The Olympia Undertaker’s Strange Discovery
A man’s beard reportedly continued to grow for twenty years inside his coffin, eventually filling the space.
The secrets of the grave sometimes come to light, revealing things that those outside the circle of the undertaker's shop never dream of. The following incident occurred at Olympia: Many years ago lived a man who was well known on Puget Sound, and who made Olympia his home. He had a beard that was his pride. It grew straight down from his chin, glossy and thick. Consumption caused his death, and he was buried in the old cemetery at Olympia. Twenty years passed, and the remains were exhumed by Robbeson & Harned. The casket fell to pieces when it was discovered that the beard which had been the dead man's pride in life had become his monument in death. The beard had grown straight down the coffin, following the outline of the body to the toes, where it turned a sharp angle, filled the end of the coffin with hair, and then followed the bottom of the coffin back nearly to the hips. Both Rev. John P. Damon and E. R. Butterworth vouch for the truth of this story.
“The beard had grown straight down the coffin, following the outline of the body to the toes, where it turned a sharp angle, filled the end of the coffin with hair.”
This macabre local legend reflects the Victorian-era fascination with death and the 'strange but true' anecdotes that frequently filled the columns of 19th-century newspapers to entertain readers.
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