Some cultures and religions practice burying their dead almost immediately after being pronounced dead. It is, however, no news that some persons end up being buried alive when such occurs. In very rare instances, those presumed to be already dead wake up during their funerals or when deposited in mortuaries. This is called the ‘Lazarus effect’ and several stories abound of these situations.
While there are people who may find it very hard to believe that someone can resurrect after they died, it actually happens.
List of 10 People who Resurrected after they Died
1. Hayes Was Buried Alive for Three Days
Anjelo Hayes designed a coffin fully equipped with a radio transmitter, food locker, and chemical toilet. His reason was to ensure no one suffers the same fate as him. Hayes was buried alive for three days! He was saved when insurance inspectors dug him up and found him in a coma-like state but alive. He was eventually nursed to health and became a celebrity in France for this terrifying ordeal.
2. This Lass Startled the Attendants of Her Church Burial Service
A 3-year-old girl residing in Bayabas woke up in a coffin during the church service of her burial. She had died a few days after the onset of a severe fever and had been declared clinically dead by a doctor in the local hospital. An attendee noticed her head move moments before she rose up. She made a full recovery upon further treatment from a better hospital.
3. Not So Fast People, This Bloke Was Born to Stay
A 17-year-old boy suddenly opened his eyes and started breathing hard on the way to his cremation ceremony. This left his relatives startled as he had been declared dead following a fever from a stray dog’s bite. He was diagnosed to have meningoencephalitis and his parents opted to take him home rather than place him on a ventilator. He stopped breathing immediately and his burial preparations began. But not so fast people, he was born to stay!
4. Little Kelvin Came Back For a Glass of Water
In 2012, Kelvin Santos, 2, died twice. His first death was a result of complications arising from bronchial pneumonia. During his open casket wake, three hours after being kept in an airtight bag, he sat up in his coffin requesting a glass of water from his dad. He drank the water, lay down again, and died. He was immediately taken to the hospital and he was again, certified dead. His family waited an hour before finally burying him. I really hope he didn’t wake up below the ground.
5. Nyesi Perez Only Died After Her Death
Neysi Perez, 16-year-old and 3-months pregnant was mistakenly buried alive. The next day, her husband, Rudy Gonzalez, went to visit her and was met with screaming and banging from the tomb. When it was forced open, she was dead but with bruises on her fingers and a broken viewing window on her coffin. She had apparently suffered either a heart or cataplexy attack after hearing gunshots outside her home and wasn’t dead. Sadly, she died from a lack of oxygen in the enclosed tomb before she could be rescued.
6. And Essie Dunbar Lived for 47 Years After She Died
Way back in 1915, 30-year-old Essie Dunbar set her funeral attendees on their heels when she woke up. She died after a major epileptic seizure but couldn’t be buried for several days as her sister had to be there. When her sister demanded that the lid be opened so she could see her for the last time, no one knew it was the beginning of another 47 years of life for Essie.
7. Baby An An Woke Up in The Refrigerator
An An, born prematurely at seven months, was taken out of the incubator a week earlier than the doctor’s advice because Lu, his father, wanted him out early to join his family in celebrating the Chinese New Year. Unfortunately, two days later he was certified dead following discoloration and no heartbeat. Lu had to take him to a morgue. However, a few moments before his cremation, he woke up in the refrigerator where he had spent the night at -12oC. Nothing short of a miracle!
8. Val Thomas Woke While Harvesting Her Organs Was Being Discussed
Even if we assume that all the persons above never really died, Val Thomas’ death was no assumption. She suffered a major heart attack and got attached to a ventilator and a hypothermia-inducing machine. She was without a heartbeat for 20 minutes before she suffered two more heart attacks and died. She was reported to be brain dead with rigor mortis setting in. However, 10 minutes later, 59-year-old Val sat up and began to talk as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. This was just in time as talks of harvesting her organs for donation had just begun with her family members.
With events like this in mind, it’s little wonder that an 1868 patent invented ‘the safety coffin’. It was designed to help the ‘waking dead’ seek help by pulling a cord attached to an alarm bell on the outside. Further additions like a ladder were even attached to the Vester Burial Case safety coffin so the person can climb out to safety.
See Also: 10 Murder-suicide Stories That Will Chill You Down To The Bones
9. Mathew Wall Resurrected after his Pallbearer Slipped and Dropped his Coffin to the Ground
While a recently deceased young man by the name of Mathew Wall was being carried to be buried on the 2nd of October 1571 in the Village of Braughing Hertfordshire, one of his pallbearers slipped on wet leaves causing the coffin to drop on the ground.
The fall of the coffin aroused much commotion but even more, the banging sound that was coming out from the coffin. Wall would go on to live for another 24 years after he was able to get his life back.
10. Jesus Christ of Nazareth Died and Rose After 3 Days
The reason why Christians all over the world celebrate easter is to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary around 30 AD.
The resurrection story of Christ is perhaps one of the widely and most believed resurrection stories ever told. Similarly, the same Christ was said to have raised a dead man called Lazarus who had died for 4 days.
Several Ways to Tell When Someone is Truly Dead
As we have covered these stories of people who were resurrected after they died, it is only natural to look at ways to tell when someone is truly dead. Over the years and as long as the existence of humanity, there have been several methods used in authenticating if someone is truly dead or still alive. This ranges from trying to see if the person involved still feels pain and several other methods that we have covered here.
If you ever find yourself in need of verifying whether a person is dead or not, here are the things you can do.
1. Pinch, shake, poke, jab, and moderately jolt the person
If you completely rely on this, you may end up burying someone alive. Let’s just say this is what you should do to assuage the fears of having lost someone dear.
2. Check for vital signs and pulse
This is all about confirming if the person’s heart is still beating. But more than that, look out for any form of response while you observe the first point. Call out the person by name and see if the person is struggling to respond. The response is often subtle and very insignificant; it takes a sharp mind to notice them.
3. Use a mirror, onion, or a flashlight
With a mirror, all you have to do is to place it under the person. Should the glass fog up, it is a sign of life. The onion trick is all about exposing the person to a pungent odor. If there is still a life, the person would LIKELY react to the odor. But then, the reaction can be subtle.
Just slice an onion in two and place it under the person’s nose. However, the emphasis on “likely” means that this shouldn’t be the ultimate method used in confirming if someone is still alive or not.
For flashlights, open the person’s eyes and direct the light on the eyes. The pupils are expected to constrict if the person is still alive. But this is not always the case as there are several factors that may not permit the expected response.
4. The doctor’s verdict is the ultimate judgment
You are only allowed to bury a body after the person has been certified dead by qualified medical personnel. To authenticate if a person has passed on, medical practitioners apart from the foregoing, rely mostly on technology which essentially checks for life by observing heartbeats and other vital elements like Neural oscillation (brainwaves).
