Explore the timeless theme of resurrection from classic Gothic literature to modern interpretations. Delve into real-life accounts and fictional tales.
Great post! Omm Sety's story is so thought-provoking. Could a spirit jump into a child's body after a traumatic injury? Or was this delusion caused by the fall? Or did she like all the attention? I love how no one ever claims to have the memories of a regular person. It's always a priestess or a king or a great warrior.
I thought Omm Sety was a really interesting case, but that's so funny that nobody ever claims to have lived a previous life as 'Dave the brick layer' but princesses or something haha! Fair play to Omm Sety, she made a living out of it lol
Love this! Makes me think of the case of Mercy Brown during the New England Vampire Panic in 1892. I know some scholars think it might have been one of the inspirations for Lucy Westenra - it was well covered by the press at the time and makes sense given her age and the condition of her body when it was exhumed.
This was so interesting to learn about! I'm not very educated with older works, but seeing names I'm familiar with and learning of their origins is so cool. Plus, learning about those real life cases is so crazy!
Those real life cases are crazy aren't they? Omm Sety is really interesting and those brothers that got released from prison because the guy they 'killed' wanders back into town is a stroke of luck lol
Yes, Arthur Machen. Stylistically, I think he’s better than Lovecraft, but not as imaginative. And I’m not really a fan of “The Great God Pan”. Nature gods with ambiguous motivations are so last century.
Interesting article. You see the idea of resurrection stretching back to the very roots of human existence. You see it in our religions and mythologies--the idea of returning from the world of death to the world of the living--Orpheus, Balder, Jesus Christ. And the Bible is brimming with resurrection material of course. The idea of conquering death is naturally ingrained in the human psyche.
I had never heard of Omm Sety! That was very interesting. That name she took upon herself “Omm”means “Mother of” in Arabic and usually written nowadays as “Umm”. But even though it means “Mother of Seti” it could be taken as having an extended sense of a woman affiliated with all things having to do with Seti.
There used to be a false etymology peddled as fact when I was in college that the expressions “dead ringer” and “saved by the bell” had to do with those special coffins that were developed in the 17th/18th century so that a person who woke up in their grave could ring the bell to alert someone on the surface. I think they’re both actually sporting terms.
Poe was obsessed with the horror of “living burials” (as they used to call them). Even stories not directly focusing on that element stray into that theme at some point, whether it’s Madeleine’s burial in “Fall of the House of Usher”, or when the stowaway wakes up after being in a coma in “The Strange Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym” and finds the bread he had been feasting on covered in mould.
I personally preferred the more subtle tales of reanimation. There’s an old Victorian short story called “The Inmost Light” (author is eluding me at the moment), where the process of reanimation is almost described as if it were an extra-dimensional entity that had taken on the appearance of a deceased person. It’s pretty creepy. And I would recommend Ambrose Bierce’s “The Boarded Window” for an unexpected and rather chilling ending that touches on this subject.
I appreciate the time taken for a comment like this, thank you!
I first heard about Omm Sety on The Dark Histories Podcast a couple of years ago. Apparently, after her accident when her parents took her home she said, 'This isn't home.' That would be creepy!!
Yeah they used to be able to ring a bell if they woke up in a coffin. There was also a device that they could pull from inside the coffin to release a flag on ground level to let everyone know they were alive. And some coffins came with a glass window that they could break and crawl through the dirt to the surface. It would be terrifying to witness someone rising from the grave wouldn't it haha.
You're right about Poe, and those stories that indirectly reference premature burial. The obvious ones are The Premature Burial and The Cask of Amontillado. Even Lovecraft in The Tomb has the character napping into a tomb!
Is the Inmost Light by Arthur Machen? I'm currently working through Ambrose Bierce so I'll be coming across that story soon!
Great post! Omm Sety's story is so thought-provoking. Could a spirit jump into a child's body after a traumatic injury? Or was this delusion caused by the fall? Or did she like all the attention? I love how no one ever claims to have the memories of a regular person. It's always a priestess or a king or a great warrior.
