The Premature Burial
Encyclopedia
- For the film, see The Premature Burial (film)The Premature Burial (film)The Premature Burial is an American International Pictures horror film, directed by Roger Corman and starring Ray Milland, screenplay by Charles Beaumont and Ray Russell based upon the story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe.-Cast:...
.
"The Premature Burial" is a horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
on the theme of being buried alive
Premature burial
Premature burial, also known as live burial, burial alive, or vivisepulture, means to be buried while still alive. Animals or humans may be buried alive accidentally or intentionally...
, written by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
and published in 1844 in The Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper. Fear of being buried alive was common in this period and Poe was taking advantage of the public interest. The story has been adapted to film.
Plot
In "The Premature Burial", the first-person unnamed narrator describes his struggle with "attacks of the singular disorder which physicians have agreed to term catalepsyCatalepsy
Catalepsy is also a term used by hypnotists to refer to the state of making a hypnotised subject's arm, leg or back rigid. "Arm catalepsy" is often a pre-hypnotic test performed prior to an induction into a full trance.-Causes:...
," a condition where he randomly falls into a death-like trance. This leads to his fear of being buried alive
Fear of being buried alive
Fear of being buried alive is the fear of being placed in a grave while still alive as a result of being incorrectly pronounced dead. The abnormal, psychopathological version of this fear is referred to as taphophobia , which is translated as "fear of graves".Before the advent of modern medicine,...
("The true wretchedness," he says, is "to be buried while alive."). He emphasizes his fear by mentioning several people who have been buried alive. In the first case, the tragic accident was only discovered much later, when the victim's crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
was reopened. In others, victims revived and were able to draw attention to themselves in time to be freed from their ghastly prisons.
The narrator reviews these examples in order to provide context for his nearly crippling phobia
Phobia
A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often being recognized as irrational...
of being buried alive. As he explains, his condition made him prone to slipping into a trance state of unconsciousness
Unconsciousness
Unconsciousness is the condition of being not conscious—in a mental state that involves complete or near-complete lack of responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli. Being in a comatose state or coma is a type of unconsciousness. Fainting due to a drop in blood pressure and a...
, a disease that grew progressively worse over time. He became obsessed with the idea that he would fall into such a state while away from home, and that his state would be mistaken for death. He extracts promises from his friends that they will not bury him prematurely, refuses to leave his home, and builds an elaborate tomb
Tomb
A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...
with equipment allowing him to signal for help in case he should awaken after "death".
The story culminates when the narrator awakens in pitch darkness in a confined area - he has been buried alive, and all his precautions were to no avail. He cries out and is immediately hushed; he realizes that he is in the berth
Berth (sleeping)
The word berth was originally used to describe beds and sleeping accommodation on boats and ships and has now been extended to refer to similar facilities on trains, aircraft and buses.-Beds in boats or ships:...
of a small boat, not a grave. The event shocks him out of his obsession with death.
Analysis
Fear of burial alive was deeply rooted in Western culture in the nineteenth century, and Poe was taking advantage of the public's fascination with it. Hundreds of cases were reported in which doctors mistakenly pronounced people dead. In this period, coffins occasionally were equipped with emergency devicesSafety coffin
A safety coffin or security coffin is a coffin fitted with a mechanism to prevent premature burial or allow the occupant to signal that he/ she has been buried alive...
to allow the "corpse" to call for help, should he or she turn out to be still living. It was such a strong concern, Victorians even organized a Society for the Prevention of People Being Buried Alive. Belief in the vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
, an animated corpse that remains in its grave by day and emerges to prey on the living at night, has sometimes been attributed to premature burial. Folklorist Paul Barber has argued that the incidence of burial alive has been overestimated, and that the normal effects of decomposition are mistaken for signs of life. The story emphasizes this fascination by having the narrator state that truth can be more terrifying than fiction, then reciting actual cases in order to convince the reader to believe the main story.
The narrator in "The Premature Burial" is living a hollow life. He has avoided reality through his catalepsy but also through his fantasies, visions, and obsession with death. He does, however, reform—but only after his greatest fear has been realized.
Burial while alive in other Poe works
- "BereniceBerenice (short story)"Berenice" is a short horror story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the Southern Literary Messenger in 1835. The story follows a man named Egaeus who is preparing to marry his cousin Berenice. He has a tendency to fall into periods of intense focus during which he seems to separate himself...
" - "The Cask of AmontilladoThe Cask of Amontillado"The Cask of Amontillado" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the November 1846 issue of Godey's Lady's Book....
