Buried Alive: Difference between revisions
m
clean up
m (update links) |
m (clean up) |
||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
[[File:300px-
{{quote|''"The Earth is suffocating. Swear to cut me open, so that I will not be buried alive."''|'''Frederic Chopin'''}}
Line 29:
* ''[[Mazinger Z]]'': [[The Dragon]] and [[Two-Faced]] [[Cyborg]] Baron Ashura was originally two persons were buried alive together for being caught trying to break their [[Star-Crossed Lovers]] destinies. One half of each body was destroyed, so he stitched them together to create Ashura.
* ''[[Naruto]]''
** A [[Filler]] episode has a villain who isn't satisfied just doing
** There's also Gaara, who can do this with his sand to restrain particularly tough enemies, though he generally prefers the less subtle technique of ''making them implode''.
** Later on, in the second season, Shikamaru uses explosives to dismember Hidan and then buries him in the middle of a forest. Because Hidan's special power is immortality, his head is cursing Shikamaru as it's buried. However, Hidan is not TRULY immortal; [[Word of God|he has to keep killing people with his]] [[Religion of Evil|Jashinist ritual]] [[Word of God|to retain eternal life]]. So rather than sitting in that filled hole living forever, he gets to die...
Line 44:
=== Comics -- Books ===
* One issue of ''Tales from the Crypt'' has a tale of a man who was hanged and declared dead. The twist was that his neck was broken but his spinal cord was not
* A story from ''The Haunt of Fear'', "Chatter-Boxed!", set in December 1941, features an elderly man who suffers from catalepsy, making him appear dead when he isn't. He leaves instructions to be buried with a telephone, allowing him to call for help lest he regain consciousness. Sure enough, he is buried after having an episode behind the wheel and does exactly that, only to find every phone line tied. After futilely trying to get a call through and finally running out of oxygen, the operator angrily snaps at the man's blue-faced corpse for being ignorant of what's just taken place: the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
* ''[[Batman]]''
Line 68:
* Pretty much the whole point of the movie ''The Vanishing'', and its Dutch original film and book, which are ''Spoorloos'' and ''Het Gouden Ei'', respectively.
* Budd does this to the Bride in ''[[Kill Bill]]: Volume 2''. She escapes, though not without difficulty.
** What makes it really creepy, however, is that ''the entire
** Interestingly, Budd gives her a flashlight when he does so, as both a sign of respect and knowing it could help her escape.
* [[Roger Corman]]'s film adaptations of Poe's stories often played with this trope. ''His'' version of ''[[The Fall Of The House Of Usher]]'' had Roderick ''purposely'' bury his sister alive, to keep her from marrying and perpetuating their cursed, criminal family line. Corman's version of ''[[The Pit And The Pendulum]]'' featured a character being driven mad by the idea that he may have buried his wife alive accidentally. And his take on ''The Premature Burial'' ends with the main character seeing his worst fears realized.
Line 76:
* In ''[[The Prestige]]'' Robert Angier does this to Alfred Borden's assistant both for revenge and to keep him busy digging, instead of going after him.
* There were two ''Buried Alive'' movies, each one beginning with a spousal near-death by poisoning and subsequent rushed funeral (which apparently skips autopsy and embalming altogether). After this, the intended victims wake up, dig their way out, and plot elaborate revenge for their unfaithful spouse and his/her lover.
* In the movie ''[[Dirty Harry]]'', Scorpio demands ransom from the city of San Francisco after he kidnaps a teenage girl. He claims his prisoner only has enough air to last until 3:00
* The movie ''Ghost Story'' begins with characters telling a scary story about a man buried alive and scratching at the inside of his coffin, yelling out "Still aliiiive...".
* In ''The Burrowers'', the title monsters paralyze their victims and bury them up to their noses in dirt.
Line 109:
*** Poe wasn't so much fond of this, as frightened to DEATH of it. It was his one worst fear, so naturally he wrote his horror stories about it.
* In the second novel of ''[[The Shadow]]'', one of The Shadow's helpers is buried alive by the villains despite the fact that the villains have killed and buried all previous visitors to their house. Harry is rescued by The Shadow, who tunnels sideways into the grave from a nearby tomb.
* David Eddings had his sorcerer Belgarath do this, near the end of ''[[The Belgariad]]'': {{spoiler|Zedar the apostate}} was
* [[Jack Vance]]'s ''[[Dying Earth (novel)|Dying Earth]]'' novels mention the Spell of Forlorn Encystment, which keeps its victims alive indefinitely inside solid rock some sixty kilometers underground. A few victims are (accidentally) released and found to be in near-catatonic states.
