Mrs. Blunden buried alive!

Mrs. Blunden was the wife of a local malt merchant in the 17th century. She was described as a fat, gross woman with a fondness for drinking and it was this fondness for the demon drink that eventually led to her down fall. The families maid lived in Wote Street with the Blundens and was always busy tending to the needs of Mrs. Blunden.

   One evening in July 1674, Mrs. Blunden felt ill, her husband was away in London on business, so she asked the maid to pour her some wine to ease her pain. Unfortunately the overworked maid poured out poppywater by mistake. Mrs. Blunden drank it down and within minutes fell into a deep coma. Due to lack of medical knowledge at the time it was mistakenly believed that she had died.

   A messenger was dispatched by horseback to relay the news to Mr. Blunden in London. Members of the family, however, decided that the "dead" Mrs. Blundens body might begin to smell in the hot summer night, so they buried her in the Holy Ghost Chapel in Basingstoke. In the morning, some children playing amongst the grave stones heard strange tapping noises coming from Mrs. Blundens grave, and ran to fetch someone to explain the noise. after some delay workmen gathered to listen to the tapping and eventually permission was given to dig up the grave. The delay was too long and when the coffin was opened she was dead, she had made an attempt to escape but the ordeal had killed her.

   Although Mr. Blunden forgave the maid for her mistake, neighbours continued to blame her. She eventually lost her mind and died a tragic death.