It’s Friiiiightday again folks so, brought to you by an unmentionable paperback and two equally unmentionable ebooks, here’s another slice of big ol’ weird to help you shirk work and get to the weekend. What follows is fully-written by me and as I've been up most of the night with offspring, then woken up at six by intellectually challenged Council workers' power tools next door, your forgiveness for any errors you might find is appreciated. The posting of your own theories and thoughts are encouraged.
Barbados, 1808.
The wealthy Chase family acquired a vault in which to inter their dead. Already some eighty years old, the vault was partially underground and hewn out of the compacted coral that makes up much of the island’s foundations. Despite its age, the crypt had only ever housed a single occupant: one Thomasina Goddard. The head of the Chase family, Colonel Thomas Chase, decided not to disturb Goddard and she was not moved to another vault and she was soon saved from her lonely prostration when the young Mary-Anne Maria Chase joined her in lead-lined eternity. Four years later the vault was re-opened to allow Mary-Anne’s sister Dorcas’ entry. The unfortunate Chase family suffered another death when Colonel Thomas himself passed away barely a month later. It was then that the foundations of the Chase Vault legend began to take root. Upon opening the Vault it was seen that, somehow, Dorcas’ coffin had moved from its original position so that it now rested against the far wall “standing on end, with its head downward”. Blaming vandals or thieves, the funeral party dismissed the occurrence, replaced the coffin, slid the marble slab back over the entrance and left. But, from then on, every time the vault was opened to allow the submission of another of the Chase’s relatives the vault’s contents would be in disarray, including Thomas Chase’s heavy casket which, according to sources, took eight men to lift.
Four times over the following years would the marble slab be heaved aside and the sun’s light rush in to illuminate this weird danse macabre. By now, the strange activities had begun to attract attention from the island’s inhabitants and members of the public and island officials attended the next burial (Thomasina Clark’s) in great numbers.
Even the governor’s wife was present. She wrote:
Eight months passed until the vault was ordered to be opened once again. Rather than waiting for the next Chase to expire, the Governor and a party of men decided to check out the crypt on their own. The cement seals were found to be intact and no evidence of tampering could be discerned until, upon reopening, it was witnessed that once again the contents were in disarray. In fact, this time, it was a chaotic scene that greeted the onlookers: all the contents had moved from their resting places. Mary-Anna’s coffin had come to rest against the left wall and a small chunk had been chipped off it, seemingly caused by the violence of its journey. The floor’s sandy coating was undisturbed and no sign of flooding or earthquake was apparent.
Nathan Lucas (who is quoted with the prefix ‘The Honourable…’ in some sources, suggesting that he was a member of The Barbados House of Assembly), described this event:
After this incident the story ends abruptly. The bodies were moved to other burial sites and the Chase vault left empty. It still stands vacant to this day at Oistins on the island’s southern coast.
The strange happenings at the Chase vault are not unique. At least one similar case has been reported in Suffolk, England in the late 18th century when a family vault was reopened in order to add another lead coffin to the several that were already in residence, only for it to be noticed that they had moved from their original places. By all accounts, this caused great consternation and surprise to many of the locals. The wandering coffins were replaced and the vault carefully resealed. Some time afterwards, however, the same thing occurred. The vault’s contents were again restored. The events then occurred for a third time and recorded in The Stanton Courier Issue No 8 June, 1969:
For the Chase's vault, theories abound: seismic and volcanic activity have been suggested and some researchers believe that the disarray was caused by rising underground water levels which made the airtight coffins float, changing them from their positions before it deposited them gently as it drained away. Author Joe Nickell argues that actually none of this incident contains any true mystery at all and that it is all some kind of Masonic hoax. At least one researcher, Andrew Lang, couldn’t even find any reference to the baffling event in either the contemporary Barbadian newspapers or the church’s burial register. And, of course, those with the most active imaginations haven't been left out as there have even been proposals that Thomasina Goddard, the vault’s very first occupant, had been a vampire!
