Alarm buzzer in Liz's coffin: Not so fictional or fanciful as one might believe.

[TNickey2003]

See the following except from the search.com article about death:

"There are many anecdotal references to people being declared dead by physicians and then coming back to life, sometimes days later in their own coffin, or when embalming procedures are just about to begin. Stories of people actually being buried alive (which must assume no embalming) led one inventor in the early 20th century to design an alarm system, with a bell and a cord that could be pulled from inside the coffin."

[Brandon Collins]

How interesting. I didn't ever think that it was a far-fetched idea in the first place, though. It's no surprise to me that something like this would be available, especially since throughout history there have been a number of reported instances of people being declared dead and then coming back to life.

[Nelson Collins]

"There are many anecdotal references to people being declared dead by physicians and then coming back to life, sometimes days later in their own coffin, or when embalming procedures are just about to begin. Stories of people actually being buried alive (which must assume no embalming) led one inventor in the early 20th century to design an alarm system, with a bell and a cord that could be pulled from inside the coffin."

There have been documented cases where graves from centuries ago  have been exhumed and the lid of the coffin has been scratched at by the occupant who regain consciousness after having been buried in the ground.  Horrible.

I have a book by Charles Addams, called Dear Dead Days, not of his drawings, but of what is referred to as a collection of his inspirations, reprints of various articles, drawings and photographs that he has collected over the years.  One such drawing is the very invention you describe.

[Josette]

I recently typed something for someone who included an article about life in 1400s and early 1500s in England.  It also reveals the true source of a lot of common expressions, which was very interesting.  The others are completely OT, but if anyone is interested, I could send it in a PM, or if the moderators think it's suitable, add it here.

Anyway, as to the burial alive (which also explains a couple of common expressions), it said:

"England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people.  So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave.  When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realised they had been burying people alive.  So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.  Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus someone could be saved by the bell, or was considered a ¢â‚¬Ëœdead ringer'."

[Midnite]

See the following except from the search.com article about death:

Internet sources should be cited.  I believe this quote was taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death

The full text of the article on the 1500s is here:  http://www.history-magazine.com/facts.html

[Sunny_Collins]

There have been documented cases where graves from centuries ago have been exhumed and the lid of the coffin has been scratched at by the occupant who regain consciousness after having been buried in the ground. Horrible.

How disturbing!! The thought of someone being buried alive just makes me shudder! 

[Nelson Collins]

Josette, I am very sorry to dispute you, but there are sources that claim a very different orgin for the phrases "graveyard shift," "saved by the bell," and "dead ringer."

See http://www.libraryspot.com/know/graveyard.htm for an alternate origin of "graveyard shift."

and http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/dead%20ringer.html for the origin of "dead ringer."  That article also mentions "saved by the bell" and has a link to an article that traces its origin to Boxing terminology.

[arashi]

Death culture has always fascinated me. A good book to read is The Big Sleep: True Tales and Twisted Trivia about Death. Amazon link http://www.amazon.com/Big-Sleep-Tales-Twisted-Trivia/dp/0517220482/ I'm also up for any other suggestions for reads.

I'm sure I've mentioned this story before, but check this out!
http://www.vermonter.com/evergreen.asp

[Josette]

Josette, I am very sorry to dispute you, but there are sources that claim a very different orgin for the phrases "graveyard shift," "saved by the bell," and "dead ringer."

Nelson, I really don't know anything about it - I didn't have a chance to look up your links yet.  But, I typed this article for someone, in which a lot of other things about life in those times were described, which also explained the origins of various common phrases.  This just happened to be part of it.  It was said to be true.

[Midnite]

TNickey2003, the citation should be for the source of the information, not what the search engine retrieved for you.  If you look at your search.com result (Rt. side of the page under Sources), you will see that it lists Wikipedia.

[Pansity]

And another source for the coffin alarm systems is the Sean Connery movie "The Great Train Robbery". Set in the middle of the 19thC, there is a plot development where Leslie Anne Down's character is (at least supposedly) transporting her dead brother in his coffin.  The bell on top of the coffin starts ringing....

And history wonk here, in checking into this, found resources tying this into what could be called the Victorian Cult of death and mourning. Even SEars and Roebuck sold coffins with the early warning systems.

To seque slightly, the fact that premature burial was NOT uncommon (at least until embalming became common) explains the lack of surprise when Quentin's zombie appeared -- and the family accepted the revived Quentin back without turning a hair.

(anyone but me wonder if Judith the skinflint tried to get a refund on the undoubtedly custom coffin Quentin would have needed?)   

[Willie Loomis]

hence the expression, SAVED BY THE BELL.