* Pre-subverted in the third ''[[Artemis Fowl]]'' book. Mulch Diggums, a dwarf whose entire race can dig through the dirt using only their jaws and hands and breathe while doing so (and we've known he can do this for three books), convinces two [[Dumb Muscle|dumb henchmen]] to do this to him. Needless to say, he has a good laugh about it afterwards. Hell, he has a good laugh ''during'' the burial, which he passes off as "shaking in fear". Right, Mulch.
Line 120:
** Seeing as how those are all eternal punishments, they would fit more under [[And I Must Scream]].
* In [[David Gemmell]]'s ''The Swords of Night and Day'', [[God Save Us From the Queen|Queen Jianna]] [[Bad Boss|buries an advisor alive]] inside a large stone chamber after he speaks his mind too freely. She later decides to reverse the decision, but by the time he's dug up he'd found a way to hang himself.
* The short story ''The Extension'' dealt with a man who was so afraid of being
* An interesting take on this trope came from ''[[The Count of Monte Cristo (novel)|The Count of Monte Cristo]]'' when Edmond makes his escape from the prison. He plans (rather hastily) to switch places with the body of his friend and mentor and once he is buried in the shallow grave, dig himself out. He has to change his plans rather quickly when, instead of burying him, the guards proceed to chuck him over a cliff into the ocean.
* Part of the backstory of ''The Three Coffins'' by [[John Dickson Carr]] was a jailbreak by
* The ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' book ''Killer Profile'' mentions a serial killer whose MO was burying his victims in homemade coffins, which had pipes leading to the surface, so they could breathe. The guy also enjoyed giving his victims false hope by leaving them with a bit of water and hammer they could try and escape with.
* Used in the Mary Higgins Clark book ''Moonlight Becomes You'', which starts out with the protagonist buried alive and desperately pulling one of the aforementioned bells to signal for help. The story then flashes between the present and to several weeks earlier, showing how she came to this fate and leaving the reader to decipher who her would-be killer is, all the while inserting her frantic efforts to remain conscious until help arrives, which it does at the last minute.
Line 142:
** "Deadline": With the state facing a budget crisis, state senator vows to disband the Texas Rangers as a cost-cutting move ... then won't allow Walker to help find his daughter when she is kidnapped and buried alive by a gang of bank robbers. Only when Walker does find her (and of course, beat the bad guys) does the senator realize the value of the Rangers.
** "Miracle at Middle Creek": Walker and a young boy are trapped in an underground crevice, having been forced there by a band of bank robbers. Why? To ensure cooperation by the boy's father when the heist does take place. This time, Trivette saves the day.
** "Cyclone": A sadistic extortionist and his band of thugs hijack a school bus full of
* An episode of the ''[[Tales from the Crypt]]'' TV series, which was adapted from a comic, has a magician do this as his final trick. A doctor had transplanted into him the organ that gives cats nine lives, so he could die and just come back. After using this to make a small fortune at a sideshow, his final stunt (before he ran out of lives) was to be buried alive in front of hundreds of witnesses. {{spoiler|Only once he's in the ground does he start reminiscing about what an interesting life he's had, before he realizes he didn't count the death of the cat among his lives. He's on his ninth, not his eight....}}
* Happens to Nick in ''[[CSI]]''. He is rescued, though not until he's suffered quite a lot.
Line 167:
** In a rare example of a hero doing this, {{spoiler|Hiro assures the other heroes that the immortal Adam Monroe will never hurt another person. Cut to [[And I Must Scream|Adam screaming in a coffin]], buried in the same cemetery where Hiro's father (who Adam killed), was interred.}}
** Also, as retribution for all the crimes he had committed against not just the world, but {{spoiler|Parkman's wife}} only minutes before, {{spoiler|Parkman locks Sylar in his own mind, alone and powerless. Not only that, to prevent anyone from finding him and trying to help, he seals Sylar up behind a wall in his basement. Not only THAT, while Sylar was trapped in his own mind doomed to wander New York City alone forever, his super fast brain had an increased perception of time, making every second he spent in reality feel like days. Even though he got better and was really only buried alive for about half an hour, over three years had passed in his mind.}}
* In ''[[Being Human (USA)|Being Human]]'', being buried alive is used as a form of punishment for vampires. Their nature means they won't suffocate or be crushed by the soil, but they will grow very weak and slowly go insane from hunger. Suren was buried alive for over ''[[And I Must Scream|80 years
* ''[[Bones]]'', Temperance Brennan and Jack Hodgins are buried alive (in a car!) by a kidnapper/serial killer called the Gravedigger.
