It is frightening to think of a person being buried alive or trapped several feet below the ground in a coffin. Years ago, when medical science was not so advanced, there were countless cases of people being buried alive - a few of these horrific incidents are presented to you today.
The Sleeping Beauty
Another horrific event of a live burial occurred in Kentucky in the late 1800's due to an epidemic of an unknown disease. After the death of her son in 1891, Octavia Smith Hatcher fell into bed due to depression and stress. Eventually she slipped into a coma in which she was pronounced dead for unknown reasons. Due to the extreme heat, Octavia was soon buried in the local cemetery. Barely a week after his funeral, many townspeople, suffering from the same disease, began to wake up from coma. Octavia's husband began to fear that he had buried his wife prematurely. He started digging his grave just to find out and in fact his worst fear was true. The inside of the coffin was torn to shreds. Octavia's nails were bloodshot and broken, and there was fear on her face. He was buried alive. Octavia's husband built a lifelong monument to her grave, which still stands today. It was later speculated that the mysterious disease was actually a special sleep disorder.
The Smiling Corpse
In 1915, 30-year-old Aisi Dunbar from South Carolina contracted a seemingly fatal epilepsy that led her doctors to believe she was dead. Dunbar's sister, who lived outside the city, wanted to attend the funeral. Therefore, the church postponed the inquiry for a day at his request. However, Dunbar's sister could not arrive on time, so the clergy decided to bury her. But just as the burial was over, Dunbar's sister arrived and convinced the pastor that she wanted to see her sister one last time. Just as she opened the coffin, she sat down and smiled at her sister. Everyone panicked and ran away. Dunbar finally convinced the mourners that he was indeed alive. However, even after many years, many people thought he was actually a zombie. SC Dunbar finally died in 1962.
Birth in the Grave
In 1901, a pregnant woman, Madame Baban, who had arrived on a steamer from West Africa, contracted yellow fever. He was later taken to a hospital where his condition worsened and he apparently died, after which he was buried. A nurse later realized that the woman's body was not cold and that her abdominal muscles were trembling and that Boban had been buried prematurely. Madame Boban's father was informed and the body was taken out. They were shocked to see that a baby had been born in the coffin and had died with Madame Boban. An autopsy revealed that Madame Boban did not have a yellow fever and died of suffocation in the coffin. Madame Boban's father filed a lawsuit against health officials.
The Man Who Emerged from His Grave
In 2013, a Sao Paulo resident visited the grave of a family member in the cemetery and saw a man trying to get out of the grave - the man had managed to get his hands and head out of the grave. While trying to get the rest of the body out - the woman immediately reported the incident to the cemetery management who pulled the man out of the grave and transported him to the hospital - no one knows who did it and why. He was buried alive, but officials believe he was involved in a fight in which he was beaten to death.
