Also, this was the heyday of the “buried alive by mistake” meme.
I wonder how hard…
I’ll go away.
I thought the “buried alive” meme came because during the Victorian era coffins started in regular use. If you’re going to be buried alive in a shroud, I doubt you’ll notice too much. Weight of earth, lack of air etc.
In a box, though, you could have enough air for quite a nice panic attack before dying.
Gorey’s drawings seem to be more inspired by the Edwardian age than the Victorian…