Smyrna times., 1865-04-13
A Grave Disturbance.

In the parish of ChriStchurch, BarbadOes, |
there is a mysterious vault in which no one
dares to deposit the dead 1t is in a church.
yard near, and at an elevation of one hundred
feet above the level of the sea. The following
details concerning the remarkable disturbances
in this vault are taken verbatim from the orig
lnal document in the writer possession, under !
the hand of his esteemed friend the late rector !
the RcY. Thomas Harrison Orderson, ID. d., |
who was an eyewitness Of the occurrences to !
be related.
July 81, 1907. Mrs. Thomasin Goddard was |
buried in the vault, which, when opened to
receive her, was quite empty.
February %, 1903. Mary Anna Maria
Chase, daughter of the Hon. Thomas Chase,
was buried i'll the same vault in leaden coffin
| When the vault was opened for the infant the
coffin of Mrs. Goddard was in its proper place.
July 6, 1912. Dorcas Chase was buried in
the same vault; Upon its being opened the
two leaden cofins were dislodged from their
situation, particularly that of the infant, which
appeared to have been thrown from the corner
where it was first place to the opposite angle
Sept. 25, 1916. Samuel Brewster Ames, an
infant, was buried and when the vault was
opened the leaden collins were found to have
heen thrown from their positions, and were i'll
much disorder.
November II, 1916. The body of Samuel
Brewster was removed from the parish Of St
Philip, and was buried in the vault and great
confusion was discovered among the leadcn
collins.
July I, 1919. Thomasin Clarke was buried,
and there was much disorder among the collins
| N.B.-Each time the vault was opened the
collins were placed in their proper order and
position, and the mouth Of the vault was regu-
larry closed by masonS
The vault is twelve feet long, and six and
half wide, and is partially hewn through a
tiinty rock. The entrance to it was secured by
a massive stone, which it required six or seven
! men to remove.
These are the simple facts of the case, nor
can the writer venture to make any suggestion
that might give a clcw to the cause Of these
amazing occurrences, The approaches Of the
vault render it virtually impossible for any in
genlOus or mischieyous person to tamper with
its contents. Further than this, had it been
Z practicable for any one to have entered the
rock, the achievement Of dislodging the collins
single handed would have been superhuman,
and it is not easily credited that piece ofmis-
/ chlGI OF such character would have been in
trusted to many hands to carry out. Nor,
again, can it be reasonably conjectured that
: these results were produced by some c0nvul-
sion of the earth, for the effects were too Local,
9 and nothing but the collins themselves exhibit
!, ed the least trace of violence or subtcrranean
e | shock.
h 1t may be remarked here that the material
0 sibly have something to do with their displ2ce-
a ment, since there is an instance of a somewhat
It similar disturbance having taken place III Eng
e land, where the collins were las those in the
!; Barbados Vault Of lead. The reader will OBJ
J, serve that the confusion and disorder were no.
!; ticeabc only in the case of the leaden ones the
e wooden ones were merely turned over and not
l, flung about. The parallel occurrence alluded
e to took place in village of Suffolk named
a | StanOtOD II iS Stafa1 that oO n VauIi
is there certain te0dejt cOfins, which had been
l. fixed on biers, were found to be displaced and
a thrown about, much to the CONSERVATION Of
Is the villagers. The cof1ins were replaced as he
ID fore, and the vault perfectly closed, when, anO
N ther Of the family having died, it was reopen
ed, and its contents were discovered in great con
IS fusion. Two years after they were not Onl.
1t found all off their trcstles, but one coffin IS
n heavy as to require eight men to lift it, wa
he found on the fourth step which led down t.
le the vaults, and it seemed perfectly certain tha
k, no human agency had effected this. This &C
s, count is to be found in Captain Alexander
re Transatlantic Sketches" but the writer q
p this paper has never been able to find the nam
,h of Staunton in the county of Suffolk If relia
i'll BILE, however, some little light is thrown o
d. those coffin disturbances by the fact of the col
p. fins in both the Barbados and StauntOn vault
being made of lead
n OF course the negro attributed these mySte
n rious results to supernatural eause5 C2i?ne
e Chase, it'seems, was a man OF Gvll ulsp0si1loh
.. violent and Incorporate. lie died by his Owl
&c &c hand His daughter, owing to his cruelty t.
an a9 her starved herself to death and the negroe
al affirmed that the other collins would not endur
re the company of the Chase family, and endeav
mt ored to expel them. 1t certainly assisted thi
sc superstition to know that no disturbance oC
ne CURED till Colonel Chase was deposited in tn
n vault. No negro would approach the church
I'd yard after nightfall lat least, without whistn
ar very loudly to scare away the 'duppes, a
in ghosts are called in Barbados); and such con
n sternation, alarm, and disquiet were created b.
ic the mysterious proceedings in the vault, tha
r. the collins were removed and buried in TIL
n earth elsewhere, and the vault was closed as
b. now remains. A relative of the writer is tn
s, present rector of Christchurch and has con
~ frmed this