Missouri's Mad Doctor McDowell

From Henry Jekyll to Victor Frankenstein, horror literature is filled with mad scientists whose dedication to their macabre craft knows no bounds. In the new book Missouri's Mad Doctor McDowell, authors Victoria Cosner and Lorelei Shannon dissect the legends surrounding former St. Louisan Dr. Joseph Nash McDowell. This grave robber (for scientific purposes) ran a medical college located at Eighth and Gratiot streets, and also owned a cave in Hannibal, where he is said to have suspended his fourteen-year-old daughter's corpse in an alcohol-filled, copper-and-glass cylinder. Cosner and Shannon celebrate the publication of their book with a launch party tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Subterranean Books (6275 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-862-6100 or www.subbooks.com). Admission is free.