The Chase Crypt of Barbados

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In April 2003, I had the opportunity to visit the Chase Crypt (Vault) while on a one-day stop in Barbados. This infamous burial vault gained its notoriety more than 180 years ago when its coffins wouldn't stay put. Many investigators have looked into the case, but no one has successfully offered an explanation that fits all of the evidence. Maybe supernatural forces were responsible, as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle contended, or perhaps the investigators have just lacked some crucial facts. I decided to forego a trip to the beach and visit this place of mystery to see for myself.

Background
Use of the Chase Family Vault as a burial chamber started in 1808 with the internment of an non-Chase adult female in a wooden coffin. Soon afterwards the Chase Family used the vault to bury a Chase infant in 1808 and then an adult daughter, Dorcas, in July 1812. Both individuals 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 lead 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 and the vault was re-sealed. The vault was opened again in September and November 1816 to receive two more lead coffins. Eachtime all lead coffins were found displaced. Many of the lead coffins were found facing the opposite direction from their original placement, as well as upside-down. The vault was again opened in 1819 for an adult in a wood coffin, and the lead coffins were again found to be wildly displaced.  The puzzling part of the mystery relates to the condition of the first (1808) wooden coffin. Some had said that the remains of this coffin were not moved.

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 lead coffins were again scattered. The heaviest lead coffin of Thomas Chase was reported to be leaning against the inside of the vault door. However, the remains of the first (1808) wood coffin was reported to be unmoved. Reports differ as to whether the 2nd wood coffin had moved. The sand on the floor appeared undisturbed. Exasperated, Lord Combermere had the coffins moved to another resting place 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. After all, the coffins started moving only after Dorcas Chase was buried in 1812. 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, I believe 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.

Next Page: Entering the Vault