"Once Lived, Twice Buried": The Amazing Story of Marjorie McCall

The story of Marjorie McCall from Ireland is one of the darkest and most mysterious stories that is passed down from generation to generation. This is not just a scary story for the night - it is a folk legend, overgrown with myths and rumors. The heroine of this story even has a monument in the old cemetery. McCall was nicknamed "the woman who died twice" - and if you take into account the realities of the early 18th century, there is nothing surprising in her case.

Since ancient times, people have been seriously afraid of being buried alive. Such fears had a real basis, because history knows many cases when people who were considered dead suddenly came to their senses. Even today, despite significant advances in medicine and the availability of accurate methods for diagnosing biological death, such mistakes still occur.

In the 18th century, doctors did not have much knowledge of human biology. A striking example of this is the story of Marjorie McCall from Lurgan, Ireland. In 1705, the wife of Dr. John McCall, who according to some sources was not yet 30 years old, died of an illness. The cause of death was probably an infectious disease with symptoms similar to fever.

At that time, an epidemic was raging in the area, and people were falling ill and dying by the dozens. To avoid the risk of spreading the disease, the doctor decided to bury his wife as quickly as possible. The McCall family was wealthy. Shortly before his death, John McCall gave his wife a gold ring with a stone. It sat so tightly on Marjorie's finger that her husband could not remove it. The deceased was placed in a coffin, a quick funeral service was held in the church, and she was taken to Shankill Cemetery in Lurgan.

The funeral was well attended, and the jewel on the deceased's hand did not go unnoticed. In those days, corpses were generally a popular commodity, and corpses with jewels and expensive clothes were even more so. That same night, criminals showed up at the cemetery, intending to take possession of Marjorie's ring. By that time, in the early 18th century, the theft of fresh corpses had reached its peak: bodies were sold to private medical schools across Britain for dissection and training.

The grave robbers quickly dug up the loose earth of McCall's fresh grave and pulled out the coffin. The ring that had defied her husband was still firmly on her finger. But unlike the grieving husband, the thieves did not stand on ceremony and decided to cut off the finger along with the jewel.

When the criminals made the first deep cut on Marjorie's finger, blood gushed from the wound. The robbers, who had previously been sure that the woman was dead, froze in shock. And then McCall suddenly came to life: she sat up in the coffin and stared in horror at the two strangers with lanterns. It is not surprising that they immediately ran away screaming. According to another version, they both collapsed dead, unable to withstand the sudden shock and suffering a heart attack.

Left alone, Marjorie McCall headed home. Late at night, she began knocking on the door where her husband and children were sleeping. John McCall, awakened by the noise, said to the children: "If your mother were alive, I would swear that was her knocking." Opening the door, he saw his wife - pale, in a burial shroud, with traces of blood flowing from a deep cut on her arm.

They say that John McCall died on the spot when he saw his wife. He was buried in Marjorie's grave and even in her coffin. The resurrected woman herself lived to a ripe old age. She married again, had children, raised grandchildren and became a local legend. When McCall died a second time, she was buried in the same Shankill cemetery, near the town of Lurgan. Her grave has survived to this day. In 1860, a tombstone created by mason William Graham was erected over her grave. The inscription on the stone reads: "Marjorie McCall. Lived once, buried twice."

This inscription made Marjorie's story famous. However, historians still argue about whether she was a real person or a fictional character. Some researchers question the veracity of the events, pointing to the lack of church records of the burial in 1705. But the tombstone still stands in the cemetery, attracting curious tourists and lovers of mysteries.

But what if it is just a beautiful legend? The lack of precise records and the dramatic nature of the plot make some researchers attribute the story to Irish folklore. However, the tombstone with the mysterious inscription and the many retellings make many believe in its reality.

Modern medicine explains such cases as “Lazarus syndrome,” a rare phenomenon in which a person spontaneously “resurrects” after being declared dead. In the 18th century, when pulse and breathing were checked with primitive methods, such errors were not uncommon. Marjorie McCall’s story may be one of the first documented cases of this phenomenon.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, false deaths and premature burials were a real threat. To avoid tragic mistakes, some coffins were equipped with "alarm bells." Thanks to this device, a person could give a sign if he suddenly came to his senses.

What do you think about Marjorie McCall's fate? Do you believe that this story is true, or do you consider it just a beautiful legend? Share your opinion in the comments!