Premature Burial and How It May Be PreventedTebb, William
Science
Premature Burial and How It May Be Prevented
Tebb, William
Burial, Premature
“A Penn Station telegram to Dalziel says:--A singular case of
simulation of death from fright occurred here on Saturday. Mrs.
Sarseville, the wife of a farmer in this county, was in the cow-house
attending to the dairy work when she saw a nest of squirming snakes
through a hole in the plank floor. She fell to the ground apparently
lifeless with fright. Help was summoned, and she was carried into the
house. Before the physician arrived Mrs. Sarseville had begun to turn
black, and he pronounced her dead, giving a certificate, in which he
assigned apoplexy as the cause. During the night Mrs. Sarseville’s
daughter sat beside the coffin of her mother, lamenting her death.
Just before daybreak she was startled to see the body move. She was
more shocked when her mother opened her eyes and sat bolt upright in
her coffin. The supposed corpse was no less startled than the girl
to find herself dressed in grave-clothes and lying in a coffin. Help
was summoned, and the lady helped out of her narrow bed and into
her ordinary clothes. She took breakfast with the family yesterday
morning, and seemed none the worse for her ghastly experience.”
From the _British Medical Journal_, March 12, 1892, p. 577.
“A NARROW ESCAPE FROM PREMATURE BURIAL.
“The _Temps_ publishes a case of premature burial prevented by the
daughter of the supposed dead man, who, on kissing her father,
perceived that his body was not cold. The funeral _cortége_ was
on the point of starting. Suitable measures restored the man to
consciousness, and he opened his eyes and uttered one or two words.
His condition is serious, but he is alive. This incident occurred at
Vagueray, near Lyons.”
From the _Echo_, London, May 13, 1893.
“ALMOST BURIED WHILE ALIVE.
“Limoges, May 13.
“A woman has just had a narrow escape of being buried alive here. She
was subject to epileptic fits, and during one of these a few days ago
was pronounced to be dead. The arrangements for interment were made in
due course, and as the coffin was being borne into the church some of
the mourners said they heard a knocking inside. The party listened,
and distinct taps were heard. No time was lost in wrenching off the
lid of the coffin. It was then found that the woman was alive and
conscious, although terribly frightened at the awful ordeal through
which she had passed. A doctor was quickly in attendance, and under
his direction the supposed corpse was removed from the coffin and
placed on a litter for conveyance home again.”
The _Undertakers’ Journal_, July 22, 1893, says:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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