Oh, and if you are ever in Barbados, stop by and tell the ghosts I said, "Hi".
Use of the Chase Family Vault as a burial chamber started in 1808 with the internment of an non-family adult female, Thomasina Goddard, in a wooden coffin. Her family had previously owned the vault before the Chase family purchased it. Soon afterwards the Chase Family used the vault to bury two year old Mary Anna Maria Chase in 1808 and then an adult daughter, Dorcas, in July 1812. Both girls were buried in lead coffins. Nothing unusual inside the vault was reported during these internments. The vault was resealed with a heavy marble slab that was cemented in place, a practice performed on all subsequent internments.
The mystery begins when the vault was opened one month later in August 1812 to receive the remains of Thomas Chase, the family patriarch. Astonishingly, the two previously-interned coffins were found to be drastically moved from their original positions. The infant's coffin was found standing on it's head. The coffins were placed back in the original side-by-side positions with little Mary's being placed atop that of her sister and father. Then the vault was re-sealed.
The question of who had moved the two coffins was extensively discussed by the family and friends of Colonel Chase. Suspicion was that the slaves who had assisted at the burials were to blame. Their motive being revenge for the cruel treatment by Colonel Chase. Treatment that was a point of contention between Dorcas and her father. An issue that most believed led to her suicide. Nothing, however, was ever proved.
The vault was opened again in September and November 1816 to receive two more lead coffins. Those of Charles Brewster Ames and Samuel Ames, respectively. Each time all of the coffins were found displaced. Many of the coffins were found facing the opposite direction from their original placement, as well as upside-down. The vault was again opened in 1819 for Thomasina Clark, who was in a wood coffin, and the lead coffins were again found to be wildly displaced.This phenomenon soon gained notoriety and the attention of the authorities. Rumors began to circulate about other-worldly causes. Lord Combermere, Governor of Barbados, witnessed the coffin disarray at the 1819 vault opening. Determined to solve this mystery and perhaps catch the perpetrators of a hoax, he initiated a controlled investigation. The Governor put into place several measures to investigate human intrusion. The vault walls were thoroughly inspected for other sources of entry. Brick masons tapping on the floor with hammers failed to detect any secret passages. Combermere then placed fine sand on the floor to detect human intrusion and had the door cemented shut. As a last safeguard against tampering, he imprinted his seal in the cement.
At the reopening of the vault 8 months later, hundreds of people were gathered to witness the inspection. Lord Combermere's seal was still intact, showing that no one had entered through the door. When the vault was opened, the coffins were again scattered. The heaviest
At the reopening of the vault 8 months later, hundreds of people were gathered to witness the inspection. Lord Combermere's seal was still intact, showing that no one had entered through the door. When the vault was opened, the coffins were again scattered. The heaviest
coffin of Thomas Chase was reported to be leaning against the inside of the vault door. There were even reports of a "bony arm, that of Dorcas Chase, was sticking out of a hole in the side of the coffin." However, the remains of the first (1808) wood coffin was reported to be unmoved. Keep in mind, this was the coffin of the only non-family member! The sand on the floor was undisturbed. Exasperated and worried about the growing fascination, Lord Combermere had the coffins moved to seperate resting places around the Christ Church cemetery and the vault was subsequently abandoned.
Proposed explanations
The supernatural theory of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and others proposed the movings were caused by the spirits of two individuals (Dorcas and Thomas) who had committed suicide and, therefore, were cursed and restless. Was Dorcas reaching out in death to her father for the love she had never received in life? Or was in an attempt at revenge for the ill treatment of the slaves that she loved and respected? After all, the coffins started moving only after she was buried in 1812. I believe it was probably the latter. We Joy gals can be an ornery bunch of cusses when we need to be.
Other explanations were human tampering, earthquake, explosion and flooding. Earthquakes and explosions seem unlikely since neither was reported and no other crypt's contents had been disturbed. Human tampering seems to have been ruled out in Lord Combermere's controlled investigation by the undisturbed condition of his seal on the door and the sand on the vault floor. Also, it would have been very difficult to hide the man-handling of the 800lb coffin of Thomas Chase that had originally taken 8 men to place in the vault. It was this coffin that was found leaning against the vault door from the inside, thus blocking any alleged perpetrator's exit. Flooding seems to have been the most popular theory. Actually, a water-tight 800lb lead coffin would float because the volume of water it displaces is of greater weight than the weight of the coffin (see below for calculation). Other occurrences had been documented of lead coffins being displaced by water (see below). Furthermore, it is believed that a very slow seepage of water in and out of the vault could leave the sand undisturbed. Even so, unlike the other coffin moving cases, no indication of flooding such as remnants of water or wet wood had been reported. It seems flooding would have also been observed in the other nearby vaults.
The true cause...no one knows. The Chase vault remains open, and the mystery remains unsolved.
"I ain't afraid of no ghosts!"
Leigh
