People did have a fear of being buried alive. Prior to 1900, embalming was not practiced and I have read of some studies that, judging by the scratching on the lids of exhumed coffins, suggest that about 100,000 people a year could well have been buried alive in the US before the wide use of embalming. There are still tales of it happening in 3rd world countries.
And we know the old stories of ‘saved by the bell’ and the like.
Poe, Lovecraft, Bierce. Staples of my childhood reading.
Very clever of you to throw in the old saying: "save by the bell" and so casually!
We appear to have read the same 3 authors as kids! :-)