I had forgotten Poe's stories about this. Mark Twain dabbled in the genre, too, I think. In the navies of the 18th and 19th centuries, the last stitch of the s

I had forgotten Poe's stories about this. Mark Twain dabbled in the genre, too, I think. In the navies of the 18th and 19th centuries, the last stitch of the shroud went through the nose of the presumed deceased, which one would think would produce a reaction from anyone still alive. And then burial at sea, with a cannon ball in the foot of the shroud, must have finished off anyone who had been alive but did not react to the stitch.