History Main / BuriedAlive

* Dwarves in ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' have an [[TooDumbToLive amusing tendency to do this to themselves.]] Due to a quirk in how they build walls, they will always prefer to build them from the west side. This occasionally results in them walling themselves into an enclosed area and dying of dehydration.

-->"And over here we have Timothy Carter, who in 1850 decided to set the record for being longest time buried alive."\\

* During the first Gulf War, US tanks equipped with plows were used to fill in trenches manned by Iraqi soldiers, [[CombatPragmatist rather than send in soldiers to clear the trenches with hand-to-hand fighting]].

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':

** In the ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 2008]]'' storyline ''ComicBook/WayOfTheWorld'', Supergirl has a nightmare where she is buried alive.

Of course, as with most forms of killing the hero that [[ComplexityAddiction favor cruelty over efficiency]], the hero manages to dig their way out, or a sidekick will pop out of the bushes and dig him up the moment the villain leaves.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 which case it can be a form of KarmicDeath.

* ''Film/TalonFalls'': Late in the movie, the pig-masked employee is chasing Lyndsey through a mine tunnel. He swings his axe at her, but only chops into a couple support beams. Doing so causes him to be buried under a pile of rocks. He manages to dig out of them, though.

** These days, accidental live burial would only be possible if the person's body was neither autopsied nor embalmed. In most jurisdictions, one if not both procedures are required by law for the majority of human burials. If you were unlucky enough to get to the mortician or the coroner while still alive, the autopsy and/or embalming process will definitely kill you (or wake you up) before you are buried.
*** In most US jurisdictions, neither embalming nor an autopsy are required for the majority of human burials. Only about 20% of US deaths are even subject to investigation by coroners or medical examiners. Of those, less than 25% are subject to autopsy. State laws and FTC rules prohibit the requiring of embalming. The FTC rule says, "Except in certain special cases, embalming is not required by law." A "special case" would include a funeral with viewing .

* In the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' mission "Deconstruction," you have to stop a nearby construction company from screwing with your newfound gains. Smashing up their portables would have been plenty, but C.J. goes the extra mile by also trapping the foreman in a porta-potty, pushing it into a hole, and filling it up with concrete, all while listening to him scream "OH GOD WHY!" Stone. Cold. And the reason C.J. did this? [[DisproportionateRetribution The guys who were working for the man called Kendl, C.J.'s sister, a hooker, and C.J. wanted to teach them some respect.]]

--->'''Death:''' [[AC:Dark in here, isn't it?]]

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'':

* Happens to Nick in ''Series/{{CSI}}''. He is rescued, though not until he's suffered quite a lot.

* ''Series/{{Harrow}}'': In "Sub Silentio" ("In Silence"), Harrow attempts to dig up Francis Chester's grave in order to prove Chester is still alive. Chester overpowers Harrow and injects him with a fast acting sedative. When Harrow wakes up, he is inside the coffin. Chester taunts Daniel via a one-way phone. Francis transmits images of Fern as he closes in on her.

* In the infamous [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Chowchilla_kidnapping 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping]] (likely the inspiration for the "Walker" example in the "TV" section), A gang of kidnappers in the American Southwest actually did this to an ''entire school bus full of children''. Thankfully, everyone escaped.

* In ''Theatre/{{Aida}}'', this is the fate of the eponymous character and her lover Radames. In [[Theatre/AidaVerdi the opera]], Radames is condemned to die in this way as a punishment for treason and Aida, who had purportedly escaped, comes back and [[TogetherInDeath sneaks into the tomb to join him]]; in [[Theatre/AidaJohnRice the musical]], both Radames and Aida are captured and given this sentence, with Amneris exercising what power she has to give them the small mercy of being allowed to face their fate together rather than each facing it alone.

** In the original ''VideoGame/TombRaider'' and is remake ''VideoGame/TombRaiderAnniversary'', Natla is locked up and buried underground by the other two Atlantean rulers, Tihocan and Qualopec, as punishment for her betrayal. The events of the game are kicked off when a nuclear test unearths the pod, releasing her.

* When the USS ''West Virginia'' was finally raised six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, three sailors were found dead, trapped in a watertight storeroom. They had crossed off sixteen days after December 7 on a calendar hanging on the wall. Worse, others ''knew'' that there trapped men still alive in the wreckage -- honor guards posted nearby and salvage workers could hear rhythmic metal banging from the trapped men, who were desperately trying to signal for help. [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel Even more worse]], due to the limits of technology of the time and the USS ''West Virginia's'' position on the seabed, the men could not be rescued without killing them in the process. Everyone on the surface had to listen to the sounds get steadily weaker, until they finally silenced completely.

* When the USS ''West Virginia'' was finally raised six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, three sailors were found dead, trapped in a watertight storeroom. They had crossed off sixteen days after December 7 on a calendar hanging on the wall.

* In ''Literature/FengshenYanyi'', BecauseDestinySaysSo, [[TheGoodKing King Wu]] of Xiqi has to enter the deadly Red Sand Formation, where he's buried in the deadly sand for a hundred days alongside Nezha and Leizhenzi. [[spoiler: He actually suffers a DisneyDeath, but thanks to Ran Deng's spells his body is preserved and he's brought back to life by the other taoists.]]

* Taken UpToEleven in ''Film/{{The Mummy|2017}}''. Ahmanet's elaborate and fancy "tomb" is, in fact, a TailorMadePrison, where she is interred as punishment for murder. Given her dark powers, quite a ''lot'' of effort is made into building it in order to hold her. (And naturally, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero the actions of the movie's protagonists result in her escaping]].)

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

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

* In the ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' fanfiction ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2221453/1/Buried Buried]]'', a two-bit hood kidnaps Kim and buries her alive in order to get a job working for Drakken. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Drakken is so disgusted by this action that he has Kim's abductor killed.]] This story starts dark and stays there as it deals with Kim dealing with the trauma of being buried alive in increasingly self-destructive ways. The sequel story ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2226958/1/The-Chrysanthemum-and-the-Sword The Chrysanthemum and the Sword]]'' deals with her recovery.