Many people's biggest fear (after giant spiders) is being buried alive. Not only is the thought of slowly running out of breath as you try in vain to scratch your way out of a wooden box absolutely horrifying, but realizing that your friends and family didn’t care enough to make sure you were actually dead before throwing you in the ground is an existential nightmare unto itself. You might think these are all historical tales of terror, but not all of the men and women on this list died before the modern era. There’s an unfortunate (and frankly, kind of scary) number of people who died after being buried alive in the 21st century as well. This list is full of some good ol’ fashioned nightmare fuel, so if you’re taphophobic (the fear of being buried alive), you might want to steer clear. Or better yet, face your fears and be healed by this list of people who were buried alive!
Below you’ll find a few happy endings, but more often than not, premature burial ends exactly how you think it will. If the thought of being trapped in a box and gasping for every breath is totally freaking you out right now (as it should!), then after reading this list get to work on your “I’m not dead!” cards and work out a secret code so your friends will know you’re alive even when though you've been sleeping for 48 hours. Have fun trying to get to sleep after reading about people being buried alive. We’re almost certain it won’t happen to you!
Scary Stories of People Who Were Buried Alive,
Shakereh Khaleeli
In 1991, Shakereh Khaleeli - the wealthy daughter of one of India's more preeminent families, went missing. In May 1994, her skeletal remains were discovered by police in the courtyard of her own home. In an awful turn of events, her second husband had drugged her in her sleep, placed her on a mattress in a "coffin like box," and covered it with another mattress. She died unconscious, confined to a constricted space, and buried by the man whom she trusted implicitly. When Shakereh's skeletal remains were recovered and the mattress was removed, one of her hands was found clutching the mattress which lay below her. The side of the box was scratched with her nails, perhaps in an attempt to get out, probably suffocating in the last pangs of breath.
Gale Benson
Benson was a London socialite and daughter of conservative MP Leonard Plugge who became mixed up with up with Racial Adjustment Action Society and its leader, Michael X. On the morning of January 2, 1972 a group of men, including Michael X, took Benson out for a walk outside their commune where they pushed her into a hole and attacked her with a cutlass. Her autopsy later found inhaled dirt in her lungs. It was alleged that Michael X had ordered her death because she was causing "mental strain" to her husband.
Jessica Lunsford
In 2005, Jessica Lunsford was abducted from her home in Homosassa, FL and taken to an empty trailer where she was held captive and raped by a convicted sex offender before he buried her in a hole approximately 2.5' deep and 2' circular, covered with leaves. Her body had undergone "moderate" to "severe" decomposition and, according to the publicly released autopsy reports, was skeletonized on two fingers that Lunsford had poked through the bags before suffocating to death.
Stephen Small
In 1987, an Illinois publishing and media heir named Stephen Small was kidnapped and buried alive in a makeshift wooden box near the town of Kankakee. His assailants, a 30-year-old man named Danny Edwards and his 26-year-old girlfriend, Nancy Rish, crafted a plan to abduct him and keep him immobile underground while asking for a $1 million ransom from his surviving family members. His kidnappers were able to provide the 39-year-old Mr. Small with minimal air, water, and light inside his homemade coffin via tubes, but he was left buried three feet under a sandy area and he suffocated after his breathing tube failed.
Man Buries Himself For Good Luck, Dies On Accident
Around 2010, an odd Internet craze began in Russia that found bloggers burying themselves alive. Some people thought it would bring them luck, others just hoped they would get likes.
The man in this story believed that burying himself alive for 24 hours would make him lucky for the rest of his life. With some help from a friend, he dug a grave outside the city of Blagoveshchensk, inserted a makeshift coffin complete with air piping, a single bottle of water, and a cell phone. Once the man got inside the casket, his friend covered him with nearly a foot of dirt and left. The man called his friend just once to say he was fine, but when the friend returned to relieve him in the morning, he was dead. It seems that an overnight rain might have blocked the air pipes and left the man to suffocate in his own casket.
Octavia Smith Hatcher
In the late 1800s, the city of Pikeville, KY was shaken with an unknown disease, and the most tragic case of all was that of Octavia Smith Hatcher. After her infant son passed away in January 1891, Octavia went into a bedridden depression where she gradually became very ill and was soon pronounced dead. In the 19th century, embalming wasn't the fad that it is today and, needless to say, when the rest of the sick townsfolk started to fall into comas and WAKE UP, Ocatavia's hubby freaked out and dug her up only to discover that he was too late. Octavia was reburied and her husband erected a lifelike monument over her grave site. The monument still stands today.
Essie Dunbar
In 1915, a 30-year-old South Carolinian named Essie Dunbar suffered a fatal attack of epilepsy - or so everyone thought. After declaring her dead, doctors placed Dunbar’s body in a coffin and scheduled her funeral for the next day so that her sister, who lived out of town, would still be able to pay her respects. But Dunbar's sister didn't travel fast enough; she arrived only to see the last clods of dirt thrown atop the grave. This didn’t sit well with Dunbar’s sister, who wanted to see Essie one last time. She ordered that the body be removed. When the coffin lid was opened, Essie sat up and smiled at all around her. She lived for another 47 years. No one gave Essie's sister guff about running late ever again.
Brazilian Man Crawls Out Of His Own Grave
For a brief moment, a woman visiting a family tomb in Brazil thought she was witnessing patient zero in a real life version of Night of the Living Dead when she witnessed a body emerging from a grave, waving its arms. After finally convincing the authorities to come to the cemetery to either rescue the man or start making headshots, police rescued the man who they believe to be a former city hall worker, who was involved in a fight in another part of the city, where he was badly beaten by attackers until he passed out and was taken to the cemetery to be buried alive.
Neysi Perez
In 2015, a 16-year-old Honduran girl named Neysi Perez was mistakenly buried alive. Her family reportedly heard screaming coming from inside her coffin, though when they opened it, she was dead.
According to relatives, her body was still warm and she had bruises on her fingertips. As well, the glass viewing pane on her coffin had been smashed. Doctors believe she had suffered a severe panic attack, which temporarily stopped her heart, resulting in the initial pronouncement of her death.
Source: The Telegraph
Mrs. Boger
In 1893 a woman named Mrs. Boger suddenly died of unknown causes. Doctors confirmed her death, and she was promptly buried. The end. JK! This ends horribly.
A friend of Mrs. Boger's told her husband, Charles, that his wife had suffered from hysteria before he had met her, and it was possible that she hadn’t actually been dead. So Mr. Boger dug up his wife and found Mrs. Boger’s body turned over. Her shroud and robes were shredded to pieces and the glass of her coffin lid was broken all over her body. Her skin was bloodied and scratched, while her fingers were missing entirely. It was presumed that she chewed them off while attempting to escape.