History Main / BuriedAlive

* 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 severed -- so he was still very much alive. He went on to be a complete b*stard to the town that had punished him, because it was impossible to prosecute a legally dead man for any crime. However, some of his enemies decided to use that loophole to their advantage as well, because there is nothing in the world wrong with burying a dead man, either....
* 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.

Sometimes, he'll tie the hero up before dumping him/her in the coffin. If the villain's a sporting sort of fellow, he'll provide a flashlight or an air canister. Regardless, the villain is going to kill the hero in one of the most appalling ways imaginable.

** Another features two Indians having buried a cowboy up to his neck by an anthill, one of the Indians calling the other one an idiot because he brought ketchup instead of honey.

* In ''[[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel'', [[SuperSoldier Serpentor]], looking to usurp [[BigBad Cobra Commander]], let him and Destro lead the invasion of the Joes' headquarters, [[ElaborateUndergroundBase the Pit]], hoping they'd get themselves killed. Hawk sets the base to self-destruct, collapsing it upon itself, barely getting out in time, while the Commander and Destro were LeftForDead. The two managed to be in an area that didn't fully collapse, though, and managed to make it to a DrillTank that the Joes kept on hand for use as an EscapePod.

* In [[AdversaryCycle ''Reprisal'']], [[spoiler: Danny Gordon.]] *shudder*

[[folder: Fan Works]]
* In ''Fanfic/TheLionKingAdventures'', the immortal villain Shocker is buried alive by the Interceptor. This leaves him in a state of permanent death and resurrection.
[[/folder]]

* Michael Myers kills Lisa this way in the comic ''HalloweenNightdance.''

* Budd does this to the Bride in ''Film/KillBill: Volume 2''. She escapes, though not without difficulty. What makes it really creepy, however, is that ''the entire BuriedAlive scene'' is shown from the The Bride's POV. Which means that several minutes of the movie consists of heavy breathing, the sound of sand falling onto the coffin, and total darkness. Interestingly, Budd gives her a flashlight when he does so, as both a sign of respect and knowing it could help her escape.

* David Eddings had his sorcerer Belgarath do this, near the end of the ''{{Belgariad}}'': [[spoiler:Zedar the apostate was BuriedAlive ''[[AndIMustScream for eternity]]'' in the center of the earth for a millennia-long life of crimes, the last one being the brutal murder of Belgarath's daughter's beloved mate Durnik]]. Belgarath later said "Whenever I wonder if I went too far with him, I remember what that bastard did to [[spoiler:Queen Ilessa of Nyissa".]][[labelnote:what he did]]Knowing that Nyissian queens have a high fear of death and aging (because they're executed once they no longer look young), he bribed her with a false promise of immortality to have the King of Riva assassinated, knowing full well it would cause a retaliatory war that would devastate her country and get her killed.[[/labelnote]]

* The short story ''The Extension'' dealt with a man who was so afraid of being BuriedAlive that his funeral arrangements include a phone line to his crypt in case the coroner misdiagnosed him. His worst fear comes true, and the whole story has him desperately calling everyone, trying in vain to convince them that he's NotQuiteDead. Ultimately, [[spoiler:FridgeLogic hits and he asks the operator how long they'll keep the line connected, and is assured the service will remain indefinitely. He realises this is probably his personal Hell, but also that he's ''got'' to keep calling and trying to get out...]]

* Part of the backstory of ''The Hollow Man''/''The Three Coffins'' by Creator/JohnDicksonCarr was a jailbreak by BuriedAlive. There was a plague epidemic going on in that prison, and the escaper counted on the burial detail being in too big a hurry for little details like nailing the coffin lid tightly or shoveling very much dirt on top.

* Wrestling/{{WWE}} wrestler TheUndertaker has fought in several Buried Alive matches, where a grave site is created near the stage area of the arena, and the objective is to bury one's opponent alive. Usually these end with Undertaker buried, and disappearing for several months, only to come BackFromTheDead (hey, he's practically TheGrimReaper; he can do that) with a new look, thirsting for revenge.

* Imhotep was wrapped up and buried alive in ''Film/TheMummy1932'' for attempting to raise the dead Anck-Su-Namun. [[Film/TheMummyTrilogy The remake]] ups the ante by burying him alive with flesh-eating scarabs.

* Main villain of ''Lone Wolf [=McQuade=]'' orders his mooks to bury the badly beaten main character alive, using his own truck as his coffin. But [=McQuade=] manages to escape his earthly prison by showering himself with bear and engaging the NitroBoost in his car.

* [[AllYourPowersCombined Amazo]] does this to the Detroit-era ''JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League'' at one point, leaving them BoundAndGagged in covered pit. Luckily, Comicbook/{{Vixen}} manages to break her bonds before she and her teammates slowly starve to death.

* In the first arc, "Public Enemies", of ''ComicBook/SupermanBatman'', Metallo shoots Franchise/{{Superman}} with a [[KryptoniteFactor kryptonite bullet]], and buries Superman and {{Batman}} alive. [[spoiler:They escape, and [[BattleButler Alfred]] removes the bullet.]]

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', telepathic psychopath Dr. Destiny (John Dee) does this via a nightmare to Hawkgirl (she's claustrophobic) while her friends get visions related to PowerIncontinence. Notably, while the others get over their fears, Hawkgirl doesn't and is rescued only when Batman kicks Dee's ass. Then again, you can't really blame her for being scared given the circumstances.

*** This one is a remake of an episode from the original series, with Roddy McDowell as the prisoner.

* This was [[WhatDoTheyFearEpisode Gwen's fear]] in ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'', so she was put in a coffin and lowered into a grave on the beach for a challenge.

* ''[[Literature/TenSixtySixAndAllThat 1066 and All That]]'' implies this happened to Edward I, who "died of suffocation at a place called Burrow-in-the-Sands."

* The ultimate fate of Ishido in ''[[AsianSaga Shogun]]''. Throughout the novel, it's repeatedly mentioned that a ([[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane supposedly reliable]]) fortune teller told him that he would be both the most famous man in the land and very old when he died. After [[MagnificentBastard Toronaga]] defeats and captures him, "[he] ordered the Eta to bury Ishido up to his neck in the earth, and invite passers-by to saw at the most famous neck in the realm with a bamboo saw. Ishido [[CruelAndUnusualDeath lingered three days, and died very old]]."

-->-- '''FredericChopin'''

* The ValLewton Film ''Isle of the Dead''. There's a character who's greatest fear is being buried alive. At the end of the film, while she's in a cataleptic trance and is mistaken for dead, someone seals her in a coffin and sets it in an empty room. The camera pans away.

Heroes generally don't do this, even to bad guys. It's a pretty awful thing to do to another human being, no matter how evil they are. The exception to that, comes when the hero blows up an ancient building or tomb while the villain remains inside. If the bad guy survives the blast and falling debris, he is technically buried alive. Usually this is a SealedEvilInACan situation. Another exception is when the villain has already done the same kind of thing to the hero or one of his friends, in that case it can be a form of KarmicDeath.

* ''{{Buried}}''