If life is movement, then life after death definitely exists. Too many facts have accumulated of the incomprehensible movements of those who have never had to rise up. At the same time, the dead do not even bother to get out of the coffin, but prefer to travel directly with him.
The mystery of Barbados
One of the places where a series of such movements was recorded was the family tomb of the Chase family on the island of Barbados in the Caribbean. At the beginning of the 19th century, the head of the family, Thomas Chase, built a solid tomb on the island, faced with stone and covered with a slab of blue Devonshire marble. This building did not have to be empty for a long time: in 1807, the coffin with the body of Mrs. Thomasina Goddard, who was a relative of Chase, was brought into the crypt. A year later, she was followed by two-year-old Mary Ann Chase, and four years later, her older sister Dorcas - both daughters of Thomas Chase. A month after the last funeral, Thomas Chase himself died, who was known as a cruel tyrant who aroused the hatred of the entire island. When the gravediggers opened the crypt, they saw an incredible picture - heavy lead coffins were scattered throughout the room. Suspicion fell on black slaves who defiled the tomb out of hatred for the owner. The crypt was put in order, the coffin with Chase's body was placed in its intended place.
In 1816, during the next funeral, the story repeated itself - the coffin with Chase's body was thrown into the far corner, and the rest of the coffins were moved from their places. Careful examination did not reveal the presence of secret passages and traces of unauthorized opening of the tomb.
The next funeral in the Chase family caused an unhealthy excitement of the public - a crowd of curious followed to the cemetery. Their expectations were not disappointed - the coffins were again scattered on the sides. In 1819, when Mrs. Thomasina Clarke was buried, even the Governor Lord Combermer was present at the ceremony, who, as an official, witnessed yet another destruction in the tomb. This time, after putting things in order, all measures were taken to catch the irrepressible intruders, although it was less and less believed that otherworldly forces were not involved. A layer of sand was scattered around the heavy lead coffins, which required the efforts of six people to move, to capture possible traces. The entrance slab was sealed with cement, on which several prominent citizens left their secret signs. Lord Combermer did not wait for the next funeral,on his order, the tomb was opened on April 18, 1820. No traces in the sand, intact seals on the cement, the absence of traces of moisture or cracks in the stone walls ruled out all possible assumptions about the natural causes of the coffin, however, all the coffins were moved again. This was soon followed by an order from the governor to bury the coffins in different places, since then the Chase family crypt has been empty for two centuries.
And yet they move
Promotional video:
The history of Barbados coffins is not the only one - in 1844 a similar case was recorded in Estonia. At the cemetery near Ahrensburg, strange things began to happen - those passing along the road repeatedly heard groans, rumbles and other frightening sounds from the side of the churchyard. The crypt of the Bunsgevdens was recognized as the source of these phenomena. During the next funeral, the family crypt was opened and found that all the coffins were scattered, and some even lay on top of each other. Only three coffins, two of them for children, were in their places. The relatives complained to the local ruler, Baron Goldenstubbe. To restore order, the crypt was examined, and with the permission of the local bishop, the "restless" coffins were opened. It is noteworthy that the bodies lay in the usual positions for the deceased, no signs that someone was buried alive were found.
After putting the tomb in order, the floor was covered with a layer of wood ash and the tomb was sealed. The baron went further - a round-the-clock guard was set up near the crypt. Nevertheless, after three days, disorder was again discovered outside the crypt, which was completely intact. The soldiers on guard unanimously asserted that no extraneous sounds came from the crypt. It means that someone absolutely silently moved the heavy coffins! Chilling details were passed from mouth to mouth: one of the coffins was found on the steps, and the other was ajar and a hand with a raised index finger was sticking out of it. After that, the bodies of all the Bunsgewdens were interred separately from each other, and the long-awaited peace came to the cemetery.
A whole selection of such stories was published in 1907 by the English writer, scientist and researcher of anomalous phenomena E. Leng. The coffins were randomly moved around a crypt in Stanton, Suffolk, in 1760, a crypt in Gretford, Lincolnshire, in 1845, and an underground church crypt at Borley, 60 miles south of London, in 1880. Leng's article, published in the Folklore magazine, provoked controversial reactions from his contemporaries, but today it can become an invaluable source of material on this issue.
Contrary to common sense
Researchers of the paranormal continue to struggle over the riddle of "self-propelled" coffins, but so far none of the versions can explain all the oddities. Most often, an individual approach was applied to each case: in the case of the Chase family, the emphasis was on the cruelty of the planter and the desire of black slaves to avenge their suffering. In this regard, it has been suggested that one of them used voodoo magic to "restore order" in the crypt. But then we would have to admit that England in the 19th century was downright a refuge for voodooists, and in Estonia it would be difficult for a black voodoo sorcerer to remain unnoticed. Thorough studies of the tombs for the presence of traces of human activity, elements or any external factors nullifies all the versions associated with this. The version about tropical raincoat mushrooms,capable of destroying stone pavements and "managing" in the Barbados tomb, does not stand up to criticism at all.
Some light on mysterious phenomena could be shed by mediums. One of these individuals actually visited Barbados in 2005. Pam Wilson from England claims that even after almost two centuries, the energetic atmosphere of the crypt remains very negative. The medium even refused to go inside. Her companion Simon Probert wished to be photographed at the entrance to the tomb, but when the film was developed, this frame turned out to be blurred, and after computer processing of the image, a bony face appeared in the picture, obscuring the silhouette of Simon.
The lack of information about people buried in such anomalous crypts makes it impossible to generalize and qualitatively analyze the available material. But in two of the described cases there are similar circumstances: one of the Bunsgewdens shot himself, and the circumstances of the death of Mrs. Thomasina Goddard and the eldest daughter of Thomas Chase also suggest suicidal thoughts. According to some reports, Dorkis's father forced her into cohabitation and thereby drove her to suicide. After all, it is no accident that all the "outrages" began precisely after the death of Dorkis. The graves of suicides have always been notorious, often they even had to be buried behind the fence of cemeteries, so as not to embarrass the peace of the "correct" dead. Perhaps this could be the clue that would allow unraveling this tangle of mysteries.
N. Zolotova, Journal "Secrets of the XX century" №19 2008