People Being Buried Alive To Cure The Fear Of Death
Being buried alive is right at the top on most people’s list of the worst ways to die.
The irrational fear even has its own name: taphophobia.
Yet in Moscow, Russians are reportedly queuing up for the chance to dig their own graves and be sent six feet under for a bizarre new treatment to cure their fear of death.
Adverts have appeared across social media platforms urging people to give the ordeal a try.
And it is not just taphophobia the unorthodox treatment can conquer, according to organiser Sergey Volkov, who claims it is a great cure for claustrophobia too.
A rather unnerving video captures one of his sessions from the viewpoint of the volunteer in the ground.
It shows three men with shovels throwing dirt into a grave as a person lies in it.
Concerns have been levelled against the practice, however, with complaints to the police questioning the safety and validity of his methods.
One criticism came from a girl shocked that Mr Volkov is not a doctor or a licensed professional, calling his methods amateurish.
She added there appeared to be no doctors or other medical professionals on hand in case something went wrong.
The price for such a procedure is reportedly 3000 RUB (35 GBP), a considerable sum for many Russians.
Although a healthy fear of death is not necessarily a bad thing, extreme and often irrational thoughts about dying, known as thanatophobia, can be an obstacle to daily life with sufferers refusing to leave their home.