Researching for a former post on euphemisms and misnomers relating to death slang piqued my interest in the fear of being buried alive.

It seems that in the Victorian era, this fear was wide spread. Edgar Allen Poe wrote a story entitled "The Premature Burial", 1st published in Dollar Newspaper in 1844. It was a first hand account of a man with an intense fear of being buried alive, who actually has this happen. His story tells tales of people who've been buried alive. However unlikely these stories were in truth, the fear was very real...and perhaps for Edgar Allen Poe himself.

Besides literature themes abounding with this fear during the mid to late 1800's, the patent offices showed a spike of "Safety Coffins" during this time. They are all fairly similar, providing some way to either signal or escape the coffin. There's an article here listing all the patent descriptions with illustrations linked.

One of my favorites is this device by John Kirchbaum, from 1882. There is a bar actually placed in the corpse's hands when they are buried- so that if they awake they can turn the bar which turns a pointer in a glass box at the surface. I can just picture the grave yard attendant walking the rows looking to see if these pointers were now pointing to different numbers. The patent states that the device is used for “persons buried under doubt of being in a trance.”

There were editorials written in this time discussing the topic as well. In an 1893 issue of Science a man writes a personal account of an accidental burial entitled "Buried Alive: One's Sensations and Thoughts". Although not someone who was pronounced dead, but accidentally fell into a grave, readers would surely have walked away with this frightening experience on their mind.

In 1998 JAMA reprinted an editorial from 1898 that spoke about premature burial. The point of the editorial was to debunk the myths, helping us believe that the fear was public enough to lead a medical journal to address the issue. Part of the reassurance was that the average coffin had so little oxygen, that asphyxia would precede any return to consciousness. How comforting.

In case you thought this issue was long gone, consider an article published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine in 2006 entitled "Buried Alive; an Unusual Problem at the End of Life". In this case report the medical team dealt with a woman who was so frightened by the thought of being prematurely buried, that she requested immediate amputation of her hands at death, to ensure a "true" death. Read the article to find out the solution to this demand by family here.

While some fears of being buried alive may still exist, the height of social anxiety in this matter seemed to fade in the early 1900's as the practice of embalming became more widespread and technology began to provide methods marking the cessation of life.

References:
Moorehead, WK "Buried Alive, -One's sensations and thoughts" Science Feb.3, 1893. Vol. 21:522 (p61)
The Journal of the American Medical Association (1898;30:273-274, reprinted JAMA 1998;279(3):182) http://www.personalmd.com/news/a1998012212.shtml
Polizzotto, MN et al "Buried Alive: an Unusual Problem at the End of Life" Journal of Palliative Care. Summer(2006). Vol 22:2(p117)

At a gathering recently, mentioning someone's wake that was upcoming, a friend blurted out, "Doesn't that term come from the superstition that someone could "wake" up, having been mispronounced dead?" As the supposed expert on death lore, all turned to me for the answer...which I really didn't know. Thus, a post was born. I thought we could look at some common phrases we use and find out what's really behind it all.

Let's start with the Wake Ceremony. This is a time before the burial that friends and family gather. Originally in the home of the deceased, though now often in funeral homes and churches. Although sometimes only a viewing, it is often a mixture of mourning and celebrating the life of the deceased. Why do we call it a "Wake"? The word derives from anglo-saxon origins meaning "to watch or keep vigil". It was important to have someone with the body, partly to protect from animals and other pests, as preservation methods weren't like they were today. As for this idea that "wake" derived from a belief that someone might wake up - NOT TRUE.

This idea of being mispronounced dead must be widley prevalent, with the belief that the term Dead Ringer comes from a string attached to a bell placed on a corpses foot or wrist that would ring if the person was really alive. This is another misnomer and is NOT TRUE. Dead Ringer is used to mean "exact duplicate", but what's the root of the words? Ringer was first used in the late 1800s to describe a horse used as a substitute to fool bookies and throw races. As for the word dead, well it does have more meanings than the cessation of life. Another meaning for dead is exact or precise, as in "he's a dead shot". So in this case the word dead ringer literally means exact duplicate.

