The Most Brutal and Bizarre Suicides in History

Here are some unbelievable and unimaginable ways to end one’s own life.

Gerald Mellin

In 2008, Gerald Mellin, a U.K. businessman, committed suicide by tying one end of a rope around his neck and the other to a tree. He then got into his car and drove down a main road in Swansea until the rope decapitated him

Kevin Neil Whitrick

In 2007, Kevin Whitrick, a 42-year-old British electrical engineer, committed suicide by hanging himself live on a webcam during an Internet chat session

Australian Man

In 1995, a 39-year-old man committed suicide in Canberra, Australia by shooting himself with a pump action shotgun 3 times. The first shot passed through his chest and went out the other side. He reloaded and shot away his throat and part of his jaw. Breathing through the wound in his throat, he again reloaded, held the gun against his chest with his hands and operated the trigger with his toes. This shot entered the thoracic cavity and demolished the heart, killing him.

Brian Douglas Wells

In 2003, Brian Douglas Wells, an American pizza delivery man in Erie, Pennsylvania, was killed by a time bomb that had been fastened around his neck. He was apprehended by the police after robbing a bank, and claimed he had been forced to do it by three people who had put the bomb around his neck and would kill him if he refused. The bomb later exploded, killing him

Richard Sumner

In 2002, Richard Sumner, a British artist suffering from schizophrenia, went into a remote section of Clocaenog Forest in Denbighshire, Wales, handcuffed himself to a tree and threw the keys out of his reach. His skeleton was discovered three years later

Bernd-Jurgen Brandes

In 2001, Bernd-Jurgen Brandes, from Germany, was voluntarily stabbed repeatedly and then partly eaten by Armin Meiwes (who was later called the Cannibal of Rotenburg). Brandes had answered an internet advertisement by Meiwes looking for someone for this purpose. Brandes explicitly stated in his will that he wished to be killed and eaten.

Sharon Lopatka

In 1996, Sharon Lopatka, an Internet entrepreneur from Maryland, allegedly solicited a man via the Internet to torture and kill her for the purpose of sexual gratification. Her killer, Robert Fredrick Glass, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for the homicide

Franco Brun

In 1987, Franco Brun, a 22-year-old prisoner at Toronto East Detention Center, in Toronto, Ontario, choked to death after attempting to swallow a Gideon’s Bible.

Jimmy Lee Gray

In 1983, Jimmy Lee Gray, a man executed in Mississippi's gas chamber, died bashing his head against a metal pole behind the chair he was strapped into. The poisonous gas had failed to kill him but left him in agony and gasping for eight minutes

William Kogut

In 1930, William Kogut, an inmate on death row at San Quentin, committed suicide with a pipe bomb created from several packs of playing cards and the hollow leg from his cot. At the time, the red ink in playing cards contained flammable nitrocellulose, which when wet can create an explosive mixture. Kogut used the heater in his cell to activate the bomb.

See also

• The 12 Most Absurd and Weirdest Acts of World Leaders and Their Obscure Deaths
• The Weirdest and Most Unusual Deaths of Great Kings and Leaders
• The Most Peculiar and Unusual Ways on How People Were Killed by Machines
• The 13 Most Horrifying and Ridiculous Deaths Ever
• 12 Absurd and Strange Ways To Die
• The Most Excruciating, Brutal and Cruel Punishments in History
• 10 Weirdest and Bizarre Causes of Deaths
• 15 Most Notable Crucifixions in History
• Remarkable Live Telecast Deaths
• World’s Most Famous and Notorious Suicide Places
• World’s Deadliest Waterfalls

The Most Brutal and Bizarre Suicides in History

Here are some unbelievable and unimaginable ways to end one’s own life.

