In recent times, there's been a rise in what's called "natural" or "green" burials — burial without a coffin or casket. The remains go into a biodegradable container, are buried, and quickly decompose ...

Hannah Beswick had a morbid fear of being buried alive, and this dread was not entirely irrational. Her young brother John almost had his coffin lid closed over him when a mourner attending John’s ...