Buzz
Death can be overwhelming, both for the person experiencing it and their loved ones. But what about someone who actively records their own death? Believe it or not, many individuals have done so throughout history.
Some were aware that they were nearing death and meticulously documented their final days, capturing their experiences through notes, photographs, and sometimes videos. Others, however, were unaware of their impending death, even though it was a possibility. Some of these documented accounts have proven invaluable in medical research, offering us a unique look into death.
10. Karl Schmidt
Between September 25 and 26, 1957, Karl Patterson Schmidt, a herpetologist (a specialist in reptiles and amphibians), wrote a series of notes detailing his emotions and experiences as he slowly succumbed to a snakebite. The snake responsible for the bite was a boomslang, known for its highly venomous nature.
The snake had been sent to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, where Schmidt worked, from the Lincoln Park Zoo. Schmidt was attempting to handle the snake for identification when it struck. From that moment, he began documenting every occurrence. He even refused medical help, fearing it might interfere with his experiment, not believing that the bite could prove fatal. (Schmidt had no previous experience with boomslangs.)
Schmidt meticulously recorded the foods he consumed after the bite and the bite’s growing effects. On the day of the incident, he noted feeling cold and shaky along with bleeding. The following morning, the bleeding worsened. He bled from his bowels, nose, and mouth and passed blood instead of urine. By morning, his condition deteriorated, and he died in a hospital. An autopsy later confirmed that his death was caused by severe internal bleeding due to the venom.
9. Prasad
In 2006, scientists learned what cyanide tastes like, thanks to a note written by a 32-year-old man from India, identified only as “Prasad,” who ended his life by ingesting potassium cyanide. Before Prasad’s note, the taste of cyanide was a mystery to scientists, who could only speculate based on its chemical composition. Most believed it would be extremely unpleasant. They were right. Prasad described the taste as acrid:
Doctors, [this is] potassium cyanide. I have experienced its taste. Initially, it comes on slowly, but then it burns—the whole tongue burns and feels stiff. The taste is very acrid . . I had once read in a novel about someone discreetly killing another with cyanide. It was applied to the pages of a book the person was reading, and when they touched their tongue to turn the pages, they died, and no one suspected a thing . . I now realize how easily someone could use this to kill.
Cyanide is extremely lethal, even in the smallest amounts. Just 300 micrograms can be fatal to a person. Prasad had been swindled in a gold deal that left him financially ruined. Unable to cope with the aftermath, he mixed potassium cyanide in water and ingested it, writing about the effects before the poison took effect. He couldn't even finish the note before succumbing to the poison.
8. Unnamed German Man
In February 2008, two hunters discovered the body of an unidentified 58-year-old man lying on a mattress in the Solling hill region of Germany. The man had starved himself to death. Next to him was a diary he had been updating as he passed away. The German police never released the contents of the diary, but we know that he wrote about his declining health and personal issues that troubled him.
For 24 days, the man recorded everything happening to his body. He drank some water, but refrained from eating. He expressed sorrow over his unemployment, the strained relationship with his daughter, and the breakdown of his marriage. The diary was last updated on December 13, 2007, around the time of his death. He also requested that the diary be given to his daughter.
7. John Fawcett
Much like today, drug addiction was a major issue in the 1800s. However, it was even more alarming back then, as it was doctors themselves who were prescribing these dangerous substances to people. These included opium, morphine, heroin, and laudanum.
Laudanum is one of the lesser-known but equally dangerous and addictive drugs. It was commonly used to treat a range of conditions, from coughs to epilepsy. Parents would buy it over the counter and give it to their infants without a prescription, which often led to deadly consequences. Between 1863 and 1867, 236 babies in England died from laudanum overdoses.
In a significant incident, the British Journal of Psychiatry published a letter from a woman addicted to laudanum, addressed to her doctor. The anonymous woman chastised her doctor for prescribing her the drug, explaining that it made her sluggish, dependent, and uninterested in doing household chores, a behavior considered abnormal for women at the time.
John Fawcett also documented his own experience with laudanum. As reported in the April 24, 1897, edition of the New York Journal and Advertiser, Fawcett overdosed on laudanum and chronicled the effects as he slowly died. He described how the drug made him drowsy and shared his thoughts and feelings during his last moments, revealing that he was ending his life because he had grown weary of living.
Fawcett’s final note concluded with the phrase, “Died twenty-four hours after taking one ounce of laudanum.” After writing this, he went into a nearby pond to drown. It is believed that Fawcett wrote most of the sentence earlier but left the number of hours blank, intending to fill it in just before his death.
6. Ricardo Lopez
On September 12, 1996, 21-year-old Ricardo Lopez took his own life by shooting himself in the mouth. His death would have gone largely unnoticed if not for the bomb he sent to Icelandic singer Bjork. The existence of the bomb was revealed in the suicide video Lopez made shortly before he died. This video was part of a 22-hour video series he had started recording back in January.
Bjork was a frequent subject of Lopez’s videos, as he seemed to harbor an obsessive fixation on her. When he found out she had a boyfriend, he became consumed with jealousy and decided to kill her. He constructed a bomb using sulfuric acid and mailed it to her home in London. On the day he sent the package, he carried a pistol with him to the post office, ready to end his life should he be caught.
