Buzz
The thought of being buried alive has been a source of terror for humanity for centuries. As Edgar Allan Poe was well aware, this fear strikes deep within the realm of nightmares. Though it haunted our ancient ancestors, it also gripped the minds of Victorian society, who established organizations dedicated to avoiding such a fate.
As these societies raised awareness about the perils of being buried alive, medical professionals began to devote more attention to identifying the signs of death. They also started thoroughly examining the bodies of the deceased, something they had previously neglected when signing death certificates based solely on hearsay.
10. Severed Artery
Unusual will requests once sparked public fascination. Any bizarre request would often make headlines across the globe, captivating readers with curiosity.
For instance, in 1932, the London Evening News published some of the instructions left in the will of a restaurant proprietor. While most of his requests seemed fairly typical, one particular detail stood out: he feared being buried alive. To ease his anxiety, he demanded that an artery be severed prior to his burial and that a certificate of true death be provided by the Association for the Prevention of Premature Burial.
By ensuring he was unquestionably dead before being buried, he avoided the cost of installing a bell, which would have been used in case he revived inside his coffin.
The author Hans Christian Andersen also suffered from a strong fear of being buried alive. In fact, whenever he checked into a hotel, he would leave a card on the dressing table that read, 'I am not really dead.'
Before Andersen passed away, he requested that his friends ensure his arteries were severed before he was interred.
9. The Classic Fingernail Test
Women, too, shared the fear of being buried alive. Many women in the early 20th century had read the sensational newspaper stories and heard the rumors about people being mistakenly buried alive. In some cases, when coffins were reopened, it was discovered that the person inside had desperately tried to claw their way out after being buried prematurely.
In 1924, Miss Ruby Caroline Aykroyd from London made a unique request in her will: she wanted the fingernail test performed on her body after her death. This test involved holding a lit match or candle beneath the fingernails until they burned. It was believed that if the person was still alive, they would react to the pain.
Having her nails burned posthumously was just the first step in Miss Ruby's final wishes. She also asked to be cremated and for her ashes to be scattered to the winds.
Interestingly, it was during this period that cremation began to gain popularity again in Europe and the United States. It offered a way for people to ensure that they would never awaken inside a cramped coffin, buried 2 meters (6 feet) underground.
8. Decapitation
In 1927, James Mott left explicit instructions in his will to ensure there was no chance of him being buried alive. According to the man from Birmingham, England, two doctors had to examine his body and confirm his death through a series of tests. Once verified, he ordered the doctors to place prussic acid in his mouth.
After the poison was administered, there were two choices for the doctors. The first option was decapitation before burial. If they were unwilling to sever his head, the second option was to dissect his body.
Once his body had been thoroughly dissected and there was no chance of revival, he wished for his remains to be placed in a sack and thrown into the sea. He specifically requested not to be placed in any wooden or metal box.
If placing him in the sea proved impossible, he asked for his remains to be placed in a sack and simply cremated. His ashes were to be scattered to the winds.
Another instance of decapitation occurred in 1905. In that case, Dr. Hadwen fulfilled a patient's request by severing her head after confirming she was truly deceased.
In Newton, Massachusetts, Charles Albert Reed made a request for his head to be severed from his body after his death. To ensure his wishes were carried out, he allocated $500 in his will to pay the attending physician for the decapitation.
7. Hidden Message
Throughout history, people have devised various methods to confirm that the dead were genuinely deceased and not merely in a deep trance. One of the most unusual techniques to determine if someone was truly dead was practiced in England in 1790.
First, the corpse was laid on a slab or placed in an open box. Then, a glass pane was positioned over the body. On the underside of the glass, the phrase 'I am dead' was written in silver nitrate.
The message remained invisible until the body began to decompose and release hydrogen sulfide gas. Only at that point could the death message be revealed, confirming that the body was ready to be buried.
6. Tests for Respiratory Activity
In a medical book from 1850, the author listed various respiratory tests he performed to determine whether someone was truly deceased or merely in a deep state of unconsciousness.
