According to legend, the ghost of a young woman named Octavia still haunts Pikeville, Kentucky, and has never rested in peace since her death. She was said to have been buried alive. Here is her story.
So, in the 19th century, there was a well-known and prominent family called the Hatchers in Pike County, Kentucky. James Hatcher was a wealthy landowner and businessman. He opened a warehouse for goods brought in along the river.
When he was 30 years old, he married Octavia Smith in 1889. They had one son named Jacob in January 1891, but he died soon after he was born.
Octavia was 20 years old when she gave birth to Jacob. The death of her child caused her to sink into a deep depression. She became ill and slipped into a coma.
The doctors could not determine the cause of her illness. They declared her dead on May 2, 1891. The funeral services were carried out immediately due to a spell of unseasonably warm weather. Octavia was buried in the Hatcher family plot.
But soon after her death, other people began to experience coma-like symptoms that closely resembled Octavia’s. Authorities figured out that the illness was some sort of sleeping sickness brought on by the bite of a specific fly.
The Hatcher family panicked as they realized that Octavia may have been buried alive.
They quickly dug her up and were met with a terrible sight. The lining of the coffin’s lid was shredded, and Octavia’s fingernails were bloody. Her face was contorted into a frightening expression.
It was clear that she had indeed been alive when she was buried. She must have woken up, realized she was trapped beneath the ground, and used all her might to free herself, but ultimately suffocated to death. Octavia was reburied.
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A year after her death, James had an expensive, life-sized marble statue of her erected on her grave. At one point, a carving of her baby was in the statue’s arm, but vandals damaged the carving over time.
James never remarried. Octavia’s death truly took a toll on him. In October 1939, he passed away in his home at the age of 80. He was buried at Octavia’s feet in a custom-built coffin designed to prevent him from being buried alive.
One story says that he even implemented another safety feature to protect himself from Octavia’s fate. He had a string tied around his finger after he died.
The string ran aboveground and was attached to a bell. If he was buried alive, he could ring the bell to notify someone.
Rumor has it that Octavia’s statue would spin around with her back facing the city on the anniversary of her death. The Hatchers put up a tall fence around the grave, and the statue stopped spinning.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
