It’s often hoped that when we die, it will be peaceful and preferably in our sleep. You know the scenario; big yawn, eyes shut and then… that’s it! Death used to ride in on a horse, but he’s moved with the times. Now it’s an Uber. And don’t think he won’t leave you a 1-star review for not being chatty. You could leave him one too. But who would read it? You’re dead.

*Photo by Ekaterina Kuznetsova on Unsplash*

For some, that is how it goes, for others, less so. More often than not, you’ll end up in hospital, tubed up to the max. But don't stress about it too much, you’ll have a lovely view of the car park below.

But, for others, shuffling off their mortal coil is more of a bizarre experience. So, let’s look at just a few of the strange ways a person can die, leaving behind baffled family and friends, left speechless at their loved one’s demise.

Laughing to Death

In 1975, a man by the name of Alex Mitchell died laughing while watching an episode of The Goodies, titled ‘Ecky-Thump’. No one can confirm if this episode was The Goodies finest moment, to a point someone died laughing, but it certainly pushed Mitchell six-feet under!

Turns out, he had a hereditary heart condition where his granddaughter, Lisa Corke, had a near fatal cardiac arrest at the young age of 23. She has now been diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome.

So, turns out The Goodies episode may not have been that hilarious after all. (1)

What’s Eatin’ him?

Back in the good ol’ days when public flogging was the thing and the working classes lived to a ripe old age of 26, a Swedish king by the name of Adolf Frederick quite literally ate himself to death. It was 1776 and Lent was fast approaching.

A man who was known around his way for always finishing off everyone else's leftovers (probably in the kitchen when all the guests had gone home), had decided a fab way to prepare for Lent was to eat as much of the good stuff as possible.

Lent, if you’re wondering, is a period where Christians give up the more delicious foods such as cakes and dairy (you know, the tasty stuff) for a period of time. This usually spans from Shrove Tuesday for a length of 40 days, excluding Sundays.

Now, King Adolf loved his grub. No one can really say what he was thinking when he decided to chow down on a meal fit for several people. Perhaps he was just hangry. Even so, on February 12, his bounty consisted of lobster, caviar, kippers, sauerkraut, boiled meats and turnips.

After snaffling up his feast (and probably licking the plate too), he began dessert. In Sweden, there’s a sweet treat called semlas. These are buns made with white flour. These were popular with the wealthier folk at the time, and King Adolf was no exception. Oh boy, did he love semlas!

So much so, he gobbled up 14 of them in one sitting. He washed down his food with a hearty share of champagne, too.

His poor old gut couldn't take it. And so, on that very day, his bloated belly gave up the ghost and he died of intestinal issues. Clearly, he ate faster than he could poop. We can only wonder if one good fart could have eased the traffic jam of food inside him. Perhaps he should have had a side order of baked beans… (2)

Killer Clown!

On one fine evening, 13-year-old William Snyder never thought he would die at the hands of an over-excited clown in 1854, while a circus was in town.

There is not too much info on this, but we can assume on that fateful day, while William sold candy and peanuts on Stockton Street, San Francisco, the last thing he expected was for some guy dressed in a clown costume to rock on up and grab poor William’s ankles and swing him round like he was a hammer throw.

Manuel Reys, the clown and known for being ‘mentally defective’, rushed over to William, grabbed his ankles and swung him around several times.

By the time he had finished, William was reported to have blood coming from his mouth. He later died in hospital from a rupture to his left pulmonary artery.

Reys ended up in jail. Not for the unintentional murder of William, but for other charges at a later date. Apparently, during one court hearing, he was witnessed to be swatting at his face and muttering incoherently. (3)

The Beard of Doom

The beard trend comes and goes much like kick flares and the mullet. While many men take pride in growing an envious, hairy froth of fuzz on their faces, Hans Steininger took it to the next level.

In 1567, Hans from Austria had grown his manly face-mane to over one and a half metres long! He was known to have the world’s longest beard at the time.