Whatever the truth, the curious underground goings-on in the Chase vault are certainly intriguing, even if as purely natural shenanigans, and they make a macabre tale to recount after dark, remaining a firm favourite in the pantheon of bizarre tales.
(Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.)
Barbados, 1808.
The wealthy Chase family acquired a vault in which to inter their dead. Already some eighty years old, the vault was partially underground and hewn out of the compacted coral that makes up much of the island’s foundations. Despite its age, the crypt had only ever housed a single occupant: one Thomasina Goddard. The head of the Chase family, Colonel Thomas Chase, decided not to disturb Goddard and she was not moved to another vault and she was soon saved from her lonely prostration when the young Mary-Anne Maria Chase joined her in lead-lined eternity. Four years later the vault was re-opened to allow Mary-Anne’s sister Dorcas’ entry. The unfortunate Chase family suffered another death when Colonel Thomas himself passed away barely a month later. It was then that the foundations of the Chase Vault legend began to take root. Upon opening the Vault it was seen that, somehow, Dorcas’ coffin had moved from its original position so that it now rested against the far wall “standing on end, with its head downward”. Blaming vandals or thieves, the funeral party dismissed the occurrence, replaced the coffin, slid the marble slab back over the entrance and left. But, from then on, every time the vault was opened to allow the submission of another of the Chase’s relatives the vault’s contents would be in disarray, including Thomas Chase’s heavy casket which, according to sources, took eight men to lift.
Four times over the following years would the marble slab be heaved aside and the sun’s light rush in to illuminate this weird danse macabre. By now, the strange activities had begun to attract attention from the island’s inhabitants and members of the public and island officials attended the next burial (Thomasina Clark’s) in great numbers.
Even the governor’s wife was present. She wrote:
Eight months passed until the vault was ordered to be opened once again. Rather than waiting for the next Chase to expire, the Governor and a party of men decided to check out the crypt on their own. The cement seals were found to be intact and no evidence of tampering could be discerned until, upon reopening, it was witnessed that once again the contents were in disarray. In fact, this time, it was a chaotic scene that greeted the onlookers: all the contents had moved from their resting places. Mary-Anna’s coffin had come to rest against the left wall and a small chunk had been chipped off it, seemingly caused by the violence of its journey. The floor’s sandy coating was undisturbed and no sign of flooding or earthquake was apparent.
Nathan Lucas (who is quoted with the prefix ‘The Honourable…’ in some sources, suggesting that he was a member of The Barbados House of Assembly), described this event:
After this incident the story ends abruptly. The bodies were moved to other burial sites and the Chase vault left empty. It still stands vacant to this day at Oistins on the island’s southern coast.
The strange happenings at the Chase vault are not unique. At least one similar case has been reported in Suffolk, England in the late 18th century when a family vault was reopened in order to add another lead coffin to the several that were already in residence, only for it to be noticed that they had moved from their original places. By all accounts, this caused great consternation and surprise to many of the locals. The wandering coffins were replaced and the vault carefully resealed. Some time afterwards, however, the same thing occurred. The vault’s contents were again restored. The events then occurred for a third time and recorded in The Stanton Courier Issue No 8 June, 1969:
For the Chase's vault, theories abound: seismic and volcanic activity have been suggested and some researchers believe that the disarray was caused by rising underground water levels which made the airtight coffins float, changing them from their positions before it deposited them gently as it drained away. Author Joe Nickell argues that actually none of this incident contains any true mystery at all and that it is all some kind of Masonic hoax. At least one researcher, Andrew Lang, couldn’t even find any reference to the baffling event in either the contemporary Barbadian newspapers or the church’s burial register. And, of course, those with the most active imaginations haven't been left out as there have even been proposals that Thomasina Goddard, the vault’s very first occupant, had been a vampire!
Whatever the truth, the curious underground goings-on in the Chase vault are certainly intriguing, even if as purely natural shenanigans, and they make a macabre tale to recount after dark, remaining a firm favourite in the pantheon of bizarre tales.
(Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.)
Thanks!