When the Dead Rise: Fascinating Cases of People Outliving Their Own Deaths

Death is an inevitable reality for mankind. But in these bizarre cases, humans, to some extent, 'tricked' death. From opening eyes during their funeral to resurrection in the morgue, here are 15 real stories of people who outlived their death.

The intense pain of seeing your loved one getting buried, the solemn expression of the doctor declaring a patient dead, and bidding the final farewell to your family—these moments are nothing less than a nightmare for humans. While what happens after death remains debatable, there's no denying we can differentiate the dead from the alive—the pale skin, no pulse, and blue lips—it all seems unmistakable. Well, in the cases below, the principles of death were defied, and people came back to life. Recalling their stories, here are 15 spine-chilling incidents of the 'dead' coming alive.

15. Velma Thomas: No brain activity and 3 heart attacks

After being declared dead clinically in 2008, Velma Thomas defied death and returned to life. The incident was nothing less than shocking because Velma's brain had shown no signs of activity for 17 hours.

After she experienced a heart attack at her home in Virginia, Velma was immediately rushed to the hospital. Tragically, she experienced two more heart attacks at the hospital, after which she was placed on life support.

For 17 hours, Velma's brain was inactive. However, not long after the life support was removed and the doctors were making arrangements to take her organs for donation, she surprisingly woke up, defying death.

14. Luz Milagros: Declared Stillborn

Pronounced stillborn on April 3, 2012, Luz Milagros, aka Argentina's miracle baby, was refrigerated in the morgue for 12 hours before she was found trembling in the coffin.

Luz was in a stable condition later, though she was using a tube for feeding and breathing. After recovering in the hospital for 10 weeks, she even went home with her parents, Analia Boutet and Fabian Veron.

However, tragedy soon came knocking at their door, and little Luz passed away just a few months after her first birthday. Though for a short while, Luz did defy death.

13. Gilberto Araujo: Turned Up Alive During Wake

In 2012, Gilberto's family was gathered around his coffin when he made the shocking entry. While some at the wake fainted at the scene, others could not believe their eyes.

Finding the deceased Gilberto alive and standing shocked everyone, including his family. Later, the mystery behind Gilberto's appearance was solved when his brother realized he had misidentified Gilberto's body.

The man in the coffin was Gilberto's look-alike and not Gilberto himself. The dead man was apparently another car washer who was murdered during the weekend.

12. Walter Williams: Found Alive in a Body Bag

In 2014, Walter Williams returned to life in the embalming room. With his 'body' placed in a body bag, he was taken to the funeral home, where the embalming would be performed.

However, at the funeral home, his legs moved as if he was pretending to kick, and he was also found breathing. Certain he had a heartbeat, paramedics then rushed Walter to the hospital, and a few days later, he was released.

However, two weeks after the discharge, he died of natural causes. Walter was 78 when he left for his heavenly home.

11. Phineas Gage: Reported Dead After Brain Injury

In 1848, an iron rod shot through Gage's head, obliterating the majority of his left frontal lobe, causing the brain injury.

Considering the severity of the damage, reports of him being dead quickly circulated. Even Phineas' doctors were anticipating his death.

However, Phineas survived the accident. He didn't experience any speech or motor impairments. He could speak normally shortly after the accident, which in itself was a miracle. Gage went on to live for another 12 years before he died of epileptic seizures.

10. Dirk Decker: Woke up After Being Declared Dead

In 2022, Dirk Decker's family thanked every force of the universe when he woke up after being declared dead.

The 53-year-old man was rushed to the hospital after feeling chest pains. And he had also experienced a heart attack a month prior to this incident.

His wife, Diana Decker, was horrified when Dirk wasn't responding. However, 20 minutes after the tragedy, the doctors found Dirk's pulse.

"My husband came back to me, it's an unbelievable miracle," Diana Decker said, feeling grateful.

9. Bella Montoya Tapia: Woke up in her Coffin

In 2023, 76-year-old Bella, an Ecuadorian woman, shocked her relatives when she woke up in her coffin. In a surprising turn of events, she defied death hours after the doctors issued her death certificate.

Bella was found alive in the middle of the wake when she began banging on her coffin. She was declared dead after a "presumptive cerebrovascular accident."

However, after she showed signs of life, Bella was immediately rushed to the hospital for intensive care.

8. Srikesh Kumar: Came Alive from a Mortuary Freezer

Srikesh Kumar, an Indian man, was found alive almost seven hours after he was kept in the freezer in 2021.

