The fear of being buried alive is called taphophobia; taphos is Greek for the grave, and phobos is Greek for phobia – fear of the grave. Trapped, with no one to hear your screams, knowing that you’re going to die alone and underground. It’s no wonder that the fear of being buried alive is common. Even the gothic literature pioneer Edgar Allen Poe, wrote about it in his short story, ‘The Premature Burial’: ‘The true wretchedness is to be buried while alive’. Thanks to advancements in medical equipment and testing, being buried alive is not as much of a threat as it was years ago, but it still lingers in the shadows as these cases show…
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1 - Alice Blunden, 1674, Basingstoke, England
Alice lived with her husband, who dealt in malt. On 15th July 1674, Alice indulged in the brandy she was fond of and poppy water (from what I have read, it was like an opium tea) and passed out (somewhat unsurprisingly). At the time, doctors would test to see if you were breathing by holding a mirror over your nose & mouth, and the doctor at the time claimed he couldn’t see any sign of life and pronounced her dead. A message was sent to her husband, who asked them to wait for the funeral until he could return home; for some reason, the family refused. Alice was rather voluptuous and had to be squeezed into her coffin before they sealed it. Two days after she was buried, some children played in the graveyard. They heard screams and moans, a woman begging to be rescued. The terrified children ran and told various people, including their headmaster, but they weren’t believed, and the headmaster punished them for lying. However, intrigue got the better of the headmaster, and the next day, he went to the graveyard, where he, too, could hear the woman’s pleading screams. He went to the authorities, and the grave was not reopened until later. She sprung out when the coffin was opened because she was squeezed in so tightly. Her body was bruised and bloody due to trying to escape the coffin. Although she was still alive, she was unconscious and appeared on the brink of death, and for some royally fucked up reason, the family just put her back in the coffin. A guard was meant to watch over the grave but decided to leave it and go to the pub instead due to the terrible weather. The next day, they reopened the coffin again. During the night, Alice had awoken; her clothes were torn, and her face & body were covered in scratches. While her family were warm at home, and the guard was enjoying an ale, she had died alone in the coffin. A court case followed, but no one was punished as the doctor said the mirror check had never failed.
2 - Margaret ‘Maggie’ Dickson, 1721, Edinburgh, Scotland
Maggie had separated from her husband and had started working at a local inn when she began an affair with the owner’s son. Eventually, she became pregnant but hid the pregnancy well; it would have risked her job and reputation. Maggie gave birth, but the baby was unwell and died a few days later. Because the pregnancy and delivery had been secret, Maggie couldn’t have her baby buried, so she hid the body in a river. The body was found the same day and traced back to Maggie. On 2nd September 1721, she was hanged. Her body was placed in the coffin, and they began transporting her to the graveyard; during the journey, she woke up. Locals and authorities considered this an act of God, and it was believed she had been forgiven by God and given a second chance. Maggie reconciled with her husband and went on to have more children, although with the nickname ‘Half-Hangit Maggie’.
3 - Virginia MacDonald, 1851, New York City
Virginia MacDonald lived in New York City and sadly passed away in 1851. She was buried in Greenwood Cemetery Brooklyn. Her mother was convinced that her daughter wasn’t dead and tried to convince those around her. The family assumed her claims to be a reaction to grief and would try to soothe her, but to no avail. After the mother refused to give up, the family finally consented to exhuming the body. Much to the horror of everyone involved, they found Virginia’s body lying on her side with her hands badly bitten. It would appear that the mother’s instinct had been correct, and poor Virginia had died alone in her coffin.
4 - Mary Best, 1871, Calcutta
Mary Best was just 17 years old when she caught cholera in India. Her adopted mother, Mrs. Moore Chew, had left the country previously and Mary was on her own, suffering terribly until the doctor finally pronounced her dead. She was buried soon after in the French cemetery in Calcutta; bodies had to be buried quickly in India because of the heat and to try and stop cholera transmission. Ten years later, the vault was reopened for the body of Mary’s recently deceased uncle. And this is where a gruesome sight greeted the undertaker and his assistant. The coffin's lid, which had originally been nailed down, was on the floor. Mary’s skeleton was lying in and out of the casket. There was a large fracture on her skull; the fingers of her hand were bent as if grabbing something, and her clothes had been torn. She appeared to have been in a coma, familiar with cholera victims at the time. There are theories that she went insane with terror, pulling at her clothes before deliberately banging her head. Others that she hit her head after finally escaping the coffin, collapsing through exhaustion. It later turned out that the doctor who had signed her off as dead had twice tried to kill Mary’s adopted mother for her money, which was why she had left the country.
5 - Anna Hockwalt, 1884, Chicago
Anna Hockwalt was a nervous young lady who suffered from heart palpitations and anxiety attacks. She was getting ready to attend her brother’s wedding when she sat down to rest in the kitchen. A few minutes later, someone returned to the kitchen and found Anna still there, ‘head leaning against the wall and apparently lifeless,’ reported one newspaper. The local doctor was sent for, and he couldn’t revive her; he put her death down to her heart palpitations. Some of Anna’s friends disputed this with the doctor, but they were dismissed. Anna was buried the next day, but her friends explained to the parents their fears and told of how pink she still looked when pronounced dead. Her parents, believing the friends, had her exhumed, but they were too late. Anna’s body was on her side, hair torn out, and fingers chewed to the bone.
