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From: "Betty A. Pace" <>
Subject: [PAPHILA] Bells in Graveyards
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 09:58:09 +0000

The Victorians had a fear of being buried alive because death was not
always easy to determine. Thus the Victorians often had graves equipped
with a bell above ground, the clapper attached to a string or wire that
went into the casket below ground and attached to a finger of the
deceased. The idea was that if the deceased happened to awake, he could
pull the wire and ring the bell. I think I read that for about a week
after burial, someone was stationed at the grave to listen for the bell.

Has anyone actually seen one of these bells above ground in an old
cementery?

Betty Pace

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• [PAPHILA] Bells in Graveyards by "Betty A. Pace" <>