Rest In Peace

i went to a funeral a few months ago and the body was about a week old..and walking up to the casket i noticed

that the thumb was twitching a little. and the body was about 9 days old..so why did that happen? was it chemicals or what?

Public Comments

1. I would think muscle spasms (spelling wrong there) but that should have stopped by the time you saw it....
2. It was not twitching. There is absolutely no biological/chemical, neurological or any other for that matter to explain that, after nine days.
3. they were trying to give you a thumbs up, but was just dead tired
4. the nerves in the body i was in my hospital one time and i got lost and i ended up in the morgue as a guy was wheeling sum1 in and it was twitching i was like wtffff is that im sure he said the nerves
5. all I can say, is I am glad I wasn't there,,,,spooky
6. That'll teach you to never look in a casket again! I think it's a weird, barbaric custom and I try my best not to look. I looked when my grandfather died and now that's the image of him that's stuck in my head. I'd rather remember the living person, not them lying in a casket with make up on.
7. I agree with the other poster that there is no physiological reason for "twitching" of a person's finger after death. You were probably just seeing things. It's very nerve-wrecking (sp?) in those situations, and our minds often play tricks on us. When my brother died, although we had an open casket as is the custom here, my mother had a soft off-white netting draped over the opening so no one could get a really good look at him. She wanted everyone to remember him alive and healthy. And I suppose it helped keep people from thinking they were seeing him move, too.
8. YOU are way out of line. I was in this type of business and it does not happen. You were seeing things.
9. I agree with the answer above, you saw no such thing. I have been a funeral director for years, dead bodies do not twitch, they are dead. Dead is dead, that means no movement. As far as "Stacie Louise" saying she saw someone twitching, she is full of it.
10. One answer could be gas building up in the area due to sub-standard embalming or an infestation of some maggots.