A Personal Experience By Diane

The following is a direct quotation from their book...

The outside world might never have heard of tiny Christ Church, on the remote West Indies island of Barbados, were it not for a remarkable series of events that occurred more than 150 years ago. Even today, the residents of Barbados still talk about the mysterious happenings that kept their ancestors in a state of turmoil for almost a decade. In July of 1807, a routine application was made to the rector of Christ Church to bury the remains of Mrs. Thomasina Goddard in an empty underground vault in the churchyard. The vault was built in 1724, but we do not know why it was empty or who Mrs. Goddard was. In any case, her wooden coffin was placed in the tomb, which measured twelve feet long by six and one-feet wide.

In the following year, Mrs. Goddard was joined by the remains of Mary Anna Maria Chase. The cause of Mary Anna's death is unrecorded, but we do know her small coffin was made of lead.

In 1812, just four years after little Mary Anna's death, Dorcas Chase, an older sister, died under strange circumstance. It was widely believed that, driven to despair by her tyrannical father, she killed herself by refusing all food. Whatever the truth of these rumors, the funeral of the elder Chase daughter was uneventful, and her lead coffin was added to the tomb, which had come to be known as the Chase Vault.

Only four weeks later, it was necessary to open the vault again, this time to receive the remains of the Honorable Thomas Chase himself. But, as the massive blue Devonshire marble slab that guarded the vault's entrance was removed, a remarkable scene confronted the burial party. The coffins were not in their original positions! That of little Mary Anna Chase was found resting, head downward, in the corner opposite the one in which it had been placed. The mourners were indignant! They assumed that the desecration of the tomb was the work of natives who resented the wealthy Chase family. The coffins were restored to their original positions, and the vault was sealed.

Four years passed before the underground vault was opened again, this time to receive the lead coffin of an eleven month old infant, Master Samuel Brewster Ames. As the giant marble slab was removed, a scene of wild disorder was unfolded before the assembled mourners. Coffins lay tumbled every which way. Grief turned to rage, and then to bewilderment.

How could anyone have entered the vault undetected? There was only one entrance, and the marble slab guarding it had been found firmly in place, its cement seal unbroken. The walls and ceiling were constructed of coral blocks cemented together so tightly that the vault appeared to be hewn out of one solid piece of rock. Beneath the vault was hard limestone, virtually impossible to tunnel through, let alone without leaving a trace of digging. Finally, the lead coffin were so heavy-weighing up to 700 pounds-that it would have taken at least eight men to shift them around. It was unlikely that a work party of this size could have broken into the vault and left without leaving a clue.

Now the affair of the restless coffins became the main topic of conversation on the island. The natives were convinced that the disturbances were due to "jumbies" or "duppies," the ghosts of whom they had a pious horror. The white population, on the other hand, could not accept the idea of ghostly forces. However, they did begin to doubt their accusations concerning the natives.

Only fifty-two days after the burial of Master Samuel Brewster Ames, it was decided to move the body of his father, Samuel Brewster, to the Chase Vault from its temporary resting place. As soon as the ponderous entrance was removed, those nearest the vault could see that IT HAD HAPPENED AGAIN! The four lead coffins were scattered about like bowling pins!

This time, the rector of Christ Church, the Reverend Thomas Orderson, and three other men conducted a thorough examination of the vault. On the theory that the disturbances might have been due to flooding, they checked for traces of moisture on the walls and ceiling, and for cracks in the floor, but found nothing. With a sense of foreboding, the Reverend had all the lead coffins returned to their original positions, and once again the vault was carefully sealed. It remained unopened for almost three years.

During this time, news of the weird happenings at Christ Church spread throughout the West Indies. Excitement on the island became so intense that the colonial Governor, Lord Combermere, decided to investigate the situation personally.

And so on July 7, 1819, an unusual procession followed the modest wooden coffin of Mrs. Thomansina Clark as it was carried slowly toward the Chase Vault. First came the immediate relatives, then Governor Combermere followed by his aides, next the Commander of the Garrison, then most of the island clergy, and finally hundreds of spectators.

The superstitious workers were unable to open the vault. Something seemed to be holding the massive marble slab in place. Finally, additional workers helped to move the stone, and the nature of the obstruction became clear. The coffin of the Honorable Mr. Chase was blocking the entrance. The other lead coffins were in disarray. Only the light wooden coffin of Mrs. Goddard was in place, apparently untouched by whatever forces had caused the havoc in the vault. Lord Combermere took charge of the burial party. He instructed his aides to examine minutely the inside of the vault, as well as the coffins. But their investigations produced nothing. The coffins showed no evidence of having been tampered with. There were no cracks in the walls of the tomb nor evidence of a subterranean passage. Apparently the vault was as dry and airtight as the day it had been built. Lord Combermere was mystified, but undeterred.

First, the governor ordered the coffins carefully restored to their original positions. Next, he had a thick layer of fine white beach sand sprinkled over the floor of the vault. Surely, this sand would reveal the footprints of anyone that entered the tomb. Lord Combermere sternly supervised the work of the terrified workers.

Finally, he was satisfied. The marble slab was eased into place and secured with fresh cement. As a final safeguard, the Governor made several impressions in the wet cement with his official seal and invited his aide, secretary and several others present to add their private marks. Now, whoever entered the vault would have to break the seal.