** They'd previously helped identify the remains of twin boys who'd died after the Gravedigger left them buried alive inside a metal tank. As the name implies, this villain's M.O. was to subject victims to this trope, then demand a ransom in return for information on where they were buried.
* In the ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' episode "Scared to Death", there was a killer who, under guise of "getting you over your phobia," trapped you in your worst fear and then waited until you scared yourself to death. The final victim was a bit more direct cause of near-
** In the episode "Revelations," the killer {{spoiler|forced Reid to start digging his own grave so he could bury him alive.}} The BAU saves the day, though.
* ''[[Torchwood]]''
Line 184:
** Dean and Sam also earlier do this to an immortal murderer. He's also ''chained'' into his coffin.
* In ''[[Roswell]]'', this happens to Laurie Dupree. Luckily for her, the attacker specifically wanted to keep her alive, so set it up that she could breathe.
* One episode of ''[[Crossing Jordan]]'' involved a serial killer who buries his victims
* ''[[Cold Case]]'' had a similar episode where a teenage boy had been buried alive. The killer in question walks into the station 20-something years later to confess to the
* ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]''
** The classic episode, "Breakdown", has Joseph Cotton paralyzed in a car accident and taken for dead. {{spoiler|He is saved at the last minute when an alert coroner notices a tear glimmering in his eye.}}
Line 202:
* In the British sci-fi drama ''[[Misfits]]'', we have a rare case of this trope being played (mostly) for ''laughs''. {{spoiler|And it happens to the main character, no less. Nathan, after suffering a [[Impaled with Extreme Prejudice|brutal death]] some days before, turns out to have the power of Resurrection. He's thrilled to find himself alive and starts gloating ridiculously about his newfound power, actually uttering the phrase: "Who's laughing now?!" When it sinks in that he's ''buried alive'' (yes, he's a bit of a dumbass) he gets furious and starts hurling hilariously futile abuse at no-one in particular. Then he just lies back and begins [[Cosy Catastrophe|casually listening to his ipod]]. [[Cliff Hanger|And this happened in the season 1 finale]]. In the second season opener a telepath visiting his grave overhears him [[A Date with Rosie Palms|masturbating]] and arranges for him to be exhumed.}}
* In the America soap opera ''[[Days of Our Lives]]'', some 16 years ago, crazy Vivian hated Carly so much she injected Carly with some Chinese herbs, forcing her into a seemly dead state, had an open casket funeral with all Carly's loved ones, buried her with a radio to taunt her, some water and enough oxygen to prolong the slow torture and the rolled over her grave, laughing. Carly was saved just in time, though she seems quite traumatized by it all to this day. Not that we can blame her.
* This trope is often seen on soap operas. Several examples have the villain trapping his or victim in certain
** ''[[General Hospital]]'': Ryan Chamberlain faked his death to escape from the asylum.
** ''[[Passions]]'': Sheridan Crane's death was faked (to escape criminals who were pursuing her) and she was buried to continue the ruse. Unfortunately, plans to rescue her immediately were hindered when the criminals in question kidnapped her would-be saviors, leaving her in considerable peril (Sheridan's claustrophobia didn't help matters much). Although she was ultimately rescued at the end of the "day", the scenes played out for over a ''month''.
Line 213:
* ''[[The Pretender]]''
** The victim in "Back From the Dead Again" was buried alive.
** In "Red Rock Jarod", the villain of the episode buries a hostage alive in a remote
* ''[[1000 Ways to Die]]'': In "Dung For", this accidentally happens to a farm hand after he is caught having sex with the [[Farmer's Daughter]].
* ''[[Leverage]]'' has two examples:
Line 223:
=== Music ===
* [[Avenged Sevenfold]] has a song called "
* Referenced in the [[Scissor Sisters]] song "I Can't Decide" (where what can't be decided is "whether you should live or die"): ''"Or I could bury you alive / But you might crawl out with a knife / And kill me when I'm sleeping"''.
* Referenced in "The Mariner's Revenge Song" by the Decemberists:
Line 248:
** A non-official sourcebook introduced the "Entombment" spell, which bury alive a creature on the spot. If a saving throw is passed, the subject is only buried to the waist... but if the spellcaster memorized the spell twice and casts it a second time, then the victim no longer has a saving throw.
* ''[[Geist: The Sin Eaters]]''
** There's mention of a geist, the Gravedigger, who in life did this to his murder victims (hit them with a shovel, bury them alive, listen to them scream). He met his end when he didn't hit one hard
** This is also what's necessary to activate the Oracle Manifestation using the Grave-Dirt Key. It allows the user to astrally project, but they need to effectively be suffocating from their burial. Once they get back into their body, however, they erupt spectacularly from the ground with all the damage from suffocation healed up. At the highest understanding of the Oracle, a Sin-Eater can effectively wander freely as long as they want; the corebook makes reference to an urban legend amongst the Bound about a Mafioso who was buried in wet cement while knocked unconscious and has been using the Oracle for ''decades'' to keep his body in suspended animation.
* This comes up sometimes in ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'', for example the card Claustrophobia [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=380259] depicts someone in a cramped space with wood above him and the flavor text "Six feet of earth muffled his cries."
Line 261:
* ''[[Baldur's Gate]] 2''
** There's an optional subplot about finding some evil criminals who are robbing guys and burying them alive.
** Not to mention the Protagonist is threatened with a magical version of his by a loony
** And the various demiliches, mages and superpowered imps who show up in the expansion or as [[Bonus Boss
* Happens to Stan in ''[[Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge|Monkey Island 2 Le Chucks Revenge]]'', where Guybrush has to get Stan to jump into one of his own coffins and nail the lid shut so he can steal a key from his office. Stan subsequently stays shut in the coffin until [[The Curse of Monkey Island|the sequel]], where Guybrush can finally open Stan's casket after the two are shut in the same crypt together.
* Dwarves in ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'' have an [[Too Dumb to Live|amusing tendency to do this to themselves.]] Due to a quirk in how they build walls, they will always prefer to build them from the west side. This occasionally results in them walling themselves into an enclosed area and dying of dehydration.
* ''[[Eternal Darkness]]''
** The game has the quicksand variant as a hallucination
** {{spoiler|On a more serious note, Roberto Bianchi is commissioned to aid in the construction of a monument. At the end of the chapter, he and several other architects are chucked down into an oubliette-styled hole. And then the concrete pours in. The end of the chapter's final shot is Roberto's face and body as he tried, in futility, to escape his end.}}
* That's one of the ways to die in ''[[Lode Runner]]''. To be buried alive inside bricks.
Line 348:
* The [[Anthology]] movie ''[[Creepshow]]'' has a segment all about the Sand Necktie variation. Leslie Nielsen plays a deranged millionaire (but not ''[[They Might Be Giants|the]]'' deranged millionaire) who buries his wife and her lover, Ted Danson, in the sand at low tide. Then the tide comes in and they drown. {{spoiler|Then they come back as undead and do the same thing to him}}.
{{quote|"I can hold my breath for a long, ''looooooooooong'' time!"}}
* Happens to the title character (played by [[Dwayne Johnson]]) in ''[[The Scorpion King]]''
* This is done to a character in ''[[The Gods Must Be Crazy]] II'' in order to save his life.
* In ''[[Jeremiah Johnson]]'', this happens to a side character when he gets captured by hostile natives. Since he was bald, they decide that scalping him would be a waste of time.
Line 362:
** In ''[[Discworld/Soul Music|Soul Music]]'', the Klatchian Foreign Legion once did this to Death, who'd enlisted in a vain attempt to forget his troubles. It was intended as a torturous form of discipline, but the Grim Reaper merely found it dull.
** One of the capital punishments from the days when Ankh-Morpork still had conventional laws was to be tied to one of the city bridge's pilings at low tide, then left there for 24 hours. As the Ankh, like the Thames in London, rises with the tides, this is functionally equivalent to the "sand necktie", as per the example below. Also possibly equivalent to conventional live burial, depending on whether the Ankh's toxic sludge really qualifies as "water".
* Happens to Nancy Drew in the 5th book in her ''Files'' series, although she's actually tied to a piling, not buried in sand, though the villain's
=== Live-Action TV ===
* This one was confirmed as an effective [[Death Trap]] by the ''[[Myth Busters]]''. It took Tory 80 minutes to get out of dry sand and Grant gave up with wet sand after 10. Consider that neither was actually tied up.
* ''[[Red Dwarf]]'', "Better than Life"
* This happens in an episode of ''[[CSI]]''.
| |||