Burke and hair, a noun phrase, refers to a method of murder in which the victim is suffocated by having their head forced into a sack filled with hair. This gruesome technique gained notoriety in the 19th century when it was employed by the infamous Irish serial killers William Burke and William Hare.
Burke and hair became a symbol of the depths of human depravity and served as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked violence. Its notoriety contributed to the development of forensic science and modern policing practices.