Once, Dr. Ronald K. Wright, a noted Florida forensic authority, helped to answer a question as to whether nails and hair continue to grow after death. His reply, in the negative, drew this Perry Mason-flavored tale from a certain Mrs. Mary Shuler, of Marysville, Ohio.

            “This is a true story that I often heard my father tell. When he was a young man he was working with a gang of men who were building new roads in Franklin County, around Columbus, Ohio. One road was to run through an ancient, tiny graveyard. What few graves could be located were to be moved.

            Father said that it was a weird task, for when they reached the caskets – which were made of pine – so many disintegrated. They finally came to a seemingly solid box.

            One of the men suggested opening the lid, which they did. Inside was a petrified fiery red-haired lady lying on her side. Both of her hands were full of red hair and the hair on her head had grown down and wrapped itself around her feet. The men surmised that she had been buried alive and had turned herself over in her fright. Her fingers and her toenails were long and curved like bird claws.

            My father said that he was so shaken up that he never went back to that job. Later, he had learned that the horrible cadaver was eventually transferred and re-interred in another cemetery. Probably this was one case in millions, but I just had to tell you about it.”

            In his reply to Mrs. Shuler, Dr. Wright stated the facts firmly and clearly. “The fear of being buried alive was indeed rampant in the U.S. during the later half of the 19th century. Edgar Allan Poe wrote of this phenomenon, and patents were issued for various devices to be actuated by the inadvertently buried dead to call attention to their plight. I have heard rumors that laws were passed requiring a period of time to pass before interment to prevent mishaps.

            As to the facts of this case, I do not doubt the observations, although they could be slightly exaggerated. I do doubt the conclusion. Oxygen in a buried coffin is sufficient for maybe one hour. Assuming that somehow the soil was not compacted to occlude the air, lack of water would prove fatal within a week at the longest.”

            “Hair and nails both grow approximately one millimetre per day in a healthy person and less than that when the person is ill. To have grown an inch would require survival of over 23 days. We must therefore assume that the nail and hair length were somewhat excessive at burial.

            “With regard to the body being on its side, in the process of lowering the caskets into the ground they are often tipped, which could account for this. The hair in the hands, however, cannot be readily explained.”