Just a fascinating list of 19 ‘Unfortunate Author Deaths’ for the morbidly curious
You would think that being an author, a mostly sedentary occupation, is one of the least dangerous jobs you could do. And it certainly doesn’t rank in the top ten most risky occupations, which includes logging workers and roofers. In fact, one of the most dangerous jobs you could do is being President of the USA, with over 20% of holders of that position dying in office.
However, it’s also true that 100% of people eventually die and when it comes to bizarrely unfortunate ways of expiring, then authors are a pretty creative bunch when it comes to methods of meeting their maker, as this list compiled by @Unwise_Trousers on Twitter surely demonstrates…
CW – Gruesome details of injuries.
It's time for a thread: the Big Book of Unfortunate Author Deaths pic.twitter.com/O4Lsz6IaBA
— Caustic Cover Critic, not necessarily a bad person (@Unwise_Trousers) March 8, 2023
1.
Sherwood Anderson: swallowed a toothpick which punched holes in his innards, leading to lethal peritonitis. pic.twitter.com/IQYtWVUuC1
— Caustic Cover Critic, not necessarily a bad person (@Unwise_Trousers) March 8, 2023
2.
Ödön von Horváth, hit by a falling branch from a tree and killed during a thunderstorm, three days after writing a poem about being scared of storms. pic.twitter.com/jRWSHbQumz
— Caustic Cover Critic, not necessarily a bad person (@Unwise_Trousers) March 8, 2023
3.
Francis Bacon, killed by pneumonia contracted after an experiment in freezing a dead chicken with snow. pic.twitter.com/EoGxG06KYK
— Caustic Cover Critic, not necessarily a bad person (@Unwise_Trousers) March 8, 2023
4.
Tennessee Williams pulled open a pill bottle with his teeth and accidentally inhaled it, choking to death (massive amounts of Seconal in his system inhibited his gag reflex). pic.twitter.com/MF4gDpiCXG
— Caustic Cover Critic, not necessarily a bad person (@Unwise_Trousers) March 8, 2023
5.
Georgi Markov, assassinated in London street via a tiny pellet of toxic ricin, fired into his leg from an umbrella wielded by someone associated with the Bulgarian Secret Service. pic.twitter.com/uKPhlPWJDV
— Caustic Cover Critic, not necessarily a bad person (@Unwise_Trousers) March 8, 2023
6.
Margaret Wise Brown, in hospital for an ovarian cyst, kicked her foot in the air to prove how healthy she was after treatment, dislodging a blood clot in her leg. The blood clot quickly travelled to her brain, and she died in emergency surgery. pic.twitter.com/eGeIYLpHpn
— Caustic Cover Critic, not necessarily a bad person (@Unwise_Trousers) March 8, 2023
7.
Molière suffered a pulmonary haemorrhage caused by tuberculosis, while playing the part of a hypochondriac in his own play 'Le malade imaginaire'. pic.twitter.com/XV56yrVId8
— Caustic Cover Critic, not necessarily a bad person (@Unwise_Trousers) March 8, 2023
8.
Boris Vian, enraged at a screening of the movie of his 'I Spit on Your Graves', yelled "These guys are supposed to be American? My ass!" and then collapsed and died from a heart attack. pic.twitter.com/hztki4HLl1
— Caustic Cover Critic, not necessarily a bad person (@Unwise_Trousers) March 8, 2023
9.
Horacio Quiroga, afflicted by horrific prostate pain, killed himself with cyanide in the presence of his new best friend, Vicent Batistessa, an "elephant man" who had had successfully freed from the hospital basement. pic.twitter.com/32zzt4zTUn
— Caustic Cover Critic, not necessarily a bad person (@Unwise_Trousers) March 9, 2023
10.
Robert Louis Stevenson, while making mayonnaise, suddenly cried out "What's that? Do I look strange? My head, my head!" and dropped dead of a cerebral haemorrhage. pic.twitter.com/z2uXkTzinM
— Caustic Cover Critic, not necessarily a bad person (@Unwise_Trousers) March 9, 2023