In 1892 New England, Rufus Sinclair suffers from catalepsy and lives in fear of being pronounced dead and Premature burial. To prevent this, he leaves detailed instructions to the family and his staff, but when he is found, his greedy family—eager to claim their inheritance—have him quickly interred. Rufus leaves specific instructions on how to be buried, which are violated and the family lawyer, while reading the will, lets them know they will die from what they fear most: