The Entombing of Julia Legare

In horror movies, books, photography, and in other forms of media the fear of being buried alive seems to be pervasive in our culture and easily one of the most frightening ways to die. While most of our folklore relates to the dead coming back to life...what happens when the living are buried like the dead? Enter the tragic tale of Julia Legare.

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Our story begins on Edisto Island, South Carolina. Edisto has a long history of inhabitation first beginning with indigenous people, followed by plantation owners in the 1700s. Julia Legare was visiting the island in the mid-1800s. While visiting she became quite ill and fell into a coma. Her family was quite worried, as her health seemed to be declining rapidly. However, days passed and she never awoke from her coma. A family physician declared Julia, who at the time was in her early teens, dead.

The family weathered the tragedy of Julia’s early death as best they could. As the years passed the family crypt remained closed until one day, about fifteen years later, her brother also met an early end. The family crypt was open to bury another Legare and found a gruesome site. Julia’s skeleton was pressed closely against the crypt door and there was evidence of scratching on the doors and floors of her final resting place.

Her family, understandably, was horrified at the horrific events that had transpired in Julia’s final days. However, from the day the crypt was opened and her body was discovered strange hauntings plagued the area. The mausoleum door was found open again and again to the point where cemetery employees decided to remove the door in an attempt to appease Julia’s final wish - to be set free from the crypt.

Sadly, this seems to be more of a tale of a great fear than a reflection of reality. Dottie Thomas, a local tour guide and historian sets the record straight..."The fact is Julia was buried there. Two years after she was buried, her four-year-old child passed away, and after he was buried, the door opened again mysteriously. Two years after the child died, her husband died. He was buried there, and the same thing happened, so they took the door off and sealed up the floor." So, while the tale is strange because opening a crypt door is always eerie, it does not appear Julia was entombed alive, nor was she even a child when she died. Perhaps her spirit is unrestful due to her and her family’s untimely deaths, but her end does not seem to be as horrific as the stories lead many to believe.

Thank you to Tabitha F for the #blogstonishing suggestion!

The above image is of Portion of Wescott Road, lying just west of South Carolina Highway 174 on Edisto Island. Photo was taken at about sunrise taken by Ammodramus. It is licensed under CC0.