In the 18-19th centuries, when medicine had not yet reached the level to accurately determine whether a person was dead or alive, many people were panicky afraid of being buried alive.
Those who sought to protect themselves and get rid of the fear of leaving the other world by mistake could not be denied ingenuity. For example, Ian Bondeson, a physician, medical historian and author of Buried Alive, provides dozens of examples of various measures and rituals that allow a revived deceased to declare their miraculous resurrection, including “safe” coffins with flags or bells that signal movement under the ground. …
Of course, most of these cases were just urban legends, but Bondeson was able to collect a few true stories of those who were buried ahead of time and managed to survive.
1. Shoemaker
In 1822, a 40-year-old German shoemaker managed to avoid a similar fate. Despite the fact that his family confirmed the fact of death, and the man himself looked quite like the deceased, everyone was embarrassed by the absence of a specific smell and other signs of cadaveric changes. And yet the funeral took place. And when the gravedigger had almost buried the coffin, he suddenly heard a knock coming from under the ground.
Without thinking twice, the gravedigger began to dig up the grave and found a poor shoemaker, showing weak signs of life. His arms were thrown upward and his body was warm. When the doctor cut his vein, blood gushed from the wound.
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For three days, they tried to revive the man, but all efforts were in vain. The shoemaker was pronounced dead for the second and last time.
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2. Essie Dunbar
In 1915, Essie Dunbar, a 30-year-old resident of South Carolina, died of an epileptic seizure. Doctors pronounced the girl dead, and the funeral was scheduled for the next day, so that the deceased's sister, who lived outside the city, could come and see her on her last journey.
But it so happened that my sister arrived only for the final part of the funeral ceremony - when the gravedigger was already throwing the last clod of earth on a fresh grave. The woman could not come to terms with the fact that she did not see her sister for the last time, and ordered to dig up the coffin.
When the lid of the coffin was removed, Essie appeared before the crowd safe and sound. After this incident, the failed deceased lived for another 47 years.
3. Philomena Janet
In 1867, 24-year-old Frenchwoman Philomena Janet fell ill with cholera and soon gave up her ghost. According to tradition, a priest was invited to hold the panikhida, and only 16 hours later, the girl's body was buried.
As in the case of the shoemaker, the gravedigger heard knocks coming from the coffin. When the girl was dug up, she still showed signs of life - her eyelids twitched and the muscles of her body were contracting. But this did not last long - Philomena was again pronounced dead the very next day and was buried a second time.
4. Angelo Hay
Perhaps "the most striking premature burial of the 20th century" occurred in the French village of Saint-Quentin-de-Calais in 1937. 19-year-old Angelo Hay, while riding a motorcycle, crashed his head into a brick wall. The boy's face was so disfigured that his parents did not allow doctors to examine the body.
Due to the lack of pulse and breathing, Angelo was pronounced dead, and three days later his body was buried. But since the father insured his son's life for 200,000 francs, the insurance company decided to investigate the tragic case and demanded that the body be exhumed to find out the exact cause of death.
To his great surprise, the pathologist discovered that the boy was still warm. The experts concluded that the traumatic brain injury, which led to a deep coma, sharply reduced the body's need for oxygen, otherwise the young man, being buried, would have died of suffocation.
Angelo underwent several operations, and after many months of treatment, he finally recovered. After this incident, the boy became a local celebrity: people from all over the country came to talk to him. And in the 1970s, Angelo Hay presented to the public a self-designed "safe coffin" that was equipped with thick upholstery, a locker for food, a toilet and even a library.
This article was written specifically for the site mixstuff.ru Use of the material is permitted only if there is an active link to the original.
MakD
