Is it possible to still be alive in a coffin? Any funeral directors that can reassure me ?
Posted by Fit_Permit8679@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 120 comments
[removed]
ObiSvenKenobi@reddit
It’s the re-animation that should worry you more.
(Meaning: Not at all)
Jacks_Journey@reddit
As someone who watched a doctor perform a check I can reassure you this will never happen to you.
Basic-Pangolin553@reddit
No. This is irrational worry. You have to be pronounced dead by a doctor or paramedic before being taken to a morgue, or, if undiscovered, you will have decayed to a point where it will be very clear that you are dead.
Shot-Lemon7365@reddit
I want a hunter's funeral (r/Supernatural).
im-yxz@reddit
this, def!
veryblocky@reddit
I don’t think it’s that irrational a fear if you don’t know the steps that go into preventing this.
People have been mistakenly pronounced dead before. But, there’s a thorough check again before putting someone in a coffin or cremating them.
BulkyAccident@reddit
Unsurprisingly, people will check if you're dead or not before you're put in a coffin and buried.
If you suspect this is some kind of OCD thing that's giving you anxiety then you need to speak to a specialist.
Civil-Koala-8899@reddit
Yep can confirm as a doctor who's verified many deaths, we do actually check thoroughly! It's actually a pretty boring job as its always obvious just looking at them that they're dead, but you still have to go through all the steps
Dismal_Fox_22@reddit
I used to verify deaths in patients own homes as part of my role. So often I’d be out in the middle of the night to verify. I’d have a driver/HCA with me. It’s a rural area and getting from one job to another can take an hour or two so 99/100 times I’d walk in and know for sure the person was dead before going through the full assessment. Every now and then I’d be unlucky enough to be there a few minutes after as the person was still settling.
I’d do my assessment and I’d be 100% sure and just about to leave and the HCA would say “I’m sure I just saw them move!”. Little fucker knew I was too paranoid to let it go.
What was nice was verifying and doing last offices together with the HCA or family. Take down syringe drivers, catheters etc. change into fresh pyjamas and give them a wash, shave and tidy up ready for the undertaker.
KaiCypret@reddit
I have to know... what do you say when you arrive at the front door of a house that you know has a deceased person in it, and know that the door will be opened presumably by a grieving relation. "Good afternoon" doesn't quite seem to cut it. How would you conduct yourself more broadly? It's necessarily a highly invasive job you're doing, but which has to be done - and is done with the best possible motives. It all seems very delicate and fraught with contradictions. I can imagine it could be quite rewarding in a strange way however.
lady_faust@reddit
Settling? Is that something that happens after death - could you explain?
Fcxk_Lewis@reddit
My great grandmother regularly asks us to “slit her wrists” before the undertaker comes to get her. She’s asked countless times since I was a small child and asks my cousins the same.
BornInPoverty@reddit
Sounds like a good way to end up as a murder suspect. Although I bet they can tell it was done after death. You might get charged with mutilating a corpse or something.
No_Pea-1@reddit
What the heck
itznathyy@reddit
mandy carter was
snavej1@reddit
Over the years, this has happened quite often. Sometimes, coffins have been dug up and found with internal scratch damage, from where the 'buried alive' people tried to escape.
MrBoggles123@reddit
It used to be a really common fear so the Victorians invented Safety Coffins with a bell you could ring if you got accidentally buried.
I suppose it was more likely in the olden days when comas and the like were less widely recognised.
Take up being Catholic so they have to sit up with you the night before the funeral to make sure you're dead. Or become Pope and someone will knock you on the head with a hammer to make sure you're dead.
JMR-87@reddit
From memory, they used to employ people to tend the graveyards 24/7 to listen for those bells and that’s where we get the term “graveyard shift” from to mean a shift that is traditionally very quiet.
TheGreenPangolin@reddit
Took me a minute to realise you meant from memory of what you read, not that you're old enough to personally remember it
MrBoggles123@reddit
I believe so.
People usually wrongly attribute a deadringer (horse tack g) or saved by the bell (boxing) to them.
forgottenoldusername@reddit
I love this weird bit of history.
There wasn't a single report of it during the era (unintentionally anyway), but it become a really wide spread phobia - to a point where glass screens were installed on coffins and Watchmen were paid to check for condensation on the glass for a few days before they stuck them in the ground.
_scorp_@reddit
Hence the phrase graveyard shift ..,,
Cazspresso@reddit
Also the phrase “Saved by the bell”.
Talismancer_Ric@reddit
Except that "Saved by the bell" is from boxing, not this
gerrineer@reddit
Well a coffin is a box..