During the following months, speculation about the restless coffins reached new heights. Visitors came from all over the island to view the mysterious Chase Vault. Eventually, even the curiosity of Lord Combermere could no longer be contained.

On April 18,1820, the Governor visited Eldridge's Plantation, next to Christ Church. On the spur of the moment, he decided to re-open the vault. Gathering together some friends and several field hands, the Governor proceeded to the churchyard. Their party was spotted, and by the time they arrived at the vault hundreds of natives were on hand.

An examination of the exterior of the vault showed no evidence of any disturbance. According to Mr. Nathan Lucas, an eyewitness observer, "Every outward appearance was perfect- not a blade of grass or stone touched, indeed collusion or deception was impossible; for neither ourselves or the Negroes knew anything of the matter; for the subject was hardly started in conversation before we set out for inspection, and the Churchyard cannot exceed half a mile from Eldridge's." The impressions of the Governor's seal were as sharp and unbroken as on the day they had been made.

With difficulty, the cement seal was chipped away, and the heavy stone slab removed. Again the vault was in chaos! The Honorable Mr. Chases's heavy lead coffin rested upright against a wall of the tomb, flipped there as if it were no more than a toothpick. Each of the other lead coffins had also been moved. But there were no marks in the sand, except streaks where the corners of coffins had moved across the floor.

Without much hope, Lord Combermere ordered a careful inspection of the tomb. Mr. Lucas reports that he himself "examined the walls, the Arch and every part of the Vault and found every part old and similar; and a mason in (his) presence struck every part of the bottom with his hammer, and all was solid." The tomb, so far as could be determined, was airtight, waterproof, had secret entrances, and could not have been entered by any human or animal without breaking the seal on the door. Yet some force had tossed massive coffins around on FIVE SEPARATE OCCASIONS!

Without further ado, Lord Combermere ordered that the vault be left unclosed. The coffins were later removed, and buried separately in unmarked graves throughout the churchyard. The tomb was left open and was never used again.

Here our story ends, or should, except for one brief, tantalizing tale. Some years ago, a young native boy, who later became the church sexton, noticed a large object jutting out of the ground in the churchyard. This was near the present vaults containing the remains of the members of the Chase family who died in more recent times. On further examination the protruding object turned out to be the corner of a lead coffin. Terrified the boy left it untouched, and avoided the spot. Weeks later, when he returned to the spot, the coffin was gone, leaving a gaping hole.

Numerous attempts have been made to explain the mystery of the restless coffins. Most explanations, however, simply don't account for all the facts. For example, the belief that natives were responsible for the movement of the coffins does not explain how the vault was opened and closed without leaving the slightest trace of a human presence.

As for natural forces, flooding can be ruled out because repeated inspections of the vault showed no evidence of any water entry. And, lead doesn't float, but wood does, yet it was the lead coffins that moved. Earthquake can be ruled out because their effects would have been felt in other parts of the churchyard, not only in the Chase Vault.

This leaves electromagnetic forces, perhaps the most plausible theory. After all, it was the lead coffins which showed signs of violent movement. The idea that unknown electromagnetic forces may have caused the lead coffins to move is attractive, but leaves unexplained why these forces operated only within this particular vault and only after it was sealed.

If the mysterious happenings in the Chase Vault cannot be accounted for by human agents or natural forces, what about SUPERNATURAL causes? Spiritualists and psychic researchers base their explanation on the fact that the tomb became "restless" only AFTER the burial of Dorcas Chase, a reported suicide. But how does the fact of "suicide action" explain the lack of movement of the wooden coffins? The spiritualists are vague on this point.

One of the most famous of the psychic researchers to offer an explanation was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He suggested that the disturbances were caused by the interaction of "unused vitality" (which, Sir Arthur stated, lingers on whenever life has been cut short by suicide or murder) with the "effluvia" (or exhalations) given off by the workers who carried the coffins into the tomb. This interaction, according to Sir Arthur, produced combustive forces that tossed around the contents of the tomb. Needless to say, such explanations, however imaginative, lack precedence or factual documentation.

Efforts to explain the mystery of the Chase Vault have been hampered by the absence of accurate records about the people who were buried in the tomb. Unfortunately, the Reverend Orderson's original records were either lost in the hurricane that destroyed Christ Church in 1831, or in the fire that gutted the rebuilt edifice in 1935. Only copies of the records, or copies of the copies were left for later researchers to deal with. Whether these original records would help to solve the mystery can never be known, but their absence does leave considerable gaps in the evidence.

Should you visit beautiful Christ Church today, you might wander around the churchyard and even walk in and out of the Chase Vault (if you are not superstitious!) without encountering anything more exciting than a few stray leaves.

It is unlikely that we shall ever know exactly what happened to turn the Chase Vault into a restless tomb, but one small fragment of the mystery has now been solved. We do know what finally happened to the coffin that reappeared in the churchyard some years ago. Native fishermen surreptitiously removed it and used its massive lead walls to make fishing sinkers!

If the coffin was that of Dorcas Chase, perhaps her tormented spirit had at last found peace in some tranquil deep. Or, maybe even now, it continues its restless wandering...still seeking a final resting place. WHO KNOWS?"