When my grandson passed away...my daughter was begging to hold him just one more time. He was small so the funeral director lifted him out and allowed my daughter to hold him at the end of the service.Talk about heart wrenching.....a child's funeral is horrible to have to go through.

Grief is like wearing a winter coat in the humid summer. It weighs you down and it is suffocating. It's soooooo powerful........I totally understand.

Happens so often that there are different types of crawlers? Wow! Grief is a powerful feeling.

I'm glad I never experienced ppl doing that at funerals. It's upsetting enough seeing the loved one dead. ☹😢

My parents both died of covid this past winter. My youngest brother is only 21 and he couldn’t look at my mom in her casket. I told him at the end of the service to please say goodbye and look at her before I closed her casket (she looked like a beautiful, peaceful angel) and he laid on her sobbing. I can’t get that image out of my head.

I literally thought casket crawlers were some sort of worm before I started to watch the video lol

I actually witnessed this when I was @12-13 yrs old. One of my classmates had drowned in the creek and being a very small school, they cancelled classes the day of his funeral. Nearly the entire village showed up. Towards the end of the service, his poor mother just broke and tried to get in with him. The sound and the sight of that is still so clear, 40 years later. It is the saddest thing I've ever seen.

I was a casket crawler once. But i was 7 so i didn't know any better. All i knew was my grandpa was in there and i was going with him. Yep!! Everyone freaked out and some even cried. It took them a few minutes to make me understand that i couldn't go with papa. I'll never forget it. Thankfully i didn't knock it over but everyone moved really fast... Oops

My Granny was a wise woman from the mountains and said family takes care of its own. When my mom passed ( she was living with us due to many strokes, each stroke took a little more away from mom, it broke my heart seeing this for her) when we got to the funeral home I told them, I want to groom her before anyone sees her. She is mine , she brought me into this world and it is the last thing I can do for her. They allowed it, as I fixed her hair and makeup like she liked it I talked with her, got my children evolved with picking out Nanny’s going to Heaven outfit ( they were young then ) and explained family takes care of its own. Let them know she took care of me, she helped take care of them and while when she stated having strokes we talked before I jumped right in and brought her home.. of course they all voted to bring Nanny to our home, it had always been hers to we felt. It was a peaceful calming experience where all of their questions were answered and they got to spend private time for grieving and helping their Nanny be sent to heaven looking her best. I know she was smiling at them. When dad passed , we did the same.. my sons were then men with families of their own.. they even helped bury their Grandpa and the youngest put his arms around me and said family takes care of its own I missed my father and grieved greatly but that day I realized my sons were amazing men! So I believe families could gain a lot of emotional help in caring for their loved ones. Most funeral homes of asked can we dress/ groom / or have a private moment with their loved one without others will allow it.

Years ago a woman in our town tragically lost her teenage son in a car accident. Word got around that before people arrived for the viewing she had actually lifted his upper body in the casket just enough to hold him in her arms one last time. Absolutely heart wrenching.

First heard this term on Six Feet Under. That show is fantastic and inspired me to become a mortician.

When I was a teenager, I witnessed a friend try ALL these & his father & brother literally had to carry him outside before the casket flipped over. (4 friends had gone swimming & she went under...he kept diving for her until he passed out & they barely got him out) At 16 yrs old, it was a soul shaking experience. ..48 now but seems just like yesterday. But I never knew the term til now. I feel enlightened!

I loved watching this!!!! I have been a funeral director for the last 35 years and when I saw the term "casket crawler" and just smiled. I have worked a lot of services and depending on the situation you can almost pick a person or persons that will do this. Enjoyed this video!!!!

I've been a RN in the ER for 21 years now. I've seen my fair share of deaths, both natural causes & tragic, traumatic, unplanned/unforeseen ones. As a nurse in the ER our role is to contact what we call CORE in my state (Center for Organ Recovery & Education), provide postmortem care such as moistening the eyes with lubricant & taping them shut, cleaning any blood or body fluids off, toe tagging, putting the person in a body bag, finding out what funeral home the family wants to use, notifying the ME, contacting the persons doctor to sign the death certificate, putting the person in what we refer to as a morgue cart, & then taking them to the morgue as long as they are NOT an organ donor. We are also required to elevate the head of the morgue cart at least 30° so that blood doesn't pool in certain areas. Every single time that I take a patient there I pause for a moment & think to myself, "we live our entire lives with purpose & working hard to have nice things such as a nice home, a nice family, a savings account, etc., but no matter what walk of life you're from the end result is always the same. You end up naked, dead, cold, & stacked on top of other naked strangers!

