10 Chilling Stories Of People Who Were Buried Alive

The live burial of Lawrence Cawthorn - a butcher living in London during the 17th century - was initially recorded in a pamphlet titled The Most Lamentable And Deplorable Accident, in the year 1661.

Obviously, at this time, medical technology was nowhere near as advanced as it is today, so determining whether a person was dead or not was often reduced to simply checking for breath or a pulse - with no further investigation.

Because of this, it was often left to random family members or close friends to declare someone dead, and this is exactly what happened to Cawthorn. His landlady - who wished to inherit his belongings - eagerly had him pronounced dead, and soon after, the man was buried at a local chapel.

It was only when people started hearing screams and yells coming from his grave that they realised Cawthorn was still alive, but when he was finally exhumed, it was too late.

His dead body was in a terrible state: his head was wounded and bleeding, his eyes horribly swollen, and it appeared as though he had beaten himself to death, choosing to kill himself rather than suffocate.