It was a job I suppose, listening for a bell which never
rang while hoping it never would –
Would you like to see the Deadhouse, some night? It's against the rules; but that don't matter. The cemetery overseer is a deal too fond of his bed to turn out these cold nights and look after the watchman. It's just the right place for me. There's nothing to do but to drink, when you have got the liquor; and to sleep, when you haven't. The Dead who come our way, my little friend, have one great merit. We are supposed to help them, if they're perverse enough to come to life again before they're buried. There they lie in our house, with one end of the line tied to their fingers, and the other end at the spring of the alarm-bell. And they have never rung the bell yet—never once, bless their hearts, since the Deadhouse was built!
Wilkie Collins - Jezebel’s Daughter (1880)
2 comments:
I've never really understood that aspect of the Victorian mentality. We are told that they were much more familiar with death, and had a sober and respectful attitude towards it which was reflected in rituals and customs. Yet they made it the basis of such convoluted, baroque horror and fascination.
Sam - although they were much more familiar with death, they also seem to have been both awed and fascinated with it and by what might come afterwards.
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