After Woman died her Family Discovers Something Shocking in her Coffin, 47 Years Later IT happened

Some of life’s happenings can be so predictable, yet others would leave you dumbstruck, just like this story. When this woman was buried, a few minutes later, her family discovered something horrifying. Then, 47 years later, something tragic happened.

Essie Dunbar was a regular black girl growing up in a loving family in Blackville, South Carolina. She was a sweet girl with a lovely heart and a charming smile for all. However, she was epileptic and constantly had epilepsy attacks. After each episode, Essie would hope it wouldn’t happen again, but there was always a next time. The worst was what happened in public spaces. It would take some time before she found the courage to step out again. Her childhood was marked by several of these episodes. Nevertheless, Essie grew to be a fine young lady, hard-working and determined to be successful. Soon, she was 30, living in her own apartment, working two jobs, and steadily climbing up the ladder of success.

During this period, Essie had also learned to master the things that triggered attacks, and she made conscious efforts to avoid them. Despite these efforts, one never knows what happens next. And one day, Essie was met with a calamity that she had never prepared for.

One morning in the summer of 1915, Essie woke up very late for work, unlike every other day. “How on earth will I meet up with the tons of files at my desk?” she mumbled to herself. She had until the evening to submit those files. Worry lines broke out on Essie’s forehead as she finally sat at her desk when she got to the office. Although exhausted, Essie set to work on the files immediately. It was late in the evening before she finally sent the work in for approval.

Too tired, Essie dragged herself until she got to her doorstep at home. As she turned the key in the lock, she almost fell when the door opened. Her legs were threatening to give way. She managed to bolt to the door, then she threw her jacket on the couch and climbed straight into bed. In all of this, Essie forgot to do something very important. If only she knew, this night would change everything. Drained of all energy, Essie forgot to take her medication.

Unfortunately, later that night, horror struck. Essie suddenly woke up with a start, struggling for her breath. She was in the middle of another epileptic attack. Realizing this, she managed to press an alarm bell by her head, hoping against hope that it would alert the neighbors. On this luck was on her side, but not for long. When the neighbors heard the alarm bell, they called 9-1-1 and went to check on her. Once there, they knocked on the door severally, but there was no response. So they broke in and met a scary sight. Poor Essie was having a seizure and was already unconscious. In no time, she was rushed to the hospital where one Doctor D.K. Briggs attended to her. When he checked her vitals, there were no signs of life in her, so the doctor declared her dead.

When the news of Essie’s death reached her sister, for several minutes, she kept hoping she was stuck in a dream. She stared wide-eyed and at no one in particular as she reminisced on the past. She and Essie were not only siblings; they were best friends. Just a few months ago, they came up with a list of things they wanted to do. “What would happen to all those wishes?” she asked with tears rolling down her cheeks. Essie’s sister believed things could have gone differently if she’d been around her sister that fateful night. And if not, she wished she could have been by her side in her last moment.

As soon as Essie was pronounced dead, her funeral was fixed for 11 am the next day in order to give her sister, who lived in Allendale, an opportunity to catch the train to Blackville. This train was slated to arrive shortly before the funeral, and Essie’s sister promised to be there. At the funeral the next day, neighbors, friends, and family had gathered in the church, but Essie’s sister was running late. After waiting for a while, the priest proceeded with the ceremony with the hopes that she would join later. It was a beautiful service, as three priests had been called upon to officiate it. After the sermon, Essie’s sister had still not arrived. Everyone was worried. Had something happened on the way? Did she change her mind about attending her sister’s funeral?

Since no one was sure how much longer she would take or if she would eventually make it, they decided to carry on with the funeral rites. So they lowered the wooden coffin into the dug pit, and the morticians started covering it up with dirt. When they had gone almost halfway with that, everyone suddenly heard a loud wailing. It was Essie’s sister, and she was running towards the grave. “I have got to see my Essie one last time, my dear Essie,” she wailed. She was a pitiable sight, wailing so loud that she wanted to see Essie just one last time. She walked up to the priests and asked if they could bring the coffin back up. “Let me just see my sister’s face one last time,” she cried. Everyone felt sorry for her. The priests held a brief meeting, and they decided to grant her request. So the wooden coffin was pulled out. Unknown to everyone present, a bigger drama was about to unfold.

Once the coffin was atop the ground, some men removed the screws, and one mortician threw the lid open. Immediately, the lid came apart. What ensued was a deafening noise. Rather than seeing Essie’s dead body in the coffin, she was alive. Essie sat up and smiled at her sister. Then she turned to face everyone and smiled at them.

There was absolute pandemonium in the church’s backyard. Everyone took to their heels, even the priests. In a bid to escape, one of them fell into the dug hole. One of them suffered several broken ribs when the other two priests stepped on him while trying to run out of the hole. As everyone ran helter-skelter, poor Essie was so confused too. She didn’t know she was the reason everyone was acting crazy. So she jumped out of the coffin and joined in the race, making matters worse. Since she was chasing no one in particular, Essie headed home. But everyone who came across her on the way just screamed and fled. They believed she was a ghost.

For the rest of the day, Essie locked herself indoors. She didn’t understand what was happening yet, but with the way everyone screamed as they saw her, she knew she had to stay indoors. It wasn’t until two days later that Essie’s sister finally found the courage to return home, and she chose to stay by her sister’s side. She explained everything that had happened, and Essie knew her life would never remain the same.

The following week, Essie summoned courage to share her testimony in church, but she was worried the congregation would react negatively. However, her sister encouraged her not to panic. The next Sunday, Essie and her sister woke up late. Both of them had a hard time sleeping as they stayed up, wondering what lay ahead in their lives. Essie almost gave up on the idea of going to church. However, her sister insisted she needed to tell her story.

Perhaps she shouldn’t have listened. That morning, they walked to church quietly, with different thoughts running through their minds. When they got to the church’s entrance, the last pew was empty, so they sat there. Everything was going fine since no one had seen them yet. But someone soon spotted them. One old woman looked back and immediately saw Essie. She screamed and fled the church. Other members of the congregation took to their heels too. But some stayed. Amongst these people, some were just curious; others were naysayers. But only a few believed Essie.

When everything was calm, Essie gave her testimony. But the truth is, even those who stayed refused to go close to her. They were still scared. But Essie was glad she got to share her story. She was no ghost. The doctors had only wrongly declared her dead. Nevertheless, everyone kept saying she would soon return to wherever she came. But Essie outlived some of these naysayers.

However, when she turned 70, something happened. Through the years, Essie continued to receive mixed reactions from the locals. Some would see her and run; others wanted autographs, while the rest just asked weird questions. After fighting a reality for years, Essie finally accepted it and just tried to live her life to the fullest, until it was time to leave and this time never return.

It was 47 years later that Essie, now 70, briefly fell sick, and on the 22nd of May 1962, she finally passed away. Those who had chosen to stay by her side were broken by her departure, but they were still glad they got a second chance to be with her since she could have died the first time she was buried.

This story was neither confirmed nor proven to be untrue, but many newspapers like The Times, The Democrat, Augusta Chronicle, and others carried Essie’s story. Moreover, a book by Jan Bondsen titled “Buried Alive” also lends credence to Essie’s story.

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