The Story of Rufina

Yesterday, as we were touring the Ricoleta Cemetary in Buenos Aires, we came upon the Baroque-styled tomb of Rufina Cambacérès. Rufina was a young socialite at the turn of the last century. As the story goes, she was all dressed up and heading out to the opera when a friend came and told her that her mother was having an affair with her boyfriend. She then passed out on the spot. Three doctors confirmed her death. True to Argentinian tradition, she was buried within 24 hrs. The next day, the crypt keeper came by and noticed that her coffin was out of place. He investigated and saw scratch marks on the inside of the coffin and supposedly the deceased Rufina had bruises on her head. The conclusion was she had not initially died, but rather had catalepsy, and was buried alive. So the story goes...