In a fit of anger, Lopez returned home to record his final video. He disrobed, painted his face, and sat in a chair where he shot himself through the mouth while one of Bjork’s songs played in the background. His body was discovered four days later, already decomposing. Officers from the Hollywood Police Department recovered the videos, including the last one where Lopez confessed to sending a bomb to Bjork. They immediately alerted authorities in England, and the bomb was intercepted before it could reach Bjork.
5. Edwin Katskee
Cocaine was the first local anesthetic widely used by doctors. Previous anesthetics were inconsistent and at times posed a danger to patients. Cocaine, however, was dependable. It numbed the area being treated without rendering the patient unconscious. However, it was far from as safe as doctors had assumed, as it was addictive and could be fatal in large doses.
At that time, there was no universal agreement on the proper dosage, and doctors administered cocaine to patients as they saw fit. In 1936, Edwin Katskee decided to experiment by injecting himself with cocaine to observe its effects on the body. Unfortunately, he overdosed and began documenting his observations on notes pinned to the walls of his office.
His first note stated, “Eyes mildly dilated. Vision excellent.” It was followed by, “Now able to stand up,” “Partial recovery. Smoked cigarette,” and “Results will be recorded in Rx books! Have a university and college [illegible] any findings. They better be good because I am not going to repeat the experiment.” His final note simply read, “paralysis.”
It is believed that Katskee passed away right after writing the word “paralysis.” Sadly, his notes didn’t offer much insight. He failed to include the time of his observations and neglected to arrange them in a chronological order, leaving scientists to speculate which notes were written first. His handwriting was also hard to decipher, making it even more difficult to interpret his findings.
4. Daniel Alcides Carrion
Similar to Edwin Katskee, Daniel Alcides Carrion conducted self-experiments and meticulously documented his own demise. However, Carrion’s notes proved invaluable. He was a medical student in Peru when, in 1873, three years prior to starting medical school, he witnessed a deadly, plague-like illness that claimed the lives of thousands in the towns of Callao and La Oroya. Doctors had never encountered such a disease, and it proved fatal to nearly everyone who contracted it.
While in medical school, Peru saw a resurgence of verruga peruana, a disease already known to the medical community. Carrion became intrigued by verruga peruana and conducted extensive research on it. Part of his studies involved using himself as a guinea pig to observe firsthand how the disease affected the human body.
On August 27, 1885, Carrion had his friends introduce the disease into his body after he was unable to do it himself. He documented its initial symptoms on September 17. By September 26, his condition had deteriorated to the point that he could no longer continue his own writing, and a friend took over his note-taking until Carrion passed away on October 5.
Carrion’s meticulous notes provided valuable insight to Peruvian doctors regarding how verruga peruana functioned. His work also revealed that the plague he witnessed three years earlier was simply a different manifestation of the same disease. In recognition of his contribution, Peruvians revere Carrion as a hero, with a university named in his honor. The disease was also renamed to honor him, now known as Carrion’s disease (or occasionally Oroya fever).
3. Martin Manley
In the early morning hours of August 15, 2013, sports journalist Martin Manley called 911 to report his intention to commit suicide. After hanging up, he went on to end his own life. His suicide shocked many, especially since he had long held an anti-suicide stance.
Manley had spent years planning his suicide. On the day of his death, he published a blog post in which he shared the reasons for his decision and offered personal reflections. In it, Manley explained that he took his life to regain control over the timing, location, and method of his death. He also described why he selected the specific day, place, and firearm. His suicide took place on his 60th birthday.
For years, Manley had been preparing his blog posts and had even pre-paid for the site a year before his death. However, he didn’t make the blog public until the morning he took his life. He had paid for five years of hosting, but Yahoo ultimately removed the site, citing a violation of their terms and conditions. His blog revealed that Manley was a perfectionist who meticulously edited his posts to ensure they were flawless.
In addition to his blog, Manley made extensive plans for his burial. Prior to his passing, he sent small gifts and letters to relatives, notifying them of his death. These letters were only delivered after his death. He had also arranged the specifics of his burial and prepaid for his funeral expenses, including his cremation. Although Yahoo took down the original site, here is a clone.
2. Nara Almeida
Nara Almeida, a 24-year-old Brazilian blogger, passed away from stomach cancer in May 2018. After being diagnosed in August 2017, she began sharing images of her treatment journey with her 4.5 million social media followers. Her posts often included heartfelt captions detailing her emotions, sleepless nights, and the physical and emotional toll of the illness.
In the month leading up to her death, Nara shared a photo of herself lying in a hospital bed, her arm raised just before undergoing an immunotherapy session. She wrote, “I believe that in the end everything will work out and I will come out of it very strengthened and ready to help other people.” Sadly, that moment never came.
1. Timothy Leary
Dr. Timothy Leary was a renowned comedian, actor, and prankster, who lived a life full of adventures. He served in the US Army, later delving into the world of entertainment. He also ran for governor, got incarcerated for drug-related offenses, and managed to escape to Europe and Africa. Eventually, he was captured and sent back to prison. In 1963, he was dismissed from Harvard for conducting experiments with a mind-altering drug on undergraduate students.
After being diagnosed with prostate cancer, Leary frequently joked about his imminent death. He even created a website to keep his fans updated on his health. Once, at a party, a stranger approached him and casually said, “Good luck on your death.”
In response to this comment, Leary later shared that it was one of the “most powerful things” anyone had ever said to him. This encounter led him to make a vow to “give death a better name, or die trying.” Although he never succeeded in giving death a better name, when he passed away in 1996, he arranged to have his death filmed for future broadcast. His final words were simply, “Why not?”