The first test was the mirror test. It involved holding a cold pocket mirror in front of the patient’s open mouth and nose. The mirror would remain in place for 30 seconds to an hour. If any breathing occurred, moisture would form on the mirror's surface.
The second test was known as the feather test. A feather was held near the mouth and nose of the patient. If any breath was detected, it would cause the feather to flutter.
Lastly, there was the water or mercury test. A glass filled with either water or mercury was placed on the chest of the body. Any movement from the diaphragm would be visible with this method, or so the doctors believed.
Unfortunately, none of these ancient methods for detecting signs of life were foolproof, and none could guarantee 100 percent accuracy.
5. The Pin Prick
Pin pricking was a widely used technique for determining death from the 1800s to the early 1900s. It was once believed that if a living body was pricked by a pin, the hole would turn red and eventually close up. A dead person's pin prick, however, would leave a permanent open wound.
When it came to choosing where to prick the body, the fingers and the soles of the feet were common areas to test for a response. Sometimes, a pin was inserted under a fingernail, as it was thought that no living person could endure such a painful act without reacting.
Lady Burton, the wife of Captain Sir Richard Burton, requested that a pin be used to pierce her heart to ensure her death. She also asked that after her passing, her body be dissected and embalmed.
Mrs. Elizabeth Thomas made a similar request to her physician. Upon her passing, the doctor took a long pin and drove it into her heart to confirm she was indeed deceased.
4. Heart Removal
What more definitive way to confirm death than to have your heart removed? Though unsettling, this gruesome practice was common among the upper class as a method to avoid premature burial. It is striking that many personal physicians and surgeons agreed to carry out such a procedure.
Francis Douce, an English antiquarian, passed away in 1834. In his will, he left 200 guineas to his surgeon with the specific instruction to remove his heart after his death. A friend of Douce made the same request, but with one notable difference: the friend insisted that his son witness the heart removal.
In an interesting case, a former president of the Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia requested the removal of his heart before burial. This suggests that even those in the medical field had reservations about a doctor’s ability to confirm death with certainty.
William Shackwell skipped the idea of heart removal. Instead, he instructed in his will that his physician should sever each of his fingers and toes before his burial. He believed that if there was any chance of him still being alive, he would react to the pain, or at the very least, bleed out before ever regaining consciousness.
3. Waiting for Decomposition
One of the most common ways to prevent premature burial was simply to wait for signs of decay in the presumed dead. In the early 1800s, it was typical to bury the poor as quickly as possible, under the belief that they were infested with vermin and disease.
The fear of infection from disease was often cited as a reason for hastily burying the poor. Doctors believed that worms inhabited skin tumors, and if the body wasn’t buried immediately, those worms would break through the skin and find new hosts.
In 1898, the New York legislature debated a bill that would mandate the use of mortuaries. The deceased could be kept there until it was confirmed that they were truly gone. Observable signs of decay, such as mucus covering the eyes of the dead, were required before the body could be declared dead and prepared for burial.
Other death verification tests in the mortuary included cutting an artery to ensure no blood flow and holding the deceased's fingers over a candle flame to check for any pain response.
By 1905, a similar bill was being considered in England, where both England and Wales would require the use of mortuaries. There, the dead would rest until putrefaction occurred.
2. Chloroform
In 1898, one of the many societies formed to prevent live burials proposed that if a person wasn't autopsied, embalmed, or cremated after death, their best option might be chloroform.
It was proposed that a bottle of chloroform be placed inside the casket with the deceased. According to one account, the bottle should be left open so that it would be impossible for a person to awaken after being buried.
Of course, there was no proof that this method was effective in preventing premature burial.
1. A Quick Injection
In 1895, one method that doctors used on those they presumed to be dead involved injecting a poisonous substance.
One physician recommended injecting strychnine into the body before burial. That way, if the person wasn't fully dead, they would not be able to awaken inside the coffin.
For one doctor, morphine was the poison of choice. With a potent injection, if the respiratory and circulatory systems hadn't fully ceased, they certainly would after the dose.
This approach was linked to the practice of euthanasia, a subject rarely discussed in the late 1800s but quietly practiced in cases where incurable diseases left the body lingering in a near-death state.
