The Woman Who Wouldn't Die
A Seattle family waits in terror as a woman remains in a mysterious, death-like trance.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
At 3:00 a.m., Mrs. Caroline Castillo had been for 39 and one-half hours in a state so closely resembling death that only those who believe in spirit communication hope for her return. Her husband sits by her side at the Cross Undertaking Company, watching for signs of life. This is the third time his wife has fallen into such a state. Once before on Hood Canal, she fell into a trance for four hours, and later for eight, each time awakening and claiming to have been 'far away.' Despite the family's hope, seven or eight physicians have examined her and declared her dead. A post-mortem examination is pending.
“I have been faraway and just returned. I hope you have not grieved for me.”
In the 1890s, the fear of 'premature burial' was a genuine societal anxiety, reflected in the popular obsession with medical trances and spiritualism. This story captures that eerie intersection of Victorian mourning rituals and nascent medical science.
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