Srikesh was declared dead after a motorbike accident, and the following day his 'body' was put in the freezer. But seven hours later, his sister-in-law noticed something: signs of life.

The doctors had not found a heartbeat and had examined him multiple times before he was declared dead.

But Srikesh was found to be showing signs of movement, which shocked everyone. His return to life was deemed medical negligence by some, while others called it a miracle.

7. Charlotte Holmes: Returned to Life After a Glimpse of Heaven

In 2022, Charlotte Holmes had an unusual experience where she 'knew' she was in heaven while she was lying in a hospital bed.

Her husband, Danny, was scared Charlotte might not return home after doctors and nurses started rushing into her room and working on her.

He said his wife was describing flowers in the room while there were none. Then for 11 minutes, she was dead. Clinically. Charlotte's heart had stopped.

Charlotte claims she then saw her deceased loved ones—her mother, father, and sister. "They looked wonderful," she said.

In the end, Charlotte was alive again.

6. Tony Yahle: Dead for 45 minutes

In 2013, Tony Yahle, an Ohio man, shocked the doctors by jumping back to life 45 minutes after he was declared dead.

Yahle, who was rushed to the hospital after experiencing breathing issues, miraculously woke up while the doctors were readying his 'body' for a visit by his family.

Yahle's relatives had tried CPR at home, after which he had been rushed to the hospital. A team of medical professionals then tried to stimulate his heart, but there was no luck.

However, the real magic happened 45 minutes after he was declared dead—Yahle began showing signs of life.

Speaking about Yahle's miraculous return from death, his cardiologist said, "This is beyond rare."

5. Thomas Sancomb: Found Cold and Unresponsive

46-year-old Thomas was declared dead in 2015 after he was found unresponsive at his flat in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His body was cold while he lay unconscious, and no efforts were made to bring him back to life.

After being declared dead almost immediately, Thomas was about to be transported so that they could examine his 'dead body' when the unthinkable happened: his body moved.

Thomas was found breathing and showed signs of movements via his right arm and leg. He was then rushed to the hospital, after which he was revived, and he even went on to share his experience via interviews.

4. Michael Pruitt: Returned to Life After Being Electrocuted

In 2019, 20-year-old Micheal tragically got electrocuted after the ladder he was carrying touched a live wire.

While he was rushed to the hospital, the firefighters tried CPR and a defibrillator on him, but Micheal was showing no signs of life by the time he arrived in the emergency room.

They tried the defibrillator again there, trying to bring him back to life, but no luck. However, two minutes after going for another try, the miracle happened: Micheal's heart was beating.

His doctor described the incident as "nothing short of a miracle."

3. Timesha Beauchamp: Opened her eyes in the Body Bag

Another spine-chilling incident happened with 20-year-old Timesha, who returned to life while the funeral home workers were preparing to embalm her.

Turns out, when the employee at the funeral home opened the zip bag, he was taken aback by the sight: Timesha stared back at him.

The 20-year-old had stopped breathing, and after the paramedics' efforts to bring her back to life didn't show any results, she was declared dead.

This case even turned into a $50 million lawsuit where the city of South Field, Michigan, was sued for wrongfully declaring Timesha dead.

2. Camila Roxana Martinez Mendoza: Found Alive in Her Casket

Three-year-old Camila defied death 12 hours before her service and came back to life after the doctors had declared her dead after a stomach infection (stomach bug). However, Camila soon died for the second time.

After finding her alive in the casket, Camila's family immediately rushed her to the hospital, where she was declared dead again.

Camila had two death certificates to her name by then: one for dehydration issued by the first hospital where she was treated for a stomach bug and the second for brain swelling.

Allegedly, her declaration of death via the stomach infection was wrong.

1. Walter Willinger: Dead for Over an Hour

After being dead for an hour and 14 minutes post ventricular fibrillation, Walter miraculously came back to life.

His survival story not only shocked the doctors, but Walter himself couldn't understand how it happened.

Termed the 'Miracle Man' by his doctors, Walter even documented his death in a book called "But I Didn't Know I Was Dead!"

The moment Walter cherished the most after his surprising return from the dead was witnessing the birth of his grandchildren.

While these stories give us hope of a miracle happening, death will still remain something for humans that haunts and terrifies them. Some families could experience the happiness of being with their loved ones again, while for some, the pain worsened when they lost a loved one after gaining them back.

What matters is that the bond, the love we have for our beloved families and friends, doesn't fade even after they are gone. And who has ever stopped us from believing in miracles? Maybe it's the prayers and the hope of a miracle that brought some souls back to their families.