Along those lines, people often think that the term Graveyard Shift comes from people actually sitting aroung waiting for one of those bells to ring indicating someone was buried alive. Again, NOT TRUE. There were caretakers for the grave sights, but their watchfulness was for grave robbers.

Here's an interesting one; Kick the Bucket. This is often thought to have roots from the idea that someone would stand on a bucket to hang themselves and need to kick the bucket out of the way at the end. NOT TRUE. The word bucket actually used to mean beam or yoke, to carry items/animals. In fact, when animals were hung to slaughter, the wood frame used was called the bucket. Often as the animals died, in their final spasm they'd quite litterally "kick the bucket".

Ever wonder about Six Feet Under ? Well this one is TRUE. We often use the phrase as a synonym for death. Most believe it comes from the practice of burying people six feet underground. But where did it orginate from? It seems like this one came from the time of the plague. The Lord Mayor of London set rules with the outbreak of the plague in 1665, stipulating that bodies must be burried six feet underground to reduce the spread of disease. Is this still true today? Absolutly not. Each state sets it's own rules now on minimum depth to bury. For example, in California, you only need 18 inches of dirt.
Let's conclude with the Tombstone. I was surprised to find that many believe the origin of the tombstone came from a fear of spirts/ghosts. In order to weigh the soul or ghost down, heavy stone markers were used...leading to the modern day tombstone. Sorry to say, this is NOT TRUE. The idea of marking a grave with stone actually appears early in the bible. In the very first book, Genesis 35:20, Jacob erects a memorial to his deceased wife in the form of a pillar. This idea of honoring the deceased with a marker of some sort in quite ancient and prevelent in most societies.

If you know of more quirky lore, please share. Otherwise it's up to us to set the story straight when we hear these urban legends.

Have you heard people talk about this? At the hospice place where I work, I sometimes hear a nurse, or even a family member say, "A bird hit the window this morning, I'm sure mom's getting ready to go soon." In fact, it's not unusual to have a day when several rooms have a constant barrage of tapping from birds flying into the glass.

I was surprised to see how entrenched this symbol of the bird is in our culture. In case it's a new idea for you let me explain:

"Bird flies at the window, Death knocks at the door" is a phrase that has been repeated by kids for centuries. The roots of this reach far back. Because of their ability to fly, birds have eternally been connected with the heavens/afterlife. Birds aren't just associated with death, but life as well, as in the common story that a Stork delivers new babies into this world.

There really is no culture exempt. In Egypt, China and Japan the Phoenix symbolizes rebirth, from ancient myths of the bird constantly being reborn. In Syria, Eagles are on tombs to lead the souls in the afterlife. In the Jewish and Christian culture, it is the dove that represents the soul. Both the Celts and Greeks believed the soul would reappear as a bird after death. There is an Islamic tradition that believes that dead souls remain as birds until judgment day, whereas the Hindu's use birds to symbolize the form the soul takes in between earthly lives.

With so many cultures viewing birds as the representation of human souls, you can guess when a bird suddenly acts strangely, we take notice. Before there were glass windows, the superstition was that if a bird flew into your house and perched on someone's chair, then a death would occur within that home in a year's time. Now, not too many birds make it inside, but all it takes is the unusual event of a bird trying to get in, hitting the glass pane, and then when an untimely death occurs the two events become connected.

Such was the case for Lucille Ball, who at the age of 3 recalled that a bird flew in her house and became trapped the day her father died. She was so convinced of this superstition that she refused to stay in hotels that had bird wallpaper or pictures of birds on the walls.

Some may wonder is one type of bird more ominous with this superstition? It seems there are several to worry about. In the Cherokee tradition it is a red bird that provides the connection with the deceased. The Red Bird Center provides the story behind this belief. The other birds to be leery of if they are trying to fly in your house are the sparrow, the robin and the raven.

Anyone with stories of their own?


References:
http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/bird.asp
http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Be-Ca/Birds-in-Mythology.html

Pictures used: "Bird in Hand" Victor Schrager has an entire collection of these here
"Start to finish" from Two Dresses Studios here