45. Anybody There?

Being buried alive is probably one of our greatest collective fears. It’s truly terrifying to think about. It’s even more terrifying to learn that people throughout history have been accidentally buried alive! People during the Victorian era were so terrified of this possibility that they decided to do something about it. 

People patented designs for safety coffins. These coffins would come installed with a rope in the coffin connected to a bell or other alarm that was above ground. That way, in case someone was accidentally buried alive, they could ring for help when they woke up. Some historians credit this heightened fear and subsequent inventions with Edgar Allen Poe’s short stories and the constant cholera epidemics across Europe and the U.S.