History Main / BiblesFromTheDead

** The ''TalesOfTheUnexpected'' episode, "Clerical Error," is an adaptation of this short story. Interestingly, that [[GenreAnthology anthology series]] was known for adapting stories by Roald Dahl, whose short story, "The Bookseller" is very similar to Cozzens’ tale. The similarities between Roald Dahl’s "The Bookseller" and Cozzens' "Clerical Error" are discussed in ''The Pretender'', by David Belbin.

** "Clerical Error," an episode of the [[GenreAnthology series]] ''TalesOfTheUnexpected'', is a loose adaptation of this short story.

* In ''Addie Pray'' (the novel from which ''PaperMoon'' was adapted), the main characters do this with bibles and pictures of the deceased. Addie mentions that even when they branched out into bigger and more lucrative cons, they kept a few bibles and picture frames in the trunk of the car because it was a fast and easy way to pick up a few dollars in an emergency.

* One of many scams attempted by Bart and Homer in the ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Simpsons]]'' episode "The Great Money Caper", specifically aimed at Ned. It didn't work because Ned Flanders [[GenreSavvy had seen]] ''Paper Moon''.

* Attempted by Bart and Homer in the ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Simpsons]]'' episode "The Great Money Caper". It didn't work because Ned Flanders [[GenreSavvy had seen ''Paper Moon'']].

* In ''Blonde Crazy'' (also known as ''Larceny Lane''), a con artist makes good money with this scam and he encourages Bert to join him in his endeavors. Specifically, the con involves pretending husbands had ordered "good luck charms" before dying. When the C.O.D. packages arrive, the widows are willing to pay for these "valuable" mementos.

* In ''Matchstick Men: A Novel About Grifters with Issues'', by Eric Garcia, Roy and Frankie pull many cons, including a version of this scam involving roofing. This is omitted from the [[Film/MatchstickMen film adaptation]].

* Mose Pray (and eventually his daughter Addie) run the Bibles from the Dead scam all across the Depression-era Midwest in the movie and TV series ''PaperMoon''.
* It's possible this was the scam Big Dan Teague of ''OBrotherWhereArtThou'' was pulling before he met up with the boys. It's unclear, though- he only describes himself as a bible salesman, "in the service of the Lord", and went on to tell about how there were vast amounts of money to be made.

* One of the brain teasers in ''Great Lateral Thinking Puzzles'', by Paul Sloane and Des MacHale, tells the story of a con artist who would pull this scam. He would send invoices to the families of wealthy deceased men claiming the men owed money for pornographic books they had ordered. So, how did he end up getting caught? [[spoiler: He sent an invoice to the family of a deceased blind man.]]

* Shows up in an episode of ''{{Hustle}}''. A young conman pulls this scam on a number of elderly widows, but when he makes the mistake of taking money from Danny's grandmother, he becomes the protagonists' latest [[TheMark mark]]. Due to the style of storytelling we never realize this until the end as we think that the mark is actually joining them.

* Attempted by Bart and Homer in ''TheSimpsons'' episode "The Great Money Caper". It didn't work because Ned Flanders [[GenreSavvy had seen ''Paper Moon'']].

* A 1946 article in ''LIFE'' magazine claims that there was an increase in this type of ShortCon during UsefulNotes/WorldWar2. Grifters would deliver packages to the families of servicemen and claim they had been ordered by the servicemen who were now in combat. Due to the lack of reliable communication between members of the armed forces and their families at the time, the servicemen didn’t even have to be dead, only out of reach. The families would gladly pay any remaining amount necessary to get the packages they believed their relatives had ordered. Interestingly, the article states that another popular scam was the sale of "bullet-proof" Bibles which became popular after a story began circulating about a soldier who was saved when a [[PocketProtector Bible stopped a bullet from entering his body]].

* ''Death of a Dreamer'', by R.A. Bennett, has an inverted version of this scam. It basically goes like this: A con artist gets information from the obituaries and shows up at the widow’s house claiming to be a friend of the deceased. He feigns surprise at the man’s death and offers his condolences, apologizing for showing up at such an unfortunate time. The con man looks around for an object of value such a watch or medal and informs the widow that her husband had promised to sell him this item before his death. He pressures the widow into keeping her late husband’s promise. The item is then sold to someone else for a profit.

* ''Antiques Knock-off'', by Barbara Allan, features a version of this scam involving an antique clock. A con artist contacted a widow and claimed her recently deceased husband had put a down payment on the clock as a sixtieth wedding anniversary present. She gladly paid the remaining amount of one thousand dollars for a clock that was actually worth less than a hundred dollars.

* A 1946 article in ''LIFE'' magazine claims that there was an increase in this type of ShortCon during UsefulNotes/WorldWar2. Grifters would deliver packages to the families of servicemen and claim they had been ordered by the servicemen who were now in combat. Due to the lack of reliable communication between members of the armed forces and their families at the time, the servicemen didn’t even have to be dead, only out of reach. The families would gladly pay any remaining amount necessary to get the packages they believed their relatives had ordered. Interestingly, the article states that another popular scam was the sale of "bullet-proof" Bibles which became popular after a story about a soldier who was saved when a [[PocketProtector Bible stopped a bullet from entering his body]].

* Shows up in an episode of ''{{Hustle}}''. A young conman pulls this scam on a number of elderly widows, but when he makes the mistake of taking money from Danny's grandmother, he becomes the protagonists' latest [[TheMark mark]].

* In "Correspondences," by R.T. Smith, the narrator has a prison pen pal named Dink, who has committed a plethora of crimes including this scam. In fact, this ShortCon is described as a "time-honored" scam.

* In one episode of ''{{Dragnet}}'', "The Big Betty", a group of criminals uses this con to sell cheap junk at high prices.