Tea and hammers

This chapter examines the emergence of a pair of dark events – Death Cafes and Coffin Clubs – to reflect upon their role in our contemporary relationship with death. With this, inextricable considerations are presented for debate. We, as a society, have become uncomfortable talking about death, so much so that an entire movement – the ‘death positive movement’ – replete with dark events like Death Cafes and Coffin Clubs, became necessary to offer opportunities in response. Or were these dark events created in response to a different cultural crisis? Beyond this, has a modern emphasis on individualising our deaths and our griefs left us overwhelmed with possibility and, thus, lost without any direction? This chapter seeks to address these questions and will examine, through the works of historians, anthropologists, psychologists, and organisers and attendees, the possible motivations for creating these dark events. It further seeks to posit predictions about their future as they shape our evolving relationship with death.