Premature Burial and How It May Be Prevented

by William Tebb; Edward Perry Vollum

Dr. Franz Hartmann, in his “Premature Burial,” pp. 10 and 44, relates the two following cases:—“In the year 1856 a man died in an Hungarian village. It is customary there to dig the graves in rows. As the grave-digger was making the new grave he heard sounds as of knocking proceeding from a grave where a man had been buried a few days previously. Terrified, he went to the priest, and with the priest to the police. At last permission was granted to open the grave; but by that time its occupant had died in reality. The fact that he had been buried alive was made evident by the condition of the body, and by the wounds which the man had inflicted upon himself by biting his shoulders and arms.

“In a small town in Prussia, an undertaker, living within the limits of the cemetery, heard during the night cries proceeding from within a grave in which a person had been buried on the previous day. Not daring to interfere without permission, he went to the police and reported the matter. When, after a great deal of delay, the required formalities were fulfilled and permission granted to open the grave, it was found that the man had been buried alive, but that he was now dead. His body, which had been cold at the time of the funeral, was now warm and bleeding from many wounds, where he had skinned his hands and head in his struggles to free himself before suffocation made an end to his misery.”

A medical correspondent communicates to the author particulars of the following case, which occurred at Salzburg, Austria:—“Some children were playing in the Luzergasse Cemetery, and their attention was attracted by knocking sounds in a newly-made grave. They informed the grave-digger of it, and he secured permission to open the grave from whence the sounds seemed to come. A man had been buried there at two p.m. that day. The formalities of the permission to open the grave delayed it till seven p.m., when, on opening the coffin, the body was found to be bent completely over forwards, and was frightfully distorted and bleeding from places on the hands and arms, which seemed to have been gnawed by the man’s own teeth. The medical experts who were called in to examine the case declared that the man had been buried alive.”

From the Undertakers’ and Funeral Directors’ Journal, January 22, 1887.

“Another shocking case of premature burial is reported; the distressing incident took place at Saumur, in France. A young man suddenly died, at least to all appearance, and his burial was ordered to take place as soon as possible. The croquemorts, or undertaker’s men, who carried the coffin to the grave, thought they heard a noise like knocking under its lid, yet, being afraid of creating a panic among the people who attended the funeral, they went on with their burden.FATAL RESULTS. The coffin was duly placed in the grave, but, as the earth was being thrown upon it, unmistakable sounds of knocking were heard by everybody. The mayor, however, had to be sent for before the coffin could be opened, and some delay occurred in the arrival of that official. When the lid was removed, the horrible discovery was made that the unfortunate inmate had only just died from asphyxia. The conviction is spreading that the terrible French law requiring speedy interment ought to be modified without delay.”

Mr. William Harbutt, School of Art, Bath, writes to me, November 27, 1895:—“The copies of the pamphlet ‘The Perils of Premature Burial,’ by Professor Alex. Wilder, you kindly sent me are in circulation. Almost every one to whom I mention the subject knows some instances. One, a case at Radstock, twelve miles from Bath, where the bearers at the funeral heard noises inside the coffin, but were afraid to open it without the authority from a magistrate. When it was opened next day the appearance of the body showed that he had been coffined alive, and had had a terrible struggle to escape.”

From the Star, London, May 13, 1895.

“A WOMAN LOSES HER LIFE THROUGH LEGAL FORMALITIES.

“Paris, May 11.

“A woman who was believed to have died the day before was being buried at Doussard, when the grave-digger, who was engaged in filling up the grave, distinctly heard knocking coming from the coffin. He called a man who was working near, and he came and listened, and heard the knocking also. It was then about nine o’clock in the morning. The knocking continued, and they listened for about half an hour, when it occurred to one of them that they ought to do something, so they went to inform the local authorities. The curé of the village was the first to arrive on the scene; but as no one had any authority to exhume the body the coffin was not taken up. All that was done was to bore some holes in the lid with a drill in such a way as to admit of air. By mid-day all the necessary formalities had been gone through, and it was decided at last to open the coffin. This was done; but whether the unfortunate woman was still alive at this time is doubtful. Some of those present affirm that she was. They state that they saw a little colour come into her cheeks, and the eyes open and shut. One thing is certain—viz.: that when at half-past six in the evening it was finally decided to consult a doctor, the practitioner summoned declared that death had taken place not more than five or six hours before. It was thought that had the coffin been opened directly the sounds were heard the woman’s life might have been saved, and she would have been spared hours of indescribable torture and suffering.”