The Lazarus Effect
My blog is not back from the dead. It was never really dead at all.
In loving memory of the time you have had away from me I now bring you the next post.
This one is for you, JD.
When I was younger, among other horrid dreams, I had the odd dream or two about being stuck in a dark confined space that was so small I could not move in any direction. I can just about guarantee you that I probably would not cope in such a situation if it ever occurred. I don't consider myself to be a claustrophobic because I guess the fear seems totally rational to me.
Have you ever seen a grave with a bell on it? There's a bit of history, story and even truth behind that. Let's go down that road.
Believe it or not there was a story once in a book called the bible. Among many other stories, there was a particular story about a guy called Lazarus who was raised from the dead. In that particular story Lazarus was well dead and a few days in. If you recall from any previous statements I have made, such as in the Frankenstein post, decomp pretty much sets in after the first half hour and damage to brain function begins to happen even within minutes of physical death. In that bible story, Lazarus who returns from the dead is not a zombie with flesh falling off and flies buzzing around him but has been brought back to life and there was nothing particulary creepy about it. In that story Lazarus' resurrection was a miracle and as a bible this miracle was attributed, with many thanks, to this guy called Jesus.
Skip forward many centuries and it's pretty rare people claim to have seen Jesus. Zombies hold their own urban legend (you just know I'm gonna write about that one day) and here and there you still get people believing in some sort of life after death. Some people also have some kind of fear of being buried alive either by some kind of natural disaster or maybe even medical error. Not everyone imagines death as this instant end and some people believe in all kind of supernatural things. Plenty of these beliefs have strong reasons for these conclusions. Like the fear of being buried alive. Although it is not common and reasonably rare premature burial or life after death has happened it does occur and it is super freaky. Although it is more accurate to describe the experience of being buried alive these experiences are at times described as the Lazarus Effect, with reference to this Lazarus guy who returned to life. This is because it appears the person is often declared dead by a medical officer but there is evidence that the person is alive later. The Lazarus Effect does not typically include resuscitation even though resuscitation after death ticks all those boxes.
I've found and article by the Daily Mail which gives reference to a few stories. You can read them by clicking here or at the bottom where I've thrown a few down.
For a while there, and I'm not sure if it is still possible but you used to be able to order a little bell for your grave so you could ring it if something happened and you were buried alive. I don't know what I would do if I was at a cemetery alone and heard a bell ring..... I guess I would call for help.... it depends. Seeing that they are only on the old graves it would likely be just some kind of freakish experience. Back on subject, how this works depending on if it is rigged properly or just for show the rope is rigged right down in to the coffin, is traditionally tied to the hand or foot of the occupant. Although there are no known reports of this saving anyone it was quite popular in it's day and I guess with enough money you could put whatever you wanted on your grave anyway.
*image is from http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LztDS-634S4/T_hphjTym7I/AAAAAAAAFNk/LNRZD0Z0w3o/s1600/Safety+Coffin+Bell.jpg
Well that's about it I guess.
I'll leave you with this guide I found online. Interesting. Probably not very useful. If you do get buried alive don't hope you can let yourself out. Looks kind of tricky.
Here's a page from the Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook -How to survive if you are buried alive.
Buried Alive Stories(just the links)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2289355/Let-coffin-Im-alive-New-book-reveals-spine-chilling-true-stories-premature-burial.html
http://listverse.com/2014/10/09/10-horrifying-stories-of-people-who-were-buried-alive/
Don't let me down down down