My Aunt died... She was my favorite person... I loved her very much and I miss her so dearly... I laid on her and cried a lot while she was in her casket... I kissed her as much as I could as I knew those were the las t of them 😥... I tried to be as respectful as possible as not to traumatize family and friends who were paying their final respects... Its was most difficult to see the casket close and I pray that she rests in eternal peace now. 💔

When my Mom passed away the funeral home allowed me unlimited time with her during a private viewing before the wake and they allowed me to touch her and I just looked, talked and sat with her. I think this made me more comfortable and put me at ease for the wake and funeral.

My parents drowned together when I was 14. My Daddy's casket was closed due to the length of time to recover his body, but right before they were going to close my Mother's casket, my Grandmother ran over to her and fell over her body and tried to lift her up. The mournful sounds she made was heartbreaking. I was horrified because of how I felt about death. I didn't want to see my mother dead..

OMG! I am a casket crawler! When my little brother passed I just wanted to crawl into the casket and be buried with him. I did the hug 😔

When my daughter passed & I saw her in her casket it took every oz of my resilience not to climb into her casket & die with her. The grief, shock & trauma is so horrible that I understand why people do that. They are overcome with such profound pain & I get it.

This made me emotional just watching Kari demonstrate. Some people are very overwhelmed at funerals. My mother said her uncle tried to take his 21 year old son out of the casket. He’d been poisoned to death by “friends.”

I remember my grandmother being a “crawler” back in ‘66 when my grandfather died. Back in those days the deceased were laid out for several days. Quite an experience...

And this is one of the reasons why at some funerals cemeteries wait until the family leaves before the casket is lowered into the ground... Otherwise someone would attempt to jump in the hole with the deceased.

I fell to my knees at the visitation for my son. I had to be taken home before people started showing up. Same with the funeral. I fell to my knees at my son's open casket. They got me a chair to sit next to him. As I walked out of the funeral behind his casket I kept walking and had my sister take me home. Steven was going to be cremated so he went from funeral to crematory. I wasn't there for that. I barely remember anything. I was pretty drugged up. I had to wear sunglasses inside because my eyes were almost swollen shut. I'm 5 years into this journey and I hate it!!!!!

Yeah - mom died in 1990. We were invited up as they were getting ready to close the casket - and I flung my glasses off my face and went in to give her a kiss on the forehead.... I didn't know what I was doing - but my hands were on the open side of the casket..... and people on both ends where holding on for all it was worth to keep the casket from tipping over on me..... I didn't even know that I was doing all that. Grief is real.....

I think it's probably more shock than anything. Grief can alter the state of mind and lead people to do something that they otherwise wouldn't..

While some are truly grieving, I’m thinking that least a few of these crawlers are the types who bring drama with them everywhere they go.

Separation of a loved one, through death, is probably the most traumatic thing we experience in life and can make people totally lose control of reason. So sad to hear about these instances. Thank you for a very measured explanation of these incidents.

Live and onstage, it’s Kari and the Kasket Crawlers performing Just Give Me 2 Minutes.

I don't know if I can even being so distraught, that I'd attempt to become a Casket Crawler. BUT, I do understand that overwhelming grief can cause people to do some "crazy" things, in order to find some comfort. I find it interesting that it happens enough for the industry to give it a phrase, and recognize various techniques when it's attempted.

My Aunt Doe Doe (real name ) lept onto her father's body in the casket , and they both came tumbling down- hard -my grandfather came out of the casket , onto the floor, and everyone went nuts. This is the same funeral where my Dad's car died and he got a jump from the limo. Polish funerals...you have to love them !

I'm just amazed nobody else is talking about your blouse! 😍 So pretty!!

Hands down one of your best “Two Minutes” yet! Casket Crawlers is a very familiar term here in North Carolina! Some of our Southern Belles can be a little predisposed to drama and a quite bereft by their grief. 😉

I was at the funeral of a child. Her death was partially the mom's negligence in not watching her kids. We all knew the situation. She casket crawled a bit, had never seen it before. Every heart in the place just broke for her.

Things have changed over the years that's for sure. I've seen people during visitations facetiming with the deceased being shown while kids (8 or 9 yrs old) are hovering over grandpa poking at his nose, mouth, eyes. Nothing wrong with touching a loved one usually, but have respect for goodness sake.

My 2 month old Granddaughter passed away this past January. I wouldn't have, but oh how I wanted to pick her up out of that tiny little casket and just rock her one more time.

