About

Corpse Waves From Coffin is a viral video featuring a burial service in Indonesia where a corpse appears to wave at mourners attending their funeral through the glass pane on the coffin. The video first appeared online in early May 2020 and has since been featured on various news sites and spread around social media with many online speculating about the exact cause of the wave or attempting to explain what can actually be seen.

Origin

The original “Corpse Waves From Coffin” video was filmed during a Christian burial service in Manado, Indonesia on May 5th, 2020, by one of the mourners (unknown). According to the Indonesian newspaper Serambi Indonesia Daily,^[1] the viral video was first shared by Twitter^[2] user DMenfess1 on May 9th, 2020. DMenfess1 explained that the video appears to show the corpse waving from inside the casket through a small glass window near their head. During the video (featured below), the priest can be heard saying, “God has said in the book of John. I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me he will live even though he is dead.” No one attending the service noticed the movement until after the coffin was buried and the footage was reviewed afterward, sparking a debate that they may have been buried alive.

Spread

After spreading around social media initially, The Sun,^[3] New York Post^[4] and The Daily Mail ^[5] each reported on the story in the following days, attempting to discern what exactly happened in the video. According to the article from The Sun, "Scientists say the corpse was most likely moving around due to rigor mortis."

On May 13th, 2020, the Facebook^[6] page iHorror reposted the video to their feed with the caption “Guests didn't notice the "wave" until after the burial and they looked at the footage.” The post received over 1,700 shares, 1,400 comments and 570 likes. Several users then commented under the post, voicing their opinions on what was seen, such as a comment from user Joe Haley, who voiced their disbelief (shown below).

On May 13th, 2020, the Instagram^[7] account for Linda Ikeji's Blog (a Nigerian entertainment site) featured the video on their feed (seen below), receiving more than 50,000 views and 2,500 likes. Users here also debated about the “corpse wave,” seen in a comment from user real_ibnofficial who said, “Oh my this shit must have happen many times unluckily to people they buried with a full wooden coffin without a glass and nobody will ever notice.”

Twitter^[8] user Zak Bagans, the host of Travel Channel's “Ghost Adventures” TV series, tweeted the video on May 13th, 2020, further spreading the clip. The tweet (shown below) received over 150,000 views, 8,600 likes and 1,500 retweets. The top reply from Twitter user jenn_northrop stated, “Looks like the reflection of the woman wiping her nose to me.”

Search Interest

External References