# Was Gogol buried alive ?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gogol-buried-alive/236828>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 28, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gogol-buried-alive/236828 "2004-03-28T00:03:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Willmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ad7895/32.png) [@Willmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Willmore)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gogol-buried-alive/236828/1 "2004-03-28T00:03:59Z")

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I’ve heard the myth a hundred times, that N.V. Gogol, a famouse Russian was buried alive. But is it true ?

What’s the straight dope on that ?

And are there any recorded cases of famous people buried alive ?

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**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gogol-buried-alive/236828/2 "2004-03-28T01:11:10Z")

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> [@Willmore](#):
>
> I’ve heard the myth a hundred times, that N.V. Gogol, a famouse Russian was buried alive. But is it true ?
> 
> What’s the straight dope on that ?
> 
> And are there any recorded cases of famous people buried alive ?

Famous people burried alive include Lazarus, David Blaine and Yeshua son of Yosef.

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**Author:** ![quiltguy154](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ad7895/32.png) [@quiltguy154](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy154)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gogol-buried-alive/236828/3 "2004-03-28T01:18:40Z")

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And the occasional naughty Vestal virgin.

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**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gogol-buried-alive/236828/4 "2004-03-28T04:06:34Z")

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From the wonderously cool book aptly named Buried Alive I got that Gogol was so terrified of being alive he left instructions in his will that he not be buried until it was obvious he was rotting. Still some think he may have managed it anyway. When he was exhumed many years later, his body was lying on its side as if it had been struggling.  
So that’s what that one says. That’s from Buried Alive by Jan Bondeson