Wednesday Already !!

In today's issue, we have a short story from our "blog" friend Anne Rhodes, titled :-
Waking in the dark.....

We also have some facts about being buried alive !!!?? Some Weird News and, finally an opportunity for you to "join in"

So let's kick off with the ever awesome Anne Rhodes, with a piece of flash fiction.....

WAKING IN THE DARK by Anne Rhodes

I wake up in the dark. Black, black dark. No idea where I am – a cloying silence broken only by an over-loud noise. I realise that deafening sound is my breathing.

Where the hell am I? The last thing I can remember is being in hospital. I am flat on my back on something solid – I can only move my arms a little way – inches to the side and above me. I bang on the sides and realise it sounds wooden – I panic and my breathing sounds erratic. Am I buried? I bang and shout “I’m not dead – not dead”.

Interesting Fact About Being Buried Alive

The fear of being buried alive is called - Taphophobia

Houses of the Dead

The fear of being buried alive was so widespread in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries that an entire system of hospitals for the dead was established where people could be kept in for observation until they started to go off, in case they woke up.

Saved By The Bell

‘Saved by the bell’ is a term from the world of boxing in the 1930s, where a beleaguered fighter being counted out gets a second chance if the bell for the end of the round interrupts the count.  Pub lore notwithstanding, it has nothing to do with the idea that a dead person might set up a bell in their coffin in order to let people know that they’d been buried alive.

Publicity Stunts

Harry Houdini once tried a trick in which he was to be buried alive, manacled, under six feet of earth. His mouth filled with earth, he nearly died, and although he eventually burrowed his way out but he never tried the trick again.

From 

The 

WORST-CASE SCENARIO

Survival Handbook:

HOW TO SURVIVE IF YOU ARE BURIED ALIVE

1. Conserve your air supply. If you are buried in a typical coffin, you will have enough air to survive for an hour or two at most. Take deep breaths, then hold for as long as possible before exhaling. Do not breathe and then swallow, which will lead to hyperventilation. Do not light a match or lighter. Combustion will quickly use your available oxygen. It is safe to use a flashlight if you have one. Do not yell. Yelling will lead to panic, which will increase your heart rate and lead to fast breathing that will rapidly consume your air supply.

2. Press up on the coffin lid with your hands. An inexpensive "pine box" (chipboard coffin) or a recycled paperboard coffin will have some give to it, so it will be relatively easy to break through. If you feel flex in the coffin lid, continue to step 3. A metal-clad or hardwood coffin will be impossible to pierce. In this case, your only hope is to signal for rescue. Use a metal object (ring, belt buckle, coin, flask, pen) to signal that you are alive. Tap SOS, the international distress signal, on the coffin lid: three quick taps, followed by three slower taps, followed by three quick taps. Continue to repeat the distress call until someone hears you.

3. Remove your shirt. Cross your arms over your chest, then uncross your arms so that your elbows are bent and your hands are at your shoulders. Pull your shirt up and off your head from the shoulders, do a partial sit-up (as much as you can in the space available), then pull your shirt over your head and off.

4. Tie the bottom of the shirt in a knot. The shirt should have only one large opening, at the neck, as does a bag.

5. Place your head through the neck hole. The knot should be on the top of your head. The shirt will prevent you from suffocating on loose earth.

6. Break through the coffin.Using your feet, begin kicking the coffin lid. A cheap coffin may have already split from the weight of the earth above, making your job easier. Break apart the lid with your hands and feet and let the loose dirt rush in.

7. Use your hands to push the dirt toward your feet. There should be some space at the bottom end of the coffin, below your feet. As the dirt rushes in, work quickly but calmly to fill the space at your feet. When this space fills up, push dirt to your sides. Breathe slowly and regularly.

8. Sit up. As you move to a seated position, the loose earth above will move to fill the space you just occupied. As the dirt falls, continue to push it into the coffin until you can stand up.

9. Stand. Once you are standing, you should be able to push the dirt above you up and out of the grave. When you have cleared all the dirt above you, climb out.

Be Aware

• A recently interred coffin will be covered with loose earth that is relatively easy to dig through.

• Escaping from a coffin interred during a rain storm will be difficult. The compacted weight of the wet earth will make digging almost impossible.

• The higher the clay content of the soil, the more difficult your escape will be.

Weird News

It's been reported today in the news that an American Company ( Where else ?? ) is offering to remove your tattoo's, after death, preserve the skin and mount them in frames.

The company "Save my Ink Forever" launched this service last year.

The company can preserve tattoos ranging from simple hearts to ornate full back pieces. Prices vary depending on the size of the piece, but the cost is usually in the region of $1,000 (£795). 

My granny has, on her back a full tattoo of the UK road system.
She's a rum old bird, but you always know where you are with her !!!!!

Well that's it for today.....If you have some work you'd like to be showcased, and be presented to an audience of over 5,000 international readers a day.

Then send it it, use the contact button or email me :

neville.raper@gmail.com