Thursday

September 24th, 2026

Diversions

Some things beg certainty

News of the Weird

By News of the Weird

Published Sept. 24, 2026

Some things beg certainty

• Relatives were mourning Bella Montoya, 76, at her wake in Ecuador when they heard strange sounds coming from the coffin.

"There were about 20 of us there," the woman's son, Gilberto Barbera, said. "After about five hours of the wake, the coffin started to make sounds."

The supposedly deceased had been declared dead the Martin Icaza Hospital in Babahoyo earlier that day, but that evening, "my mom was wrapped in sheets and hitting the coffin, and when we approached we could see that she was breathing heavily," Barbera said.

Montoya was rushed back to the hospital, but the Associated Press reported that she was intubated and is not expected to recover.

Ecuador's Health Ministry has launched an investigation into the incident.

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