Son of WTF??

Okay, what's going on? It's like Norman Bates time out there... First there's this:

Woman Who Died in '03 Left in Front of TV

The mummified body of a woman who didn't want to be buried was found in a chair in front of her television set 2 1/2 years after her death, authorities said.

Then there's this:

Son seals mother's body in wardrobe

An Italian man 'mummified' the body of his 71-year-old mother when she died, stashing it away in the bedroom wardrobe three years ago and sealing it with silicone gel.

Then there's this:

Woman offers her dead body for display

A Toronto woman, not content with having merely a dusty demise, has become the first Canadian to donate her body for public display after she dies.

Is this something like Missing White Chicks? something that always happened but is suddenly of High Media Interest?