Been listening to history podcasts on my early morning walks, and turns out executioners were basically the untouchables of Europe. Nobody wanted to be associated with them, so they intermarried with other executioner families. They also did a lot of the work nobody else wanted to do (dead bodies, clearing out latrines, etc.) and actually made rather good money. They also got a reputation for being death-obsessed eccentrics.

...dunno about you, but I have this weird feeling they were the inspiration for the Addams family.