I loved this article, the lesson it teaches us is to be careful with the dead, just in case they disappoint you by not being dead enough.
Western Mail 3 Mar 1888 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32713502
A termagant is a quarrelsome, scolding woman, so it is no wonder her long-suffering husband was in a haste to see her buried after she choked at dinner one night.
Unfortunately for him the ones given the responsibility of carrying her coffin down the stairs didn’t take as much care as they should have.
After a particularly violent collision in a corner a knocking was immediately heard from within. Fortunately for the not-so-deceased wife the bearers didn’t do what so many of us would, turf the coffin over the side of the bannister and run for our lives.
One thing I was curious about was why such an unpleasant wife was only heard knocking from the inside of her coffin.
Surely if you had a reputation for being quarrelsome you wouldn’t knock politely and await assistance, you would be giving everyone within earshot a piece of your mind.
That would be no guarantee of release though, would it? Perhaps the bearers would just pretend they heard nothing and give the coffin a bit of extra rough treatment in return. Maybe holding her tongue this time was the smartest thing she ever did!
I found this article after reading a post on Candy’s Monsters titled The Coffin Corner Question. In it she introduced us to coffin corners, something I had never heard of before. These are niches built into the corners of twisty staircases supposedly to make getting awkward shaped objects, like coffins, downstairs.
Different sources in Candy’s post both confirm and deny that niches in old staircases were created for this purpose. Whether it is true or not, I expect that this Ayrshire joiner wished that he had added a few to his own staircase!
Buried words and Bushwa. 
Wow, what a tale of terror! Could be the opening of a Poe-ish story.
Definitely tough to be a deep coma victim with a weak pulse — and a husband happy to see you gone — at a time when being pronounced dead was a little on the casual side.
This sort of scenario is a staple of Forteana and often makes me wonder how many people were buried without being actually dead.
Do they wake when the first shovelful of dirt hits the lid? Or do they just stay asleep until the air runs out and they become actually dead without even noticing? A scary thought, and one that has probably been the basis of many a persons nightmare!
You are so right Metan! My late mother was terrified of being buried alive and often said that she wanted to be cremated, this despite assurances that that sort of thing didn’t happen these days. Perhaps as a girl she heard about something similar happening and it stuck with her. Very creepy indeed.
It’s funny, being buried alive is something I have never had a fear of. I can imagine it being someones worst nightmare though.
I’m a little claustrophobic or perhaps I have a morbid imagination but the thought does bother me… at least a bit. 😦
Makes me eternal grateful that divorce is not only acceptable but legal in my part of the world.
I know, fancy staying married to someone who is glad to see you go!
I’m betting he didn’t have a bell and a cord running from the coffin on the second occasion just in case. Though these days he’s have been making sure she wasn’t buried with a mobile phone.
lmao – or perhaps he made sure the battery was flat the way mine always is!
I bet the second time he got her a coffin with extra cushioning just so it wouldn’t happen again. 🙂
Well, I guess she was in a shock to have realized she is dead meat, hence the polite knock ! I’m sure she mend her ways post that incident lest her husband actually buries her alive! LOL! 😛
🙂 I wonder if the second ‘death’ was from the same causes? Perhaps he had more of a hand in it after being disappointed the first time!
Hahahaha, I don’t blame him 😉
Had to double check title . I thought Tagament wife. T is an ulcer medicine.
I bet she was the type of wife blamed for many an ulcer!