Coffins are generally finished with lacquer, and freshly lacquered coffins will occasionally inflict a case of dermatitis on people who happen upon a funeral ceremony. Unaware of the lacquer's potency, they once believed themselves under the influence of malignant spirits connected with the deceased, or that they were paying the price for happening across the funeral ceremony just as the dead body was being placed in the coffin.
正因為漆連氣味都會「咬」人，早年還有一種說法：由於喪家入殮用的「大厝」（棺材），葬儀社大多會在外面上一層生漆，如果漆未乾，路人被「咬」到，就迷信說是被死者或入殮時辰煞到，可見生漆傷人的程度。