In a family crypt in Barbados, coffins belonging to departed members of the Chase family were rearranged a number of times. Who (or what) was responsible?
At Christ Church, Barbados, the Walronds (a wealthy family of planters) built a family tomb. It was made of rock and sealed with a marble door. In 1807, Thomasina Goddard, a family member, was placed there. In 1808, the vault was taken over by the Chase family, who were also slave-owning planters. Two daughters were buried there. One girl died in 1808 and the other one passed over in 1812.
No Sign of a Break-In
The girls’ father, Thomas Chase, died in 1812. When the tomb was opened, the girls’ lead coffins stood on end upside down. No signs of a break-in were found.
When the tomb was opened again in 1816, the coffins had been rearranged again. Thomas Chase’s coffin (which had been carried to the vault by eight men) was found leaning upright against a wall. At the next family funeral (two months later), it was discovered that the Chase family coffins had again been moved.
Governor Steps In
In 1819, Lord Combermere, the Governor of Barbados, decided to take action. He supervised workers who re-stacked the coffins. He also had seals put around the door. After receiving reports of “noises” coming from the crypt, he returned to the site one year later. Again, the lead coffins had been rearranged.
Theories
Were the coffins being moved by Black slaves bent on taking revenge against the family? No one could have entered the tomb without disturbing the seals on the door. No flooding had taken place. If the motion had been caused by an earthquake, then why was this vault the only one affected?
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle suggested that the coffins were moved by some type of supernatural force. According to Conan Doyle, this force was protesting that the Chase family coffins were made of lead. (If a person is buried in a lead coffin, then the body does not decompose quickly.) He went on to say that this mysterious force was strengthened by the fact that both Thomas Chase and one of his daughters had committed suicide.
Conan Doyle’s theory does make sense to a certain extent. The wooden coffin of Thomasina Goddard was not moved. Only the lead coffins occupied by members of the Chase family were rearranged.
The Empty Tomb
The tomb was immediately emptied. It was never used again.
