3 The Premature Burial BEFORE READING Story 1 Do you suffer from recurring nightmares? Which of these would be the most terrifying? Tick the relevant box/boxes. a. An earthquake. b. To wake up at night and hear footsteps coming up the stairs. c. To regain consciousness and find yourself shut in a coffin. d. To find yourself unable to communicate with other people although your mind is working perfectly. e. To be involved in a bomb attack. f. To be stalked by someone for months but no one will believe you or listen to you. g. To be somewhere where a highly infectious dangerous disease has broken out. h. To believe your house is inhabited by a malevolent poltergeist who tries to do you harm. 2 Nowadays many people wish to be cremated when they die, rather than buried. They consider it ecological as it reduces the final carbon footprint we leave behind. In some religions, such as Hinduism, cremation is normal. Have you ever thought about it? Do you think you would prefer to be buried or cremated? ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 In the Victorian age especially, without modern medical technology and knowledge, people were somewhat obsessed with the idea of premature burial, that is, being buried alive by mistake, due to appearing to be dead. What kind of conditions do you think could lead to this occurring? Underline the possible answers from the list below. diabetes coma shock trauma heart attack LIS (Locked In Syndrome, where all voluntary muscles suffer paralysis) infectious disease trance starvation dehydration sleep sickness catalepsy (nervous condition resulting from hysteria or schizophrenia) epilepsy 36