Today the editors are studying publications about Russia and Russians in the newspapers of the United States on May 20, 1914. We are told that Princess Demidova left a will - whoever spends 365 days and 366 nights in the family crypt on Père Lachaise will receive a significant amount.
The Newport plain talk: Results of a strange testament.
Note 20 May, The Newport plain talk, 1914.
A little less than two years have passed since the death of the eccentric Russian Countess of Austrigild, according to her will, any person who can spend twelve months and one day locked up in a crypt at the Père Lachaise cemetery will receive a salary of $ 1,300 a year.
One person has already risked to receive this inheritance, he subjected himself to this torture and went mad. The testament specifies the following conditions: the applicant is placed in a stone chamber built over the countess's crypt, and must not leave it day or night for one year and one day. He should not communicate and in any way enter into a relationship with the outside world, including a person who will bring him food in the morning and evening. Also, during the entire term of his imprisonment, there should be no light in his cell. Quite a dismal prospect, even for $ 1,300 a year! I wonder who dares to be the next martyr?
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It remains a mystery how, in the minds of journalists, Elizaveta Demidova was able to turn into Countess of Austrigild, but the described case did take place.
Baroness Elizaveta Demidova died in Paris on April 8, 1818, and her body was placed in a large mausoleum in the Père Lachaise cemetery. This mausoleum is one of the largest in the cemetery; Elizabeth's body is located in the tomb below it.
Soon after Elizabeth's funeral, rumors began to spread that, as she spoke her last words, Elizabeth was calling a test for those who wanted to touch her wealth. She was very rich.
In the will, somewhere between the lines, there is an indication that anyone who willingly spends 365 days and 366 nights locked in her grave alone will inherit a fortune. He is not allowed to leave the tomb during this time period for any reason. The note indicates the amount of remuneration in the amount of 1300 US dollars per year, at the exchange rate of that time, it is 2400 rubles. The average wage of a worker in the first half of 1914 was 22 rubles 53 kopecks.
It is unknown how legitimate such a will is, but several people took it seriously enough to accept the test. Anyone who dared to pass Elizabeth's test was taken to the tomb, where her body was buried and the lattice door was locked behind it. If they wanted to leave, they could do so at any time. They were given food and water through the doors and carried out a bucket of waste.
Several people decided to take this step, but none could last more than a few days. Then they started shaking the doors and shouting to be released. And as soon as the door was opened for them, the unlucky applicants flew out of there like a bullet, being more than in a dejected state. At least one of them died of a heart attack shortly thereafter.
It is not known what these people experienced while in the tomb, but they muttered out of them when they left that he felt like life was leaving him. He thought he could hold out, but it turned out to be beyond his power, like everyone else.
What actually happened in the tomb, no one knows for sure, and will never know, since the caretakers of the cemetery, who day after day watched the running people from the side of the mausoleum of Elizaveta Demidova, sealed her tomb, forbidding anyone to try to fulfill its conditions tests.
In addition, all these were just rumors, and no one could say with certainty what exactly Elizabeth indicated in the will. Many argued that it was only necessary to hold out for a week, whereas earlier references to this legend spoke of a year.