SherbertResident2222@reddit
“Saved by the Bell” was produced by NBC and don’t have anything about boxing. It did have an episode on the dangers of caffeine pills, so it may have saved some people.
veryblocky@reddit
That isn’t the origin of the phrase
blueroses8000@reddit
Pfft of course it is from the 80s classic US high school show - educate yourself!
a1edjohn@reddit
Common misconception, this is from boxing
Cazspresso@reddit
Welp. I learnt something new today.
SherbertResident2222@reddit
That was also a 90s sit-com.
highrouleur@reddit
Isn't that from boxing?
No_Medium_648@reddit
No.... damn
Cow_Launcher@reddit
It's possible you already know everything that's presented in this video, but I'll just leave a link here anyway for anyone who wants to learn about "safety coffins".
jimicus@reddit
This pope thing - how does that work?
“Are we sure he’s dead?”
“Dunno. Better follow the protocol. Get out the sledgehammer…”
MrBoggles123@reddit
Pretty much yes.
They have a little silver hammer and hit him on the forehead and shout his name. Repeat three times and if there's no response, proclaim him dead and use said hammer to smash his official ring of office into pieces.
constructuscorp@reddit
TO BE FAIR, there was also a not insignificant portion of the Victorian population who were just sleeping in coffins for the aesthetic of it.
LongjumpingLab3092@reddit
Vampires aren't real
Stock-Magician1097@reddit
Somebody should tell Buffy 😬
Limp-Boysenberry1583@reddit
My brother used to work with people's estates and told me about this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Association_for_the_Prevention_of_Premature_Burial And he also said some people have it written into their will that they be staked through the heart before burial. But that may just be vampire proofing.
pwuk@reddit
https://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/news/16321080.tale-twice-buried-alive-woman/
blueroses8000@reddit
Wow that’s endlessly horrific at every stage, the poor woman.
royals796@reddit
Ah yeah, that’ll help their nerves.
Foddley@reddit
ServerLost@reddit
Speak to your GP soon as you can friend, sounds like you've got some other stuff going on.
HatOfFlavour@reddit
If you make it through the post mortem exam and somehow survive after all your organs have been taken out, individually weighed and then put back in your cadaver in a plastic bag then you're in miracle territory.
JohnCasey3306@reddit
It's often many weeks (4-6) between death and funeral ... It's gotta be rare that you're mistaken for dead in that time.
Notwithstanding some kind of locked-in syndrome -- but even then you'd have a pulse and brain activity
blueroses8000@reddit
Unless you’re Muslim, you can be buried within 12 hours.
carl84@reddit
You'd probably be a bit thirsty after 6 weeks of not drinking water as well
Consistent-Sport-481@reddit
You'll have been about for a while before that point you'll definitely be gone.
There's a fair bit of process involved now.
Agreeable_Guard_7229@reddit
There is about a 4-5 week minimum delay for funerals where I live so plenty of time to escape before accidentally being burnt/buried alive
b_of_the_bang_@reddit
OP probably shouldn’t move to Northern Ireland, 24-48 hour turnaround here. That was a shock to me (English, used to 3-4 weeks).
blueroses8000@reddit
Muslim here so it’s within 24 hours for us (barring any medical or logistics issues) and in most cases it’s within 12 hours.
Consistent-Sport-481@reddit
Exactly.
And if your having a viewing or autopsy there's quite a lot to go through.
Definitely not waking up
oldtrack@reddit
back in the victorian era this was an issue - a decent number of victorian coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside. however this would never happen today with our modern understanding of medicine.
Mr_Bumcrest@reddit
People are generally checked before being buried. Get some help.
Rebuilding-Bethy@reddit
I'm donating my brain to the Parkinson's Society and this fear is one of the reasons why 👍🏻
terryjuicelawson@reddit
By the time you go into a coffin you will be absolutely stone cold, manhandled in many ways, redressed, embalmed, someone is going to notice.
Illustrious-Milk6518@reddit
Dead bodies look very definitely dead. There is no way you could possibly be confused. You don’t need to worry at all.
Worldly-Ad3474@reddit
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-46026619
Maleficent-Jelly2287@reddit
You have to be certified dead by a doctor. Obviously if you die in hospital (the most likely place to die) a doctor will make the verification there, a funeral directors will check, and an embalmer will also check.
It's really not possible in this country to still be alive while in a coffin.
Apsalar28@reddit
The Victoria's used to sell coffins with a rope linked to an outside bell just in case. That was before modern medical technology and the ability to check brain activity existed.
