This story took place in the early 19th century in the Chase-Elliott crypt of Christinchurch Parish Cemetery on the island of Barbados. The main materials from which this tomb was built were bricks and large blocks of coral stone. At first, the entrance to the crypt was covered with a blue marble slab. Eight steps led to the lower chamber of the crypt. From the outside, the tomb looked flat, but the ceiling inside it was convex, like Roman arches.
According to the records in the church books, the first to be given a place in this tomb was Mrs. Thomasina Goddard. The coffin with her body was placed here in July 1807. A year later, two-year-old Maria Chase found eternal peace in the crypt. According to the tradition existing at that time, members of the families of wealthy planters were buried in lead coffins. The same coffin was ordered for Maria.
On July 6, 1812, her elder sister Dorcas took the place in the crypt. There were many different conversations regarding the causes of this death. At one time, there were even rumors that Dorcas starved herself to death due to her father's excessive cruelty.
A little more than a month passed, and in August 1812, the father of the family, Thomas Chase, passed away to another world. This, the islanders believed, was the most oppressive man in Barbados. When the crypt was opened, a nightmare picture was presented to those present. The tiny coffin of Mary Chase was away from its original place and was turned over: it seemed that some unknown force threw it from one corner of the tomb to another. The coffin of Mrs. Goddard was turned 90 degrees by someone invisible and turned on its side.
The participants in the funeral, which were mostly white planters, were horrified when they saw the terrible picture. Not knowing how to explain what had happened, they, without thinking twice, accused black workers from the local residents, who also treated Thomas Chase with undisguised hatred. The workers themselves in every possible way denied their involvement in such vandalism. But, be that as it may, each coffin was carefully moved and installed in its proper place …
The coffin with the body of little Samuel Ames was brought to the tomb on September 25, 1816. By the way, by this time the ancestors of several related families already rested in it: the Ames, Brewsters, Goddards.
When the crypt was opened, the eyes of the eyewitnesses saw a picture already seen earlier: the coffins were again scattered in disorder. Again, the plantation workers were accused of this sin. And there seemed to be a very good reason for this. The day before, the slaves revolted, and many of them were mutilated or killed at that time. For this reason, the planters felt that the intrusion into the crypt was revenge for the grief.
A month and a half after the funeral of little Samuel Ames, the tomb was reopened: this time for the burial of his father, Samuel Brewster. The people in charge of the funeral began by taking a very close look at the slab that covered the entrance to the crypt. She seemed completely undisturbed. But when the crypt was opened, a strange picture of scattered coffins again appeared to eyewitnesses. And again, a thorough examination of the tomb gave nothing concrete.
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The funeral of Mrs. Thomasina Clark took place on July 17, 1819. Many people gathered. The governor was also present - Lord Combermere, who took part in the campaign of Napoleonic troops against Russia. He was the first to notice that the coffins inside the premises were again in ominous disarray. True, this time three large lead coffins were below the smaller ones.
After this incident, Lord Combermer personally took up the investigation of strange cases of vandalism. First of all, he ordered to fill the floor with sand so that you could see the prints of the traces of those who "ruled" in the crypt. Then he ordered the workers to carefully cement the entrance to the tomb. After that, the lord and several respected citizens of Barbados left their seals on the still-frozen solution.
Combermer, without waiting for the next death of any of the Chase, on April 18, 1820 decided to inspect the crypt. And although the seals on the cement were in perfect order, nevertheless, most of the coffins were moved from their places. But on the sand, which was previously covered with the floor, there were no prints of anyone's footprints, no evidence of dragging coffins. The governor gave orders to carry out burials in other places, and the ill-fated crypt was closed for a long time.
During this time, those of the researchers who paid special attention to the phenomenon on the island of Barbados put forward several assumptions that explained, in their opinion, the movement of the coffins. However, none of them satisfied serious scientists.
Among them were quite exotic. So, adherents of one of the hypotheses blamed the Freemasons for everything. And for this reason, many of the island's planters, including the governor himself, were declared participants in a sinister conspiracy to present the story of the coffins as proof of the Masonic idea of death and rebirth.
A number of scientists blamed the miracles at the Chase's tomb on huge tropical raincoat mushrooms, which, in their opinion, could also cause these mysterious movements. For example, the author of this hypothesis suggested that the lead coffins were moved by large raincoats that had made their way out of the ground. But the following speaks against this hypothesis. When Combermer and his comrades examined the dungeon, they did not even find traces of raincoat mushrooms, moreover, such huge ones that could move lead coffins.
And to complete the story of the stray coffins of Barbados, apparently, follows an incident that happened in 1996. It was at this time that Simon Probert and Pam Wilson from Panarta arrived on the island of Barbados for their friend's wedding. Having enough free time, they decided to visit the Chase's tomb. Pam, who also possessed certain psychic abilities, was embarrassed by the atmosphere of the crypt, and she did not dare to descend into it. Simon entered the tomb without hesitation. When he was already on the steps, Pam took a picture of him.
But after processing the film, some oddities were revealed. So, it turned out that all objects in the picture are normal, without any defects. Simon's image, on the other hand, looked like a blur. Pam had a small imaging computer with him. Having transformed this stain, she saw a terrible picture: a haggard woman's face, similar to a skull, and next to it - a stain of ectoplasm. So the story of flying coffins is not over yet and is waiting for its researchers.
It should be noted that this amazing fact is so widely known only due to the fact that it was observed for a long time in the presence of many respected citizens and was recorded in writing. That is, he became a classic example of the phenomenon of "self-propelled coffins". Therefore, other similar phenomena are rarely mentioned in the literature on paranormal phenomena. But, according to American researchers, more than a hundred cases of spontaneous movement of coffins are mentioned in various reliable European sources today.
For example, in 1844, a case with moving coffins was noted in Estonia, more precisely, at the cemetery in the city of Arenburg. When one of the members of the Bunsgewden family died, they were also going to bury him in the family crypt. But when the crypt was opened, it turned out that almost all the coffins were scattered about like matchboxes.
Around 1845, the fact of "self-propelled coffins" was noted in one of the crypts of the rural cemetery of the village of Gretford, located in Lincolnshire (England). All the lead coffins were either upright or propped against the wall.
Bernatsky Anatoly