Here’s one for you that I’ve heard local long-timers tell: Back in the 1960s, there was the sudden death of a young man in a car wreck. It was hard enough for his young wife. But imagine the scene when the woman he was cheating with tried to climb into the casket with him, in front of his wife, their families, and friends. Can you imagine? I don’t even want to.

I can understand that grief for some people is overwhelming. When my mom died (I was 15) we stood at the graveside as they lowered her coffin into the grave. My grand mother stood between my Father and I and was so overcome seeing her youngest daughter in the grave that she fainted. My Father caught her or she would have fallen into the grave! However to witness what you just described? It must be traumatic for funeral home staff as well as those paying their respects. The last thing anyone wants is the casket on the floor and poor old grandpa on the floor and mourners seeing that his smart suit has been cut at the back and tucked in around him. I hope for everyone's sake this doesn't happen very often. Very interesting "Two Minutes on"

there was a funeral in a small town where I live and while in the Church a member of her religion when up to the casket and yelled RIse sister sue. She actually thought she could rise her from the dead.. So scarry.

Kari... The first funeral I went to was for a high school friend who was killed when his corvette went head in into a tree... This was in the 70's. The funeral was LONG... a Greek Orthodox service. The entire time his poor mother s reamed "PAULY COME BACK TO ME!!!" It was so sad and everyone in the packed church was crying. They had his casket open the entire way and propped up so we could all see him. Near the end, his mother started SCREAMING!!! And she jumped over to the coffin trying to pry him out... The coffin fell over: half on top of his back and she stayed with his upper half for what seemed like an hour while Paul's father tried to pull him off and other men trying to get everything else back in order. It was the single most heart-wrenching scene I have ever witnessed. So many odd funerals I've been to... I just want to go away quietly... and cremated. I'm wondering if you would rather be buried or cremated??

I did that ..i lost my brother and I worshipped him ..not like God but he was my love ..and I cried on his chest ...my tears were on the black leather vest he was buried in and I was hyperventilating....i didn't crawl in I just didn't get to see him alive before he died..it was horrible and I still cry at times ..he passed January 9 of 1999

My husband's aunt died at her father's funeral (my husband's grandfather). He said she screamed and passed out. She died at the church from a heart attack. What a sad way to go and the grief of burying two family members within a weeks time.

When I was about 16 (50 years ago and still have memory that’s vivid) my cousin tried to jump in the casket if her husband. He went fir a check up and came home saying all good then died in a moment of a massive heart attack! Think the sudden death caused her action. Very sad.

Hahaha I about died when you started lifting your leg. Haha you’re so hilarious! Great video!

I can say I've not tried to do this. Thank goodness. But I understand the grief that makes you want to do this. Sad really thank you for the video

We had one at my step-grandpa's funeral. Keep in mind he was a shy quiet man who liked to NOT associate with people. His sister invited her entire church and they came in wailing and sobbing and some big ole girl (that none of us had ever met) tried to get in there with him and was kissing his face and getting lipstick all over him.. I thought my grandma was going to pass out and I had to take her home after that traumatic dramatic performance by the crazy lady. I have never been so angry in my life as when that happened. Why on earth do people do this???

I can actually imagine someone with unbearable grief wanting to not close the casket after viewing.This would be their last good bye and they can’t imagine that at all

I was leading a service at the crematorium before the witnessing and a number of family members were trying to tear the casket apart, and yelling, "Wake up! Wake up!"

I will most likely be a " casket crawler" when I lose my parents. Or God forbid something ever happened to my children. 🤷🏽‍♀️🙏🏽 just being honest.

I have a confession, my aunt is a casket crawler. At my grandfather's funeral when they were closing the casket she ran up and tried to climb in, my dad whispered to my mom that he wished they would close her in with him. He was not really fond of his half sister. At the cemetery she also tried to climb in the grave with him and my dad was like where is the grave digger so we can get this filled in before she climbs out. This same woman demanded to go to my mom's funeral and my mom did not like her at all. She then made a big fuss over how how much she will miss my mom and how they were best friends. She tried to take all attention off of my mom and on to her.

Some folks would never believe some of the things that go on or happen ... someday you should write a book ... I love your videos ! Keep them coming !

I never heard of this before and am glad I never witnessed such an event. Thanks for the explanation. Such a lovely lady. 😉👍👌

A friend used to drive part time for a livery in Toronto that supplied hearses and limos to funeral homes. He told me he arrived at a funeral home with the hearse and went inside. A fight broke out among mourners at a teenager's funeral. The mother wouldn't let the funeral director close the casket and was attempting to climb into it. A few people started fighting each other blaming others for the teen's death. Police were called to calm things down before the funeral director was able to close the casket. People DO get crazy an emotional.