These days you are very definitely dead before being handed over to a funeral director. It's more likely that you'll end up brain dead but technically still alive due to machines keeping your heart and lungs going in a hospital than it is that you'll be sent to the funeral home while still alive.
jizzyjugsjohnson@reddit
You need to learn the one inch punch
OccidentalTouriste@reddit
If the mere thought of being alive in the coffin leaves you unable to breathe then actually finding yourself in such a situation should finish you off promptly. Therefore nothing to worry about.
mellonians@reddit
It's my primary motive for being an organ donor. I don't care about the recipients!
bestfakesmile@reddit
Absolutely not possible in modern UK. When you die a doctor has to confirm that you're dead - this involves checking a lot of different bodily functions/activities, not just a pulse or signs of breathing - and then there is a legal process before you can be buried/cremated, which can take days or weeks unless you have a religious reason for it happening quickly, during which time it will become very obvious if your body is doing anything other than continuing to be dead.
If you are finding this fear is interfering with your daily life or bothering you a lot/keeping you from sleeping/etc, it might be worth talking to a GP?
MaxMouseOCX@reddit
If by some miracle you are still alive when you reach funeral prep, the embalming process will absolutely kill you.
You won't be buried alive.
No_Seaworthiness4196@reddit
I think it was during the 1800's they dug up some graves and found scratch marks insinde the coffins, apparently people back then got so drunk (or it was because the type of alcohol they were drinking) it would put them into death like state, very low pulse and slow breathing so they started to leave them longer before burial and that is how a wake became a thing.
I never imagined the purpose of a wake was to give them chance to awake lol and as the medical practise has advanced significantly since then getting a false death diagnosis is extremely unlikely so it's just become a tradition at this point.
TerriblePainting2584@reddit
I have to admit this is a fear I have too. I know it's unreasonable but I think I read something about it as a child and it's stuck with me ever since.
nick9000@reddit
Just specify that you must be embalmed, because that will kill you if you're not already dead.
SherbertResident2222@reddit
Also cremation is a good way to ensure you don’t get buried alive.
johngknightuk@reddit
Stipulate in your will that you want to be embalmed before the funeral. You certainly will not be waking up from that
MJLDat@reddit
What about during that?
BulkyHulk78@reddit
This is where the phrase "for whom the bell tolls" comes from. Coffins used to have a length of twine attached to a bell that was on a post above ground and the end of the twine was in the coffin with the body just in case the body "woke up" and the could ring the bell. Creepy but true.
QGRr2t@reddit
ITT: People who've clearly never seen a fresh corpse. IME they certainly don't look like they're peacefully sleeping, where you could accidentally mistake someone for being dead. The glassy, empty faraway stare and completely relaxed face (i.e. mouth hanging open) — not to mention the whole not breathing part — are unmistakable. Soon followed by going cold (room temp) and livor mortis, giving way to rigor mortis... Nobody in a developed country is accidentally deciding you're dead for a week or two before disposing of your living remains in this day and age.
-TheHumorousOne-@reddit
Just opt in to have your organs donated OP. So even if a mistake is make, you probably won't be alive when they extract your heart, kidneys etc.
GeggingIn@reddit
It is really rare, but has happened
I want to be shot in the head before being incinerated for this exact reason
Exciting-Market7836@reddit
Why would you want to be shot in the head if you're still alive?
GeggingIn@reddit
Quicker. If everyone who has encountered me is convinced I’m a corpse, would going in the incinerator anyway
GeggingIn@reddit
I want my corpse to be shot in the head before being put in the oven.
If they think I’m dead, I’m going in there anyway.
GeggingIn@reddit
I want my corpse to be shot in the head before being put in the oven. Double sure I’m dead
hermitish@reddit
Vanishingly less likely than in the past since it takes more than a couple of days to get someone buried and they do more checks than just poking the ‘body’ with a stick to see if they wake up
Blind_Warthog@reddit
If your not dead by time the undertakers have you, the embalming and freezers should do the trick…
uneasy-chicken@reddit
I've asked to be cremated because of this fear
YouCantArgueWithThis@reddit
Because burning alive is better? I'm on the fence with this.
FamousOhioAppleHorn@reddit
That's what Toy Story told us.
TachiH@reddit
The heats used for cremation would be a REALLY quick death to be fair. Still not nice though 🤣
uneasy-chicken@reddit
Yes much rather get sizzled up quickly than spend a week in a coffin
Exciting-Market7836@reddit
Why would you want to be cremated if you're still alive? A doctor would check your vitals long before this would occur and surely whatever ailment you'd have that would make a medical doctor think you were dead, would have killed you by the time you'd be cremated?
