She said people have also asked to bury their family members with golf clubs, golf balls or even sex toys.

Once, she was even asked to remove a tattoo from the deceased's body so that the family could keep it – something Dixon said is actually common practice in other parts of the world.

Dixon said she definitely believes in the supernatural and feels like she's had a lot of experiences with spirits during her career.

"There have been many times when I am at the mortuary door, and I am usually the first one here, and footsteps, really heavy, have come up behind me," she said.

She said she then would go up to her boss's office and he'd have no idea what she was talking about.

Dixon revealed the strongest connections to the supernatural appear when someone has undergone a traumatic death.