Essie Dunbar was a South Carolina woman who became famous after an uncanny event in 1915: she was declared dead but later came back to life during her funeral. Essie, who was 30 years old at the time, suffered from an epileptic seizure, and doctors were unable to revive her.

She was pronounced dead, and her body was prepared for burial. However, because her sister was running late for the funeral, the burial was delayed. By the time her sister arrived, Essie’s body had already been lowered into the grave, awaiting the final goodbye.

Wanting to bid her sister farewell, she requested that the coffin be raised and opened. To everyone’s shock, as the coffin was opened, Essie Dunbar suddenly sat up, alive and seemingly well. “I couldn’t believe my eyes,” one of the mourners is reported to have said. “It was as if she had returned from the dead.”

The mourners and officiants were terrified, with some reportedly running away in fear, believing they had witnessed a resurrection. Despite the commotion, Essie lived on for many more years, passing away at the age of 77.

This incident has been widely retold in folklore, as it taps into the primal fear of being buried alive and the notion of miraculous returns from death. “It’s a rare but not impossible scenario,” said Dr. William Hargrove, a medical historian. “In the early 20th century, cases of people being mispronounced dead were more common due to the limited medical knowledge of conditions like comas.”

While no official medical explanation exists, it’s often speculated that Essie had fallen into a deep coma or state of unconsciousness that mimicked death.