" - "The Fall of the House of UsherThe Fall of the House of Usher"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in September 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. It was slightly revised in 1840 for the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque...
"
Adaptations
- The Crime of Dr. CrespiThe Crime of Dr. CrespiThe Crime of Dr. Crespi is a horror film starring Erich von Stroheim, Harriet Russell, Paul Guilfoyle, Jean Brooks , John Bohn, and Dwight Frye, and released by Republic Pictures....
(1935), starring Erich von StroheimErich von StroheimErich von Stroheim was an Austrian-born film star of the silent era, subsequently noted as an auteur for his directorial work.-Background:...
and released by Republic PicturesRepublic PicturesRepublic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
. - The Premature BurialThe Premature Burial (film)The Premature Burial is an American International Pictures horror film, directed by Roger Corman and starring Ray Milland, screenplay by Charles Beaumont and Ray Russell based upon the story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe.-Cast:...
(1962) is a Roger CormanRoger CormanRoger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
film starring Ray MillandRay MillandRay Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...
and Hazel CourtHazel CourtHazel Court was an English actress best known for her roles in horror films during the 1950s and early 1960s.-Early life:...
. A novelization of the film was written by Max Hallan Danne in 1962 adapted from Charles BeaumontCharles BeaumontCharles Beaumont was a prolific American author of speculative fiction, including short stories in the horror and science fiction subgenres. He is remembered as a writer of classic Twilight Zone episodes, such as "The Howling Man", "Miniature", and "Printer's Devil", but also penned the...
and Ray RussellRay RussellRay Russell was an American writer of short stories, novels, and screenplays. In 1991 he received the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement....
's screenplay and published by Lancer Books in paperback. - The film Nightmares from the Mind of Poe (2006) includes "The Premature Burial" along with "The Tell-Tale HeartThe Tell-Tale Heart"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe first published in 1843. It follows an unnamed narrator who insists on his sanity after murdering an old man with a "vulture eye". The murder is carefully calculated, and the murderer hides the body by dismembering it and hiding it under the...
", "The Cask of AmontilladoThe Cask of Amontillado"The Cask of Amontillado" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the November 1846 issue of Godey's Lady's Book....
" and "The RavenThe Raven"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness...
". - Jan ŠvankmajerJan ŠvankmajerJan Švankmajer is a Czech filmmaker and artist whose work spans several media. He is a self-labeled surrealist known for his surreal animations and features, which have greatly influenced other artists such as Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, the Brothers Quay, and many others.- Life and career :Jan...
's film LunacyLunacy (film)Lunacy is a 2005 Czech film by Jan Švankmajer. The film is loosely based on two short stories, "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" and "The Premature Burial", by Edgar Allan Poe. It is also partly inspired by the works of the Marquis de Sade...
(2005) is based on "The Premature Burial" and Poe's "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor FetherThe System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether"The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" is a comedic short story written by American author Edgar Allan Poe.-Plot summary:The story follows an unnamed narrator who visits a mental institution in southern France known for a revolutionary new method of treating mental illnesses called the...
". - The Fred Olen RayFred Olen RayFred Olen Ray is an American director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and cinematographer.-Biography:He is the producer, director, and screenwriter of low to medium-budget feature films in many genres, including horror, science fiction, action/adventure, softcore sex films and crime dramas...
film Haunting Fear (1991) starring Brinke StevensBrinke StevensBrinke Stevens is an American actress, model and writer.-Life and career:Born in San Diego, California, Stevens has studied several foreign languages, including Esperanto, and gained a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology from San Diego State University and a Master of Science in Marine...
is loosely based on "The Premature Burial". The onscreen credits actually call the movie "Edgar Allan Poe's Haunting Fear" despite significant differences with the Poe story, including being set in the present day, the main character being female, and ending with her being intentionally put inside a coffin with the purpose of scaring her to death. - ERS Game studio released a pc adventure game based on the story called 'Dark Tales: Edgar Allan Poe's The Premature Burial Collector's Edition'.
External links
- Full text on PoeStories.com with hyperlinked vocabulary words.
- From Beyond the Grave (includes a section on belief in premature burial)
- Painting by Antoine WiertzAntoine WiertzAntoine Joseph Wiertz was a Belgian romantic painter and sculptor.-Biography:Born in Dinant from a relatively poor family, he entered the Antwerp art academy in 1820...
depicting a person buried alive. - "Nightmares from the Mind of Poe" full text, summary and film information.
