Show business and superstitions go hand in hand. For centuries, there have been so many rituals in theatre to stave off bad luck that even the phrase “good luck” is considered an ominous omen.
Some other fun superstitions also exist, like having a “ghost light” in the middle of nearly every professional theatre and never saying “Macbeth” unless you’re performing it. In fact, we could probably make a long list of every superstition, but then again, each actor also has their own routines. Like Rachael Stirling, who admitted that before every opening night, she eats some of her mother’s ashes.
Most stage actors have some sort of superstition before shows, and some habits to ensure a smooth-sailing performance can get really weird
Rachael Stirling, an actress from England, recently published a memoir about her mother, Dame Diana Rigg
Rachael Stirling is a name many may not know unless they're a big theatre fan. She’s actually a 49-year-old actress from London, England, who first entered the stage business in 1997. While she has quite a few television roles, her real love seems to be the stage, with over 20 major professional stage productions under her belt and two Laurence Olivier Award nominations.
However, despite her impressive repertoire, many fantasy fans may actually know her for being Dame Diana Rigg’s daughter. Rigg, with an equally impressive career under her belt, became world-famous for her role as the iconic and snarky Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones. But in 2020, after a six-month battle with lung cancer, the 82-year-old actress unfortunately did not survive.
In the book, she admits that after her mother perished in 2020, she began to eat grains of her ashes before opening nights
On September 10, 2026, however, Stirling paid a beautiful homage to her mother by releasing a memoir titled All About My Mother, which she began writing after Rigg moved in with Rachael during her terminal cancer diagnosis. While the book touches on many topics, including Rigg’s career and unique life, many readers were shocked by one admission: Stirling eats her mother’s ashes.
According to the 49-year-old actress, she started to “eat her ashes before going on stage,” even though it “shocks people” when she tells them. However, she hardly finds this to be something worth fussing about. Rachael actually started doing it because it felt “absolutely natural” to her. “I am cloaked in her, shielded and shrouded by her. My mother is my superpower,” she wrote in the memoir.
The actress claims the process felt natural for her, despite the fact that it shocks people whenever they find out
Obviously, this is a unique superstition in a world of weird and odd habits, but eating ashes is hardly unheard of. In 2011, an episode of TLC’s My Strange Addiction was released that absolutely shocked audiences. In it, a 26-year-old woman named Casey admitted that after her husband unexpectedly left this world, she ended up consuming his ashes, becoming dependent on them as a way to help her cope.
However, mental health professionals actually view eating cremated remains as unmanaged grief intertwined with psychological disorders. This can be something called Prolonged Grief Disorder, or PGD, which is when the natural grieving process becomes completely blocked. One of its core symptoms is compulsive proximity-seeking, which can lead to extreme cases like Stirling’s and Casey’s.
But there’s also the physical health aspect. Anthropologists refer to the ritual of eating human remains as endocannibalism, and it can even be traced back to certain Indigenous groups, like the Yanomami in the Amazon rainforest, as a funeral rite. However, it is still recommended that no one consume human ashes for various reasons, even if it’s just a “grain or two,” as Stirling admitted to doing.
Health experts point out that while human ashes are primarily composed of pulverized bone material, which is not toxic, risks remain. Due to high levels of mineral salts and potential traces of heavy metals, consuming amounts of cremated human remains can cause severe problems like intestinal blockages, throat irritation, and digestive distress. Have you ever heard of anyone eating someone’s ashes? Or was this a first for you? Let us know!
Endocannibalism, or the ritual of eating human remains, is still present in certain indigenous groups' funeral rites
Readers were baffled by the admission, with many wondering if it was at all legal given that cannibalism is illegal in most of the world
