21 The Chase Vault - AKA The Moving coffins of Barbados (Famous Hauntings And Spooky Spots)
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This article is from the Ghost Stories FAQ, by obiwan obiwan@best.com with numerous contributions by others.
21 The Chase Vault - AKA The Moving coffins of Barbados (Famous Hauntings And Spooky Spots)
Contributed by Matthew Hucke (hucke@mcs.com):
In Christ Church cemetery on the island of Barbados there is a
burial vault of unknown origin. The earliest records call it the
"Chase vault". It was first used for the burial of a Mrs. Goddard in
1807, followed by two-year-old Mary Ann Chase in 1808 and her sister
Dorcas in 1812, a probable suicide. A few weeks later, Dorcas' father
Thomas Chase died. When the vault was opened, all the coffins had
been moved from their original places. It was thought that thieves
had been in the vault, but the concrete seal of the tomb was still in
place.
Two more burials were made in 1816. In both cases, when the vault
was opened, the coffins already present had been moved about. The
casket of Thomas Chase was of lead, weighing 240 pounds, far too large
to be moved by a single vandal. In each of these burials, the wor-
kers returned the coffins to their proper places and sealed the mauso-
leum with cement.
It happened again in 1819. This time, the Governor sprinkled sand
on the floor (to show footprints), and pressed his personal seal into
the fresh cement. In 1820 the tomb was opened again, and the coffins
were again out of place, even though no footprints showed and the
concrete seal was undisturbed. The governor ordered the coffins
removed and the vault left open; the mystery has never been solved.
[ information taken from Daniel Cohen's _The Encyclopedia of Ghosts_,
Avon Books 1984.]
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