I thought Omm Sety was a really interesting case, but that's so funny that nobody ever claims to have lived a previous life as 'Dave the brick layer' but princesses or something haha! Fair play to Omm Sety, she made a living out of it lol
Love this! Makes me think of the case of Mercy Brown during the New England Vampire Panic in 1892. I know some scholars think it might have been one of the inspirations for Lucy Westenra - it was well covered by the press at the time and makes sense given her age and the condition of her body when it was exhumed.
Thank you so much :D
I'm ashamed!! I didn't think about Mercy Brown. The name rings a bell but I will have to look into it now, it sounds like a super interesting case :)
you should! i'd love to read your take on it.
I can't help but think that Edgar Allan Poe's story "The Premature Burial" may have been inspired by the case of Weems.
That's a really good shout! Love a bit of Poe :)
This was so interesting to learn about! I'm not very educated with older works, but seeing names I'm familiar with and learning of their origins is so cool. Plus, learning about those real life cases is so crazy!
I'm so glad you liked it :D
Those real life cases are crazy aren't they? Omm Sety is really interesting and those brothers that got released from prison because the guy they 'killed' wanders back into town is a stroke of luck lol
Yes, Arthur Machen. Stylistically, I think he’s better than Lovecraft, but not as imaginative. And I’m not really a fan of “The Great God Pan”. Nature gods with ambiguous motivations are so last century.
I remember liking the first part of The Great God Pan but I think it went on a bit too much after that lol.
Interesting article. You see the idea of resurrection stretching back to the very roots of human existence. You see it in our religions and mythologies--the idea of returning from the world of death to the world of the living--Orpheus, Balder, Jesus Christ. And the Bible is brimming with resurrection material of course. The idea of conquering death is naturally ingrained in the human psyche.
I had never heard of Omm Sety! That was very interesting. That name she took upon herself “Omm”means “Mother of” in Arabic and usually written nowadays as “Umm”. But even though it means “Mother of Seti” it could be taken as having an extended sense of a woman affiliated with all things having to do with Seti.
There used to be a false etymology peddled as fact when I was in college that the expressions “dead ringer” and “saved by the bell” had to do with those special coffins that were developed in the 17th/18th century so that a person who woke up in their grave could ring the bell to alert someone on the surface. I think they’re both actually sporting terms.
Poe was obsessed with the horror of “living burials” (as they used to call them). Even stories not directly focusing on that element stray into that theme at some point, whether it’s Madeleine’s burial in “Fall of the House of Usher”, or when the stowaway wakes up after being in a coma in “The Strange Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym” and finds the bread he had been feasting on covered in mould.
I personally preferred the more subtle tales of reanimation. There’s an old Victorian short story called “The Inmost Light” (author is eluding me at the moment), where the process of reanimation is almost described as if it were an extra-dimensional entity that had taken on the appearance of a deceased person. It’s pretty creepy. And I would recommend Ambrose Bierce’s “The Boarded Window” for an unexpected and rather chilling ending that touches on this subject.
I appreciate the time taken for a comment like this, thank you!
I first heard about Omm Sety on The Dark Histories Podcast a couple of years ago. Apparently, after her accident when her parents took her home she said, 'This isn't home.' That would be creepy!!
Yeah they used to be able to ring a bell if they woke up in a coffin. There was also a device that they could pull from inside the coffin to release a flag on ground level to let everyone know they were alive. And some coffins came with a glass window that they could break and crawl through the dirt to the surface. It would be terrifying to witness someone rising from the grave wouldn't it haha.
You're right about Poe, and those stories that indirectly reference premature burial. The obvious ones are The Premature Burial and The Cask of Amontillado. Even Lovecraft in The Tomb has the character napping into a tomb!
Is the Inmost Light by Arthur Machen? I'm currently working through Ambrose Bierce so I'll be coming across that story soon!