6 - Octavia Smith Hatcher, 1889, Pikeville, Kentucky
Octavia Smith and her husband, a wealthy man called James, were newlyweds, and Octavia had given birth to a son named Jacob. Unfortunately, as was quite common then, Jacob died in his infancy. Octavia struggled to cope with this devastating loss and fell into a deep depression, eventually bedridden. A few months later, she showed signs of a mysterious illness and fell comatose. She was pronounced dead in May 1891, 4 months after baby Jacob. She was buried quickly due to the hot weather. Only a few days later, other townspeople began to suffer the same symptoms as Octavia – only to awaken a few days later; it was an illness caused by a tsetse fly. James became panic stricken and had Octavia exhumed. He was too late. The lining of the coffin had been shredded, and her fingernails were torn. Octavia died with a look of pure terror frozen onto her face forever. Distraught, he reburied her with a lifelike monument of her built on top. He went on to develop a phobia of being buried alive, and it’s not something you can blame him for.
7 - Mrs Boger, 1893, Whitehaven, Pennsylvania
Charles Boger and his wife were farmers. In July 1893, Mrs Boger died suddenly; doctors confirmed her death, but no cause was found. For some reason, after her death, a friend told Charles that Mrs Boger had suffered from hysteria before he had met her and that she may have been having an ‘episode’ and may not have died. Charles, quite understandably, was haunted by the thought of his wife being buried alive until he became hysterical and employed friends to help him exhume his wife’s body. Unfortunately for all involved (especially Mrs Boger), Charles’ fears became a reality. Her shroud and clothing were torn and the coffin lid, made of glass, was broken over her body where she had tried to escape. Her skin was scratched, and her fingers were bitten off completely. I cannot find anything about what happened to Charles Boger after this (if you do, please let me know!).
8 - Essie Dunbar, 1915, South Carolina
At just 30, Essie Dunbar suffered an epileptic attack, and doctors pronounced her dead soon after. Her funeral preparations were quickly underway, but Essie’s sister (who lived out of town) wished to attend, so the funeral was slightly delayed. On the day of the service, the funeral had started before her sister had arrived; pastors tried to extend the service for as long as possible but eventually decided to go ahead with the burial. As soon as the gravediggers had buried the coffin, the sister arrived and persuaded them to exhume her so she could say goodbye to her sister face to face. They agreed. However, when they opened the coffin, Essie was very much alive, sitting up and smiling. As I’m sure you can imagine, everyone panicked and ran off, leaving Essie to follow them and convince them she was, in fact, alive, not a ghost or a zombie (although many people were convinced she was a zombie for years afterwards). Essie ended up living until 1962.
9 - Angelo Hays, 1937, France
Angelo Hays was a 19-year-old man who loved riding his motorcycle. One day, he was on his motorcycle when he hit a curb, was thrown from his bike, and hit a wall head-on, causing massive head trauma. The doctor couldn’t find a pulse and declared Angelo dead. His injuries were so bad that his parents couldn’t see him before burial. There were some suspicions about Angelo’s death; his father had taken an insurance policy out on him a few months earlier, and the insurance company wanted to exhume the body. 2 days after he was buried, Angelo was exhumed. His body was still warm, and he had a faint heartbeat. He was revived and fully recovered and became somewhat of a celebrity in France.
10 - Sipho William Mdletshe, 1993, Johannesburg, South Africa
It was 1993 when 24-year-old Sipho Williams Mdletshe was involved in a car crash with his fiancé. His fiancé survived the horrific crash, but Sipho was severely injured and pronounced dead by the responders at the accident. He was taken to Johannesburg mortuary, where he was placed in a metal box to await burial. But, you guessed it, he wasn’t dead, just unconscious. After two days, he regained consciousness and began screaming for help; luckily, some mortuary workers heard him. They let him out in time, and he survived. Sipho tried to return home to his fiancé, but she wouldn’t allow him near her because she was convinced he was a zombie. Talk about a kick in the teeth.
Don’t worry; I won’t leave it on that note – I have included a bonus breakout burial tip for those awkward moments when you’re trapped inside a coffin!
Bonus Breakout Burial Tip
1 – Conserve your air supply – take deep breaths and hold them for as long as possible. Do not use matches or a lighter. Do not scream (although, if I wake up in a coffin, I don’t care, I’m fucking screaming).
2 – Press the coffin lid. They are relatively easy to break if it’s a pine coffin or a cardboard one (good for the environment and if you’re involuntarily interred). If it moves easily, proceed to step 3. You're a bit knackered if it’s a hardwood or metal coffin. Use a metal object, such as a ring or belt buckle, and tap SOS on the lid – 3 quick taps, three slow taps, three quick taps. Repeat until (hopefully) help comes.
3 – Remove your shirt and tie a knot in the bottom part of it – the shirt should only have the large opening at the neck. Slip it over your head with the knot on top to create a makeshift mask. This will stop you from choking on the soil.
4 – Break through the coffin lid by kicking it. Let the loose earth fall in.
5 – Use your hands and feet to push the soil towards the space at the bottom of the coffin. As you move to a seated position, the earth will move to fill where you were lying down. Push the soil into the coffin space until you can stand up.
6 – Move the dirt from above your head now you’re standing, and you should be able to climb out.
7 – Find out who pronounced you dead and punch them before enjoying zombie-like shenanigans with the townsfolk.
Hi! I spend a lot of time writing for the website and I basically exist on caffeine and anxiety - if anybody would like to encourage this habit, please feel free to buy me a coffee!
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