Yep, seen all the types of casket crawlers every time someone dies in one branch of my family tree! The great aunts come straight in and start wailing and moaning and trying to “go with him” or pull someone out of a casket wailing that they aren’t going to let anyone take her away. It’s very entertaining.

I am a minister and this happened with me in the state room during viewing.

I found your channel searching for an in depth description of what happens to the body in a cremation chamber. 6 weeks ago I may not have been ready but last night I was and since then a kind of calmness had fallen on me. My mother passed in June last year then in November my beloved husband went to sleep one night and never woke up. I'm still waiting on the coroners report. Both were cremated. I thought my world has just collapsed. When I found your channel, well it sounds morbid, but I really enjoyed your explanation of the body's progressive breakdown at cremation. I haven't stopped giggling at your how's and what's of the cremation process. The casket crawler is my 2nd look at your channel. You were made for this. I laughed through the entire clip. It's your calling! 'The Laughing Mortician' is my new phrase when I tell people to look for your channel. Thank you so much for putting a smile back on my face, albeit a morbid one. Bless you!

I love you and your videos. Please keep the videos coming. Much love❤️💜💖

Maybe that's why we need more home funerals. People can hold their loved ones as much as they want without disturbing others that way. Maybe even directors can go to houses to help manage the bodies if the family can't themselves. I think that'd be a good compromise.

Ive been to alot of funerals in my life and have never seen this. In fact, most people are just the opposite that Ive seen. They dont want to touch the person at all

You are so right. I seen this happen could not believe it.

Thank you Kari!

Maybe I'm weird but when dad died and I saw him in the casket I saw him for about 10 seconds from 2 feet away and then went to sit down in the chapel, and I was the closest one to dad from my siblings. I don't know why it just didn't feel like him, I didn't my last memory of him being lying in a metal box. I have so many better memories of him, taking him out to eat, going over to his house to watch football and boxing matches and BBQs. Those memories will always be in my mind over that horrible funeral

A friend of the family wouldn’t let the funeral staff close her grandfather’s coffin. My mom had to interfere. Here in Brazil we do not embalm and temperatures are generally high, so if they say it’s time to go, it really is time to go. Pretty sad.

Great video i have seen these things so many times

Grief is overwhelming and suffocating. I have lost family members, it isn't fair and i just lost my mom two weeks ago unexpectedly, i was there when it happened. It is terrible.

My son was cremated and we didn't have a service for private reasons. (We had a service later on privately) when I went to the funeral home to go see him. He was in this tiny casket, I couldn't have casket crawled but it took everythingI had in me, to stop from grabbing him and taking him home.

Hi Kathy. It's unfortunate that people don't seem to understand or care that their loved one is NOT in the casket! I know it's difficult to explain to relatives that the spirit of the deceased has left the body. You're hugging the shell that held the person.

😲Am I hearing all this?!😱 No matter how much I've grieved anyone I would never think about any of that you just described, WOW

My great uncle worked for a funeral home. There was a teenage boy who died and the family had no candid pictures of him . They had the staff take him out of the casket for pictures, posing with the deceased.

I kissed my mom on the cheek and while distraught, it never occurred to my family to crawl in. Never witnessed it at other funerals and that would be unforgettable.

It's just the body (shell). Their soul is released and can most likely see you. Be happy for them. They have graduated to a better realm that is pleasing beyond human experience.

Hi Kari. I have one for you . Elvis Presley was in the service and he had gotten word his Mother was very sick They gave him leave soo he could go back to Memphis to see her. He was there one day and she past the very next day. They had a very close relationship. She did not want him going into the Army . Elvis got drafted and he wanted to do the right thing.When she was in the casket he tried and tried to get in .They put a piece of hard plastic over her. It was Heart wrenching to see.He never got over her dying .He talked about her all the time to his friends..Sad but True Story.

Wow. Great minute!

When my stepdaughter died, they laid her out for my husband to see her before cremation. They kept telling him, don't pick her up, don't try to move her, don't try to crawl on the table. He was confused. When we got to the car , he said why would I crawl on the table with her. He only wanted to touch her hair and see her one more time. I said- OH, people do.

I knew a older Like it that brought her husband home for a few days in his casket and the kids and grandkids would put Shasta sodas and his favorite candies and cookies in grandpas casket ! She said the funeral home workers came out a couple of times a day to fix his face from sagging!

Wow, I wouldn't have believed that people actually do this, until I watched you explain it. Ya learn something new every day!!!

