Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was a comprehensively researched and well-constructed work on the history of accidental burials, deaths that occurred whilst someone was buried alive, and other various morbid fascinations. It is largely formed around a series of small anecdotes about differing burials and circumstances, and covers a wide amount of ground. I do think there were some elements of this that should not have been included, for instance, mine cave-ins, but I also understand why they were. It is certainly morbid subject matter, but it is interesting all the same, and well worth a read.

I do think that there could have been a little more delving into the connected folklore - for instance, the connection of vampire mythology with growing nails and hair as a symptom of having been buried alive, and I did feel that it ended rather abruptly, but it was good nonetheless. I definitely learnt of quite a few cases I had not previously heard of, and learnt some interesting facts about burial customs and rituals through the ages. I understand that there are some people who are not the right audience for a book like this, but I definitely am, and I thought it was great.

This book looks at the topic of premature interment (a more genteel way of saying buried alive) & some miraculous escapes in the nick of time. To be honest, I'm really not sure what possessed me to read this book, I can't think of something more likely to induce nightmares! It was shocking just how many possible 'premature interments' there may have been, particularly around the time of war or disease. Thankfully the risk of being buried alive has lessened somewhat in more modern times although it has not disappeared completely.

It was also absolutely unfathomable to me how people could have heard shouting or knocking & instead of immediately digging it back up or opening the coffin, going off to find someone in charge. An official in one of the cases waited TWO DAYS after sounds were heard before allowing it to be opened. TWO DAYS! One wonders if those people should have been charged with at least manslaughter.

The book itself is very readable. Rather than a linear narrative it was split into different topics (i.e. ritual, criminal, accidental, etc) & mainly consisted of a listing of cases. They were very interesting, if macabre, & there was obviously a lot of local history research completed by the author. I did notice that sometimes a death concerning a particular topic would be included in one chapter & then a later chapter would deal the topic in more detail - it gave the book a repetitious feel in places even though no cases were actually repeated. If that makes sense. It also ends very suddenly with no concluding chapter which felt a little abrupt.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Pen & Sword, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

I absolutely LOVED this book!!
The stories of those who were buried alive, either intentionally or unintentionally are so bizarre! I could not stop reading, and this was one of those books that will freak you out, yet morbidly keep you fully engaged.

These stories range from ancient to the more present day, and are full of as much detail as is available. Reading before bed may cause your dreams to be a bit wacky, but once you start reading, you will not want to put this book down.

Wander through these pages, and see if you have a fear of being buried alive! There were some methods that were used to ensure that a person was "truly dead" (and here I have visions of BRING OUT YOUR DEAD playing), and some were truly weird. I can see the wanting to be sure, but goodness, don't try these at home folks.

Enjoy! I loved this book - from its weird to its accidental oopses.

Buried Alive by AJ Griffiths-Jones is a bone-chilling book details loads of premature burials, accidental interments, live burial/sacrificial rites, murder, and deliberate live burials to make and break records. Premanture burials have struck terror into the minds of so many for thousands of years. Taphophobia is the fear of being buried and waking up alive and has affected thousands of people throughout history. In fact, the American Society for Prevention of Premature Burial was necessitated. I understand that, especially when medical technology was not as advanced as it is today. People appeared dead in comatose and apopletic states and death-ike trances. Some poor souls were paralyzed and couldn't move, silent witnesses to their own funerals. Others were fortunate to signal to passersby by screams they were alive and were revived and lived days, months or years after.

This book is so riveting, disturbing and gripping it was impossible to put down, yet at times it was necessary for my own sanity! The author describes "dead-houses", miners, safety coffins, wills bequeathing money to someone who would stab or sever arteries to ensure death, left notes to housekeepers with similar instructions and also to have several doctors examine their body, and the Greek method. Ways of determining death are discussed as well.

The story of a vault opened to bury someone years after a woman was buried there is terrifying. Her skeleton sat at the entrance...and fingers were missing. A man was removed from his coffin, clothing shredded and bloody in a desperate attempt to escape.

If you are intrigued by the macabre and weirdly fascinating, this book is for you.

My sincere thank you to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this astounding book.

BURIED ALIVE is a macabre yet interesting read that was clearly well researched. The pieces on the history and motivation behind the practice were intriguing, however, once it became evident that each chapter was largely a compilation of brief stories centered around a specific subject, the book lost some of its appeal and became a bit monotonous.

Thank you to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a scary concept and worked with what I was expecting from this type of book. AJ Griffiths-Jones does a great job in keeping the reader engaged and had the research to back it up. It had that historical element that I was looking for and glad I was able to read this.