Bizarre History (Part 2): A Tomb with a View and a Chisel in Hand

If you thought that inventor Franz Vester, with his bell‑equipped coffin, was the only one terrified of waking up deep underground, we have bad news for you. In the 19th century, taphophobia—an irrational yet very real fear of being buried alive—was practically an epidemic.

While some trusted elaborate systems of strings and bells, a distinguished doctor from Connecticut chose a far stranger path. Why ring a bell when you can simply build… a tomb with a view?

Dr Timothy Clark Smith
1821–1893
Source: findgrave.com, author: Vintage

The Doctor Who Knew the Limits of Life

Dr. Timothy Clark Smith was a highly respected man in the second half of the 19th century. He was a physician, diplomat, and world traveler. Ironically, the very man who spent his life studying the human body and death was the one who most passionately doubted the finality of the latter. As a doctor, he knew all too well that medicine of the time was far from infallible. Coma, catalepsy, or deep unconsciousness had sent many to an early grave.

Smith was determined that this would not happen to him. When his life came to an end in 1893, he had a plan ready—one that shocked the cemetery workers in New Haven.

Source: findgrave.com by Sabrina Wolfe

An Underground “Apartment” with Escape Tools

Dr. Smith did not order an ordinary coffin. He demanded a massive underground tomb designed with a single purpose: to ensure survival and escape.

Imagine the scene: when Dr. Smith was laid to rest, they didn’t place only flowers beside him. In the cold, pale hands of the deceased, they placed a hammer and chisel. If he were to awaken in the hard darkness of a wooden box, he would have the tools to break his way out.

But that wasn’t all. The most fascinating (and chilling) part of his tomb was directed upward.

A window into the beyond
Source: findgrave.com Author: Bill Mckern

Above his face, they built a long vertical shaft leading straight to the surface. At the very top of this shaft, aligned precisely with the doctor’s face, they installed a glass window measuring about 30 square centimeters.

Inside the glass with good lighting and camera zoom. Green moss almost blocks the view.
Source: findgrave.com Author: Heath N

A Window to the Afterlife (or Back Again)

The purpose of this window was twofold. If Dr. Smith were to awaken, he would see light through the shaft and know that life existed above him. But even more important was what the window allowed the living to do.

In the years following his death, the New Haven cemetery became a local attraction. Cemetery workers and curious visitors regularly approached the small square on the ground, leaned over it, and shaded the sunlight with their hands to peer into the depths. They searched for signs of life. Had the glass fogged with his breath? Had his fingers moved? Had the hammer struck stone?

The imagination of the townspeople stirred the spirits. On days when thick fog descended, some swore they heard scratching deep underground; others claimed they saw the faint outline of a face staring back at them.

What About Today?

For anyone tempted by a quick trip and a glimpse into the past: time has done its work. Nature and condensation have taken over through the decades. The glass has fogged, moss and dirt have covered it, and the shaft beneath has long since faded into darkness.

Yet historical records and the silence of the English cemetery confirm one thing: Dr. Timothy Clark Smith never awoke. The hammer and chisel remained untouched, and the window stands as one of the most bizarre monuments to humanity’s fear of mortality.

But the question remains… Would you dare look through that window on a stormy night?