The Chase Vault: Moving Coffins of Barbados

In the Christ Church Parish of Barbados, a stone burial vault became the site of one of the Caribbean’s most enduring mysteries. Between 1812 and 1820, the sealed Chase Vault was opened for interments only to find that heavy lead coffins inside had been violently rearranged—standing on end, thrown across the vault, or stacked against the entrance. Despite investigations by the Governor and exhaustive attempts to explain the phenomenon, no cause was ever determined.

The Vault

The Chase Vault was a substantial stone structure built into the earth of Christ Church Parish Cemetery. It was constructed in the early eighteenth century and purchased by the Chase family, one of the wealthiest on the island. The vault was sealed with a massive marble slab that required several men to move.

The vault’s first known interment was Mrs. Thomasina Goddard in 1807, buried in a wooden coffin. The Chase family began using the vault in 1808 with the burial of two-year-old Mary Ann Chase, placed in a heavy lead coffin.

The Disturbances Begin

On July 6, 1812, Dorcas Chase, who had reportedly starved herself to death, was interred in the vault. When the slab was moved, workers noticed something disturbing: Mary Ann’s small coffin had been moved from its position, thrown into a corner.

The coffins were rearranged, Dorcas was interred, and the vault was resealed.

Just weeks later, on August 9, 1812, the vault was opened to receive Thomas Chase, patriarch of the family and reportedly a cruel man who may have driven Dorcas to suicide. Again, the coffins had been displaced. The heavy lead coffin of Mary Ann Chase had been moved across the vault. Dorcas’s coffin had been thrown against the wall.

The workers, frightened, carefully arranged all coffins and resealed the vault.

Subsequent Openings

The pattern continued. Each time the vault was opened for a new interment, the coffins were found in disarray:

September 25, 1816: Another infant, Samuel Brewster Ames, was to be interred. The coffins had again been thrown about, including the largest and heaviest—that of Thomas Chase, which would have required eight men to lift.

November 17, 1816: Samuel Brewster’s coffin was placed in the vault. Again, the coffins had moved violently.

July 17, 1819: The vault was opened for Mrs. Thomasina Clarke. Once more, the coffins were strewn about. Some were standing on end.

Governor’s Investigation

By 1819, the disturbances had become famous throughout Barbados. Lord Combermere, the Governor, took personal interest in the case. On the 1819 opening, he supervised the examination of the vault.

The investigation found:

No evidence of flooding or water damage No signs of earthquake activity No evidence of human entry (the seal was intact each time) The floor showed no marks from dragging coffins The coffins were undamaged despite their violent relocation

Lord Combermere ordered the coffins carefully arranged and had fine sand spread across the floor to record any movement. The vault was sealed, and the Governor placed his personal seal on the entrance.

The Final Opening

On April 18, 1820, the Governor returned with a substantial party to inspect the vault. The seals were intact. The cement showed no signs of tampering.

When the heavy slab was moved, the party found chaos. The coffins had been thrown about with such violence that one was standing on end against the wall. Only Mrs. Goddard’s wooden coffin, the oldest in the vault, remained undisturbed.

The sand on the floor showed no tracks—no human footprints, no evidence of animals, nothing to indicate how the coffins had been moved.

Abandonment

Following this final discovery, the Chase family abandoned the vault. The bodies were removed and buried elsewhere. The vault remains empty to this day, its mystery unsolved.

Explanations

Numerous explanations have been proposed:

Earthquake: Barbados experiences occasional seismic activity. However, earthquakes severe enough to move 500-pound lead coffins would have been felt throughout the island and damaged other structures.

Flooding: Underground water might have floated the coffins. However, the lead coffins were designed to exclude water and would not float. No evidence of water damage was found.

Gases: Decomposition gases might have built pressure inside coffins, causing them to move. This is physically implausible for the movements described.

Human intervention: Someone might have entered secretly to move the coffins. This would require breaking and resealing the concrete without detection and moving extremely heavy objects in a confined space—repeatedly, over years, without ever being caught or leaving evidence.

Supernatural: Some proposed that the spirits of those buried there—particularly Thomas Chase, who was reportedly cruel—could find no rest and expressed their torment by throwing coffins.

Similar Cases

Interestingly, similar phenomena have been reported from other Caribbean vaults. In the same era, moving coffins were reported from a vault in Oistin, Barbados, and from St. James’s Parish. The pattern suggests either something regional or a common type of mistaken observation.

Legacy

The Chase Vault remains one of the Caribbean’s most famous mysteries. The combination of credible witnesses (including the Governor), physical impossibility, and repeated occurrence makes the case compelling.

The empty vault still stands in Christ Church Parish Cemetery. Visitors can view the site, though the vault itself is sealed. Whatever moved those coffins—natural force, supernatural agency, or something never imagined—left no evidence behind except the mystery itself.