The photo below is that of Hans Langseth, the Norwegian born and US citizen who claimed the title of world's longest beard. Steininger does not have a photo simply because photographs didn't exist in the 1500s!

*A photo of Hans Langseth NOT Steininger.*

Now, you might think that he died from suffocation. Perhaps at night, while sleeping, his beard slipped over his face and smothered him much like an overweight cat. Nope, not so. He died, believe it or not, from tripping over his beard and breaking his neck.

Since then, a chap by the name of Hans Langseth now holds the record for the longest beard where it came in at a whopping 17-feet long! He died in 1927 of far less nefarious circumstances.

So, to add insult to injury, poor old Steininger was not only killed by his own pride and joy, but usurped by another record holder. (4)

Final Nail in the Coffin

There aren't many people out there who have the rare gift of designing their own casket. Marc Bourjade, however, held that elusive talent.

A coffin maker by trade, he was the talk of the town when one of his creations toppled onto him, killing him instantly in 1982. His accident certainly gives the saying ‘hitting the final nail in the coffin’ a whole new meaning.

At least he went out in handcrafted style! A true artisan. (5)

Dance Fever!

Now, most of us love to boogie down on the dancefloor. Just look at John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. He never shied away from fancy footwork in the discotheque. And why should he? Those seventies flares weren’t designed for wallflowers.

But, for people in 1518, Strasbourg, Alsace, dancing took on a strange obsession. People were struck down by a very odd dancing fever called the Dancing Plague. No one can really explain why the people had an insatiable desire to start busting shapes, but it didn't end well for those who just couldn’t stop cutting up a rug all night.

They apparently danced for days without rest and, in the end, died from exhaustion, strokes and heart attacks. At least they died doing something fun and getting their freak on. (5)

DIY Parachute

There aren’t many of us who take it upon ourselves to design our own parachutes and test them. Franz Reichelt from France was a tailor and inventor. For reasons only known to himself, he decided it would be a great idea to create his own parachute suit.

**Warning**

Below is actual footage of that fateful moment poor Franz lost his life.

Wait, what? Yes, that’s right. Now, while the rest of us leave that kind of stuff to the experts, Franz decided he knew better. Seeking permission from the Parisian police, Franz climbed the Eiffel Tower and prepared to test his invention.

Long story short, his suit failed, and he plummeted to his death in 1912, leaving a costly clean-up bill for the Paris Council. Now known as ‘The Flying Tailor’, he has gained fame from this tragic final moment. (5)

Got a Light?

The most strangest of all the deaths here and one that to this day can’t be explained, is the curious death of Mary Reeser. The previous deaths mentioned here have all had a known and obvious cause.

Mary’s death is not so easy to decipher. Her landlady discovered her body on July 2, 1951. Well, when I say body, it was just her spine, shrunken skull and one lower leg complete with a slipper.

The rest of her was burnt to a cinder, resulting in her being known forevermore as The Cinder Lady. Grisly. While experts argued as to how she died, with some claiming it was a lit cigarette Mary held in one hand while she dozed off in her chair, others were less convinced it was merely a careless accident.

*https://allthatsinteresting.com/mary-reeser*

A stack of papers lay near to where she sat, leaving investigators to wonder how these never caught light. The same went for the rest of her apartment. Nothing showed signs of fire damage, apart from the chair she had sat on.

The door knob to her apartment was too hot to touch, leaving her landlady to assume Mary’s home was on fire. However, it was only Mary. To this day, some investigators argue it was a case of Spontaneous Human Combustion. No one really understands this rare phenomena and how it happens.

There have been other cases since, and I shall look at these in a later article. Some claim it is caused by a chemical reaction within the body, resulting in it bursting into flames. However, no one can yet explain how the fire does not spread to anything else combustible in the room of the victim. (6)

So, there you have a selection of strange deaths throughout history. What can we take away from this?

Perhaps be mindful of how much you eat, be sensible with your facial hair, best not design your own parachute, perhaps don’t pursue a career in coffin making and watch out for clowns!