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The Disturbing History of the Woman Who Rose from the Dead After She Was Buried

4 min readApr 4, 2025

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Dr Briggs received a call to attend to Essie Dunbar, who had suffered an epileptic attack. It was in the summer of 1915. The doctor found no signs of life after examining Essie. Dr Briggs pronounced her dead.

Essie’s family dressed her in her best cottons and laid her in a wooden coffin. They planned to bury her the next day after the arrival of her sister. However, her sister was late.

Everyone kept looking back on the way to the cemetery, hoping to see a sign of the sister.

The sister arrived when Essie was already half buried, clapping her hands and chanting. “But how could the belated arrival see her deceased sister?” She pleaded for them to dig her up so she could see Essie one last time. The moment they opened the coffin, Essie sat up and smiled.

Essie Dunbar was an ordinary black girl. She was kind, gentle, and had a beautiful spirit and a warm smile. She grew up in Blackville, South Carolina.

Essie had severe epilepsy and seizures. She experienced many epileptic attacks during her childhood. But Essie was a fighter. She grew into a resilient, diligent young woman.

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Lioness Rue
Lioness Rue

Written by Lioness Rue

Inspired by the magic of Love!