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mysteries |
Barbados Coffins |
Other Information |
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| The mysterious movement of lead-cased coffins in a sealed tomb
in Barbados in the 19th century was believed by many to be the work
of some supernatural force. What really happened?
They say the dead tell no tales. And since the corpses interred in a Barbadian graveyard vault early in the 18th century were, apparently, the only human agencies present when the actual coffins they were laid in moved, there naturally exists no immediate first-hand account of this eeriest of mysteries. The so-called ‘creeping coffins of Barbados’ crept, with some alacrity, into West-Indian folklore between 1812 and 1820. Indeed, this was no isolated incident, but a phenomenon that repeated itself with chilling regularity until the nerve of the vault’s owners and the local dignitaries ran out. At the time the tomb in question, situated near the entrance of the graveyard of Christ Church, overlooking the bay at Oistins on the south coast of the island, belonged to the Chase family. It was a solid affair, built of large, cemented blocks of coral, 12 feet long by 6 feet wide, sunk halfway into the ground and sealed off by a great marble slab. Anyone trying to get in (or out) of the vault would have found it an arduous task. Two burials took place before anything happened. On 31st July 1807 Mrs. Thomasina Goddard’s funeral was held, and on 22nd February that of the infant Mary Anna Maria Chase. Then, on 6th July 1812, pallbearers and mourners arrived to lay rest to Dorcas Chase, the elder sister of Mary Anna Maria. Several of the men heaved the door open - struggling with its great weight - and the coffin was lifted down to the portals of the tomb. Peering into the darkness from the first few steps, the leading pallbearers were greeting by a truly sepulchral sight. Mary Anna Maria’s coffin had moved to the corner opposite the one in which it had been placed; Mrs. Goddard’s had been flung aside against a wall. Something more than a draft had moved them, they were cased in lead. Without pausing to ask questions the labourers lifted them back into position, placed Dorcas’s among them and sealed the tomb back up again. But who or what had tampered with the dead - and why? Amazed and frightened, the mourners chose to put the blame upon the Negro slaves who had assisted at the funeral of the first Chase sister. So were the Negroes to blame? There was reputedly little love lost between the patriarch Thomas Chase and the black slaves he employed. Chase was by all accounts a cruel man whose tyrannical behaviour had driven his daughter Dorcas to kill herself. It seems improbable though that anyone bearing a grudge against him would have gone to such lengths to inflict such trivial damage. The work of malign spirits? As it was, Chase himself died within the month; and on 9th August 1812 his coffin was placed among the other three, which this time had remained undisturbed. A few years slipped by with no reason for anyone to suspect that anything untoward was taking place in the Oistins churchyard. On 25th September 1816 the vault was reopened for the burial of a little boy, Samuel Brewster Ames. Once again the coffins lay in disarray - and the accusing eye was again turned upon the Negro labourers, who promptly denied all charges and shrank in fear from what they considered to be malign spirits: Negroes regarded the dead with superstition and were in fact the most unlikely of suspects. There was little the mourners could do, however, but return the coffins to their rightful places, leave Master Ames among them and block up the entrance with the great slab - which they did, hastily. It was opened again on 17th November for the internment of Samuel Brewster, whose coffin was being transferred to the Chase vault from its original home in a St Phillip graveyard. The mystery surrounding the vault was now so well-known that a crowd gathered in anticipation of fresh disturbances. It was not to be disappointed. All of the coffins had shifted ground. That of Mrs. Goddard, who had been lying in ‘rest’ now for nearly a decade, had finally given up under the strain and fallen apart. An exhaustive search of the vault proved futile - the walls, floor and roof were as solid as ever. And yet for the third time there were unmistakable signs of violent activity within. The mourners replaced all the coffins back in there original positions and sealed the entrance back up. Nearly three years passed before the vault was opened up again - during which time it received thousands of curious visitors. On 17th July 1819 the funeral of Thomasina Clarke took place. It seems that the mystery was now a major national issue, for Viscount Combermere, the Governor of Barbados, and two of his officials attended the funeral. In front of hushed crowds the marble slab was cut away by masons and dragged aside by a team of slaves. Inside all was chaos; every coffin had moved save for the remains of Mrs. Goddard’s, which had remained in their little pile. The vault was searched again. Nothing. Not one clue. Undeterred, the labourers lugged the coffins back. Sand was then sent for and laid over the floor of the tomb so that it could show any traces of the mysterious coffin m0overs. Once the door was replaced Combermere left the impression of his seal in the cement, as did others. No recently deceased Barbadian was brought to the vault when it was reopened on 18th April 1820. Public speculation and excitement about the vault had mounted to such a degree, that no-one could wait for someone to die before the vault was opened. After a long debate that could lead to only one conclusion, Viscount Combermere, the Honourable Nathan Lucas, Major J. Finch, Mr. R. Bowcher Clarke and Mr. Rowland Cotton journeyed to the church and repaired the graveyard with the help of Negroes. The seals in the cement were intact - n-one had since removed the door or entered the vault in any way. And from the outside the vault was as solid as ever. Combermere ordered the cement chipped away and the huge slab was dragged aside, causing a strange grating noise. This was caused by one of the large lead coffins being thrown up against the door, against which it now lay. Mary Anna Maria’s tinier coffin meanwhile had been thrown with such force, that it had damaged the coral wall. The other coffins were scattered about, but there were no tell-tale marks in the sand to suggest what might have moved them. Whatever, or whoever, it was that was moving the coffins of the Chase vault was given no other chance to do so, as the coffins were removed from the vault and given a more peaceful resting place elsewhere in the churchyard. The vault remains open and unused to this day. |
Sources: The X Factor By: Father Lionel Fanthorpe |