In 1705, an Irish woman named Marjorie McCall succumbed to a sudden fever and was buried without delay in order to prevent the potential spread of disease. Her burial took place at the Shankill Cemetery in Lurgan, Ireland.
Marjorie was laid to rest still wearing a valuable ring on her finger—a cherished piece that her husband, John McCall, had been unable to remove due to the swelling in her hands. The presence of such a jewel did not go unnoticed, and her grave quickly became a target for grave robbers who preyed on the recently buried in search of valuables.
That very evening, when the earth was still soft, a group of thieves dug up her grave and opened the coffin. When they failed to pull the ring off her swollen finger, they resorted to a gruesome plan—they decided to sever the finger to retrieve the treasure. However, as soon as they made an incision and blood began to flow, Marjorie—who had only fallen into a deep coma, not died—suddenly regained consciousness. She sat up in her coffin and let out a piercing scream.
The fate of the terrified grave robbers remains unknown. Whether they fled in horror, died of fright, or simply disappeared is a mystery lost to history. What is known is that Marjorie managed to climb out of her coffin and made her way home, still dressed in her burial garments, her wounded hand bleeding.
At home, her husband John was with their children when he heard a knock on the door. Looking toward the children, he reportedly said, “If your mother were still alive, I’d swear that was her knock.” But when he opened the door and saw Marjorie—pale, bloodied, and clad in her funeral attire—he collapsed from the shock and died on the spot. He was buried in the very coffin Marjorie had vacated.
Remarkably, Marjorie went on to live many more years. She eventually remarried, had more children, and when she finally passed away, she was buried once again at Shankill Cemetery. Her grave still stands to this day, marked by a headstone with an unforgettable inscription:
“Lived once, buried twice.”