Thanks, Kari for the dramatic demonstrations; it helps me understand the various techniques of casket crawlers! I think if the casket and the body came tumbling forward it would be a funeral director's worst day ever! Then there is the traditional irish wake where the deceased shares a dance with the mourners in the wee hours; not quite as shocking but still a challenge for the FD.

My grandma passed away in October, 4 days after her 99th birthday. No one casket crawled, but I don't judge anyone who does (if it's out of grief, not for attention) because grief affects everyone differently. I'm still very sad and it hurts to know that there are things no one will ever experience again now that she's gone. I felt so angry with some of the buyers at her estate sale because it seemed like some of them only cared about the stuff and not the fact that my family lost someone who was so important to us and some went so far as to steal from us 😠 If anyone goes to estate sales, please remember that the people selling to you have lost someone close to them and be sensitive to that and have the decency to pay for what you want instead of just stealing it.

I've seen this happen and also seen someone try to pull his father out of the coffin. Very traumatizing for other people in attendance.

Never heard of this! Amazing! 👍👍👍

When my mom passed away in 2000 I was 47. She was not just mom she was my friend I could tell anything to. During her viewing just as the service was getting ready to start with probably a hundred plus people seated in the church I walked up to her casket that was below the alter. I am six foot four. I put my hand on the side. leaned in and kissed her on the cheek like she always did with me. I was amazed how natural she felt. I expected her to be sort of cold and have some kind of odor but she wasn't and she didn't. She was beautiful and charming like she always was. The family mortuary our entire family has used for decades here in mesa Az were to be commended. She was exactly how she wanted.

Grief is a terrible thing. It's good that there are always family or friends who can gently redirect the individual.

In 1982, my sister's husband killed my sister and my Aunt at a Pizza Parlor. At the funeral home my father fell on the floor between the two caskets, (his daughter was 28, his sister was 34) l run out of that Funeral home so fast. I felt Stark terror!

Great video! I died laughing at the demonstration of the leaper 😆 🖤

I have never experienced any of what you have described ( thankful)

I'm in the south, so I've seen a few, 1st time I was 10years old, it scared the sweet tea out of me

When my grandpa passed in not going to lie, I pulled a chair right next to him, and dat there til the service started. He was my best friend so, when he passed part of me died too. I was like if the people couldn't come visit him when he was alive, I didn't give a damn if I was in there way. His passing totally destroyed my heart. I was devastated then sadly we lost my grandma the following year, she grieved herself.

This was the best video i never knew i NEEDED to see 🤣🤣🤣

I would have never thought of that. Although, now I know and I'm smarter for it! I can't imagine the immense pain they must be feeling, wanting to go with them! 🥺

Kari, I have another one for you When my dad died over 20 years ago, my (jealous mother) after we had all sat down went up to my dad s casket and started to glide her hands underneath his shoulder area to “feel” what we had put underneath I assume !! My dad had lost a ring he loved but she always blamed some of us for stealing it so we came to the conclusion that she assumed whoever it was had put it back with him Hard to believe but I did have that kind of family

Well, I can honestly say I've never actually seen this at a funeral, thankfully. I've only seen it on TV and in the movies. That is extremely sad and distressing for the loved ones.

Fascinating.

That is totally wicked just love all the info

I actually thought it would be warms or bugs when i saw the heading😂,Didnt. think it wil be people😀

I had never heard this term until one of the earlier episodes of 'Six Feet Under'. The closest thing I've seen to this was my great uncle's grandsons 'playing with Grandpa'. All three were standing up by the casket, sticking their fingers in his ears, his nose... We nudged one of the mothers & pointed, expecting her to go up and lead them away but no, she just stood & watched saying 'yes, they're going to miss playing with Grandpa...' We were surprised they didn't tip the casket over. These weren't 'grief-stricken children', that was the granddaughter sitting in a chair off to the side sobbing her eyes out, these were little brats who needed to go across a knee.

This is so heartbreaking 💔😢

Are you kidding? Never knew people actually do this! Wow! This is an eye opener for me.

I had no idea people would do that! I would die of embarrassment if I wasn’t already dead 🤣

I know I shouldn’t be laughing, but it’s the simple fact that I know a few sneakers 🤦🏾‍♂️🤣🤣

Really good information.

Thanks for doing these terms like this I have never heard of terms used like this but they all make sense. I have been to quite a few wakes and funerals but no one I ever wanted to jump in there with them. People need to understand when the human body dies they are not there physically anymore. Sure there body is there but the soul, who they are/were is no longer embodied in the living frame that was their body. So people let them rest and remember the great memories cos chance are they are right next to you as your looking down on their physical body.