History Of Safety Coffins: From Ancient To Modern Times

MessageToEagle | February 9, 2016 | Ancient World, History | No Comments

MessageToEagle.com – The fear of being buried alive has been a constant companion of mankind for as long time as anyone can remember. As bizarre as it might sound, certain variations of safety coffins that were designed during the 18^th and 19^th centuries are still in practice today.

Taphophobia is the medical term for the fear of being buried alive as a result of being incorrectly pronounced dead.

Taphophobia can be justified due to the number of cases of people being buried alive by accident. In 1905, the English reformer William Tebb collected accounts of premature burial. He found 219 cases of near live burial, 149 actual live burials, 10 cases of live dissection and 2 cases of awakening while being embalmed. Of course, Edgar Allan Poe’s novel The Premature Burial published in 1844 resulted in even greater fear, especially since the book contained accounts of supposedly genuine cases of premature burial

Therefore, it’s not a surprise people feared coffins and graves.

During the 18^th and 19^th century a large number of safety coffins were patented. Many coffins were fitted with a mechanism to allow the occupant to signal that he or she has been buried alive.

The first recorded safety coffin was constructed on the orders of Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick before his death in 1792. The Duke demanded to have a window installed to allow light in, an air tube to provide a supply of fresh air, and instead of having the lid nailed down he had a lock fitted. In a special pocket of his shroud he had two keys, one for the coffin lid and a second for the tomb door.

The trouble with many designed safety coffins was that they included ladders, escape hatches, and even feeding tubes, but their creators forgot to implement a method for providing air.

In 1798, P.G. Pessler, a German priest suggested that all coffins must have a tube inserted from which a cord would run to the church bells. If an individual had been buried alive he could draw attention to himself by ringing the bells.

Pessler’s colleague, Pastor Beck, suggested that coffins should have a small trumpet-like tube attached. Each day the local priest could check the state of putrefaction of the corpse by sniffing the odours emanating from the tube. If no smell was detected or the priest heard cries for help the coffin could be dug up and the occupant rescued.

In 1822, Dr. Adolf Gutsmuth wanted to demonstrate how ingenious his safety coffins were. He was buried alive and stayed underground for several hours and even ate a meal delivered to him through the coffin’s feeding tube.

Improvement of safety coffins and their mechanism continued. Among many things, in 1829, Dr Johann Gottfried Taberger designed a system using a bell which would alert the cemetery nightwatchman.

In 1900, Walter McKnight, of Buffalo, NY, patented an all electric device for “indicating the awakening of persons buried alive”. In addition to the usual air pipe to the surface, a large electromagnet (solenoid) in an enclosure on the surface pulled up a cap on the air pipe when movement of the corpse’s hands closed a switch. An electric bell was mounted outside the enclosure.

A telegraphic grave signal device was patented in 1901 by Monroe Griffith, of Sioux Falls, IA. In addition to the wiring of hands and feet to signal awakening and movement of the corpse, switches under the corpse would close if the body were lifted by grave robbers. Rather than using a buzzer above the grave, the wires lead to a central office such as “the home of the cemetery sexton or police station”.

In 1908, George Willems, of Roanoke, IL , patented a grave attachment which consisted of a pipe at the foot of the coffin leading to the surface, with an adjustable mirror at each end and a remote controlled flashlight. The idea was simply to observe the corpse for several days after burial.

Mysterious Skulls Linked To An Ancient Zombie Apocalypse

Why Are People Fascinated With Zombies? – A Scientist Offers An Explanation

1913 brought a more sophisticated device for detecting life in a corpse “in hospitals, morgues, crematories, at bathing beaches and on ocean-going steamers”. Peter Backus, of Delphos, OH was the inventor. The elaborate apparatus consisted of a motor driven vacuum pump, electric heaters, telephone monitor, and a special stretcher placed in a sealed casket. Presumably, a professional operated this apparatus and performed tests for residual life in the corpse.

As late as 1983, a coffin life detector was patented by Fernand Gauchard, of France. The device used electrical relays and included a vacuum pump, but still relied on the old standby of detecting body movement to trigger the alarm.

In 1995 a modern safety coffin was patented by Fabrizio Caselli. His design included an emergency alarm, intercom system, a torch (flashlight), breathing apparatus, and both a heart monitor and stimulator.

It is believed that the phrases “saved by the bell”, “dead ringer” and “graveyard shift” come from the use of safety coffins in the Victorian era.

The fear of being buried alive is still with us today. However, it is interesting to note that there are no documented cases of anybody being saved by a safety coffin.

MessageToEagle.com

References:

Wikipedia – Safety Coffins

American Artifacts – Signals from the grave