The family of Essie Dunbar was left heartbroken when she passed away at the young age of 30 following an epileptic seizure.
Following her sudden death, a swift funeral was arranged for Essie, and she was laid to rest in a wooden coffin six feet underground in South Carolina over a hundred years ago. However, a twist of fate occurred when her grieving sister arrived late to the service and requested the coffin to be unearthed so she could bid her final farewell. To everyone’s shock, upon opening the coffin, Essie was found alive and smiling back at the world.
Essie’s early life remains shrouded in mystery. Born in 1885, she led a simple, uneventful existence, staying close to her family members who mostly resided nearby. It wasn’t until a summer day in 1915 when tragedy struck after she suffered an epileptic seizure, leading to her collapse.
Upon discovering Essie lifeless, the family sought immediate medical assistance. Dr. D.K. Briggs, a local physician from Blackville, was called to assess her condition. Despite the doctor’s grim pronouncement of her death, the family plunged into mourning and promptly arranged her funeral, scheduled for the next morning to allow Essie’s sister to attend.
As Essie’s body was prepared and services commenced the following day, her sister had still not arrived. Faced with a difficult decision, the family proceeded with the burial. Moments after the interment, Essie’s belated sister made her appearance, prompting the exhumation of the coffin for a final goodbye.
In a startling turn of events, as the coffin was opened, Essie Dunbar sat up, surprising everyone with her existence. Chaos ensued as the attending ministers tumbled into the grave, one sustaining injuries. Witnessing what seemed supernatural, Essie’s family fled in terror as she emerged from the coffin, attempting to follow them.
Surviving the harrowing experience, Essie returned to her quiet life, known for later working in the fields, picking cotton, and living independently. Defying the doctor’s declaration of her demise, she outlived him and continued to lead a modest existence supported by welfare and work. Essie Dunbar passed away in 1962 at the age of 77, with local newspapers commemorating her final farewell in a headline titled ‘Final Funeral Held For South Carolina Woman.’