Y'all have a lot of unresolved anxiety.
Mischeese@reddit
It takes 3-4 weeks to get a funeral so it’s pretty easy to tell if someone is really dead or not.
OldBorktonian@reddit
Very scary scenario. I would die of shock if it happened to me.
forgottenoldusername@reddit
They don't just whack the body in the box my guy. It's quite a process. I would worry less about the wooden box, more about the freezers and toxic chemicals they pump bodies with 😅
Illustrious_Sea7480@reddit
There are no chemicals. This isn’t the US.
forgottenoldusername@reddit
It's not the default, true.
But to say we don't do it is pretty mad - we literally have HSE exposure limits to formaldehyde for funeral homes and we had to adopt an EU directive on it just before leaving proper 🤷
The funeral industry estimates between 50% and 55% of cadavers in the UK undergo some form of embalming
jamesy505@reddit
I remember watching either Twilight Zone or Tales of the Unexpected when I was young, and there was an episode where a prisoner paid the undertaker to smuggle him out of the prison in the coffin of the next dead person, then dig him up.
Turns out it was the undertaker who died and the prisioner was buried alive.
Not really relevant to your question, but thought I'd share it
Majestic_Rhubarb_@reddit
You are very likely to be embalmed by the time you get to the coffin … so if you weren’t dead before that … you will be shortly after they start.
c-e-r-y-s@reddit
I'm similar to you mate. Due to my OCD, I'm getting cremated just so I don't get buried alive. And if I'm somehow cremated alive, I know it'll be a quick death.
Whoppa-seagull@reddit
The Heat in the incinerator is so intense that you would not know anything.
Moppo_@reddit
I think with the amount of legalities involved with the "processing" of an individual by various medical workers these days, it'd be a miracle if you WERE buried alive.
Secret_Bluebird2357@reddit
Realistically, you are extremely unlikely to make it to the point of being buried in a coffin without having been checked medically several times. Especially since countless different professionals will likely spend “hours” preparing your body or autopsying of the cause of death is unknown. There are plenty opportunities for someone to realise you are alive and frankly you would not survive being autopsied or having your body prepared for an open casket funeral (considering one of the early steps is swapping your blood with a thick chemical agent) so you would never make it to the coffin.
If this is a major concern for you though, just tell your loved ones that you want to have a bell in your coffin so that if you did somehow end up in this situation, you could signal for help
Rich_27-@reddit
Watch the Death episode of Don't Hug me I'm scared.
This would definitely help
wotapalava@reddit
It happened to me but luckily I was buried with my favourite shovel. A quick shower followed by a ham and cheese sandwich and I was ok.
hamshanker69@reddit
The important questions there are how many shovels do you have and what makes that your favourite?
MadWifeUK@reddit
I'm an organ donor for this reason. Take whatever you want, but just make sure I'd definitely dead when you put my lid on.
YouCantArgueWithThis@reddit
They usually do some level of embalming. Often replacing blood with a "preservative". No chance that you can survive that.
Pedantichrist@reddit
There has been an example I know of, of someone being alive in the morgue.
There is no modern example someone making it to the coffin.
Master-Trick2850@reddit
Yes, theres regular examples of this happening
Even some people being cut open for an autopsy and waking up on the bed
Red-Wimp@reddit
Regular as in 2 in 20 years in the world regular?
Exciting-Market7836@reddit
Lol
Nimble_Natu177@reddit
It'd be a bad time to find our you became immortal after a freak electrical storm.
Cumulus-Crafts@reddit
If you're in a coma, you have a pulse.
A sign of being dead is not having a pulse. Doctors will check for this.
InsurancePurple4630@reddit
Well yes. Try it and let us know.
Gullible_fool_99@reddit
You can have a coffin bell added to your grave (assuming you aren't being cremated that is).
Key_Produce2617@reddit
Plenty of checks before you even get to the coffin i’d say.
seik9869@reddit
If you’re not, you will be.
mdmnl@reddit
It's the last thing you need to worry about.
1Marmalade@reddit
Brilliant. Lol
VignetteRacecarBlues@reddit
Employ someone to work the graveyard shift for you
Cultural_Tank_6947@reddit
I don't believe there's ever been a case in the UK, certainly in modern times, of this occurring.
Which means the medical professional who has signed your death certificate and the funeral director who is handling your last rites have all checked that you're definitely dead for sure. Like for really sure.
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