The fear of being buried alive was common before the advent of modern medicine. So common was the fear that it was a favorite topic of horror writers. In the real world, this fear lead to the development of the safety coffin.
In 1817, it was estimated one out of every 1,000 people was buried alive. Nearly a century later, in 1905, William Tebb, founder of the London Association for the Prevention of Premature Burial, published his research. According to Tebb, he had evidence of two cases of people awakening while being embalmed, 10 cases of people being dissected while alive, 149 people being buried alive, and 219 people nearly being buried live.
The coffins took many forms:
- Coffins with a glass lid. If the person was still alive, their breath would fog the glass.
- A rope attached to the deceased’s wrist that rang a bell on the surface to alert others if the deceased was, in fact, buried alive.
- Feeding tubes to ensure someone buried alive did not starve before rescue.
- Viewing tubes that allowed people on the surface to monitor the deceased to be sure they were really dead.
- Air tubes to prevent the buried person from suffocating.
- Escape hatches and ladders to the surface.
Despite all these innovations, there are no known cases of a safety coffin saving someone. There are, however, stories of people who awoke from a coma or other illnesses in their coffins before burial.
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This blog is a companion piece to Melina Druga’s The Unmarriable Kind, available in eBook, paperback and hardcover.
In 1880s Ontario, the arrival of a new, forward-thinking headmaster forces a young teacher to wrestle with her heart’s conflicting desires. Buy now.
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