Gerald Mellin

In 2008, Gerald Mellin, a U.K. businessman, committed suicide by tying one end of a rope around his neck and the other to a tree. He then got into his car and drove down a main road in Swansea until the rope decapitated him

Kevin Neil Whitrick

In 2007, Kevin Whitrick, a 42-year-old British electrical engineer, committed suicide by hanging himself live on a webcam during an Internet chat session

Australian Man

In 1995, a 39-year-old man committed suicide in Canberra, Australia by shooting himself with a pump action shotgun 3 times. The first shot passed through his chest and went out the other side. He reloaded and shot away his throat and part of his jaw. Breathing through the wound in his throat, he again reloaded, held the gun against his chest with his hands and operated the trigger with his toes. This shot entered the thoracic cavity and demolished the heart, killing him.

Brian Douglas Wells

In 2003, Brian Douglas Wells, an American pizza delivery man in Erie, Pennsylvania, was killed by a time bomb that had been fastened around his neck. He was apprehended by the police after robbing a bank, and claimed he had been forced to do it by three people who had put the bomb around his neck and would kill him if he refused. The bomb later exploded, killing him

Richard Sumner

In 2002, Richard Sumner, a British artist suffering from schizophrenia, went into a remote section of Clocaenog Forest in Denbighshire, Wales, handcuffed himself to a tree and threw the keys out of his reach. His skeleton was discovered three years later

Bernd-Jurgen Brandes

In 2001, Bernd-Jurgen Brandes, from Germany, was voluntarily stabbed repeatedly and then partly eaten by Armin Meiwes (who was later called the Cannibal of Rotenburg). Brandes had answered an internet advertisement by Meiwes looking for someone for this purpose. Brandes explicitly stated in his will that he wished to be killed and eaten.

Sharon Lopatka

In 1996, Sharon Lopatka, an Internet entrepreneur from Maryland, allegedly solicited a man via the Internet to torture and kill her for the purpose of sexual gratification. Her killer, Robert Fredrick Glass, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for the homicide

Franco Brun

In 1987, Franco Brun, a 22-year-old prisoner at Toronto East Detention Center, in Toronto, Ontario, choked to death after attempting to swallow a Gideon’s Bible.

Jimmy Lee Gray

In 1983, Jimmy Lee Gray, a man executed in Mississippi's gas chamber, died bashing his head against a metal pole behind the chair he was strapped into. The poisonous gas had failed to kill him but left him in agony and gasping for eight minutes

William Kogut

In 1930, William Kogut, an inmate on death row at San Quentin, committed suicide with a pipe bomb created from several packs of playing cards and the hollow leg from his cot. At the time, the red ink in playing cards contained flammable nitrocellulose, which when wet can create an explosive mixture. Kogut used the heater in his cell to activate the bomb.

See also

• The 12 Most Absurd and Weirdest Acts of World Leaders and Their Obscure Deaths
• The Weirdest and Most Unusual Deaths of Great Kings and Leaders
• The Most Peculiar and Unusual Ways on How People Were Killed by Machines
• The 13 Most Horrifying and Ridiculous Deaths Ever
• 12 Absurd and Strange Ways To Die
• The Most Excruciating, Brutal and Cruel Punishments in History
• 10 Weirdest and Bizarre Causes of Deaths
• 15 Most Notable Crucifixions in History
• Remarkable Live Telecast Deaths
• World’s Most Famous and Notorious Suicide Places
• World’s Deadliest Waterfalls

The Weirdest and Most Unusual Death of Great Kings and Leaders

If you are given the chance to choose which way you should die, which one will you choose- death by a shot to the head or a shot to the heart?

This article provides a list of unusual deaths – unique, or extremely rare circumstances recorded throughout history. The list also includes less rare, but still unusual, deaths of prominent people.

William Wallace

Image Source 

Sir William Wallace (1272 or 1273 – 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scittish Independence. In 1297, he defeated an English Army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge and was dubbed the Guardian of Scotland. He was defeated by the English Army at the Battle of Falkirk. In 1305, he was captured and was handed to Edward I of England and he was ordered to be hanged, drawn and quartered. He was fastened to a wooden hurdle and drawn by horse to the place of execution, where he was hanged (almost to the point of death), emasculated, disemboweled, beheaded and quartered (chopped into four pieces). His remains were displayed in prominent places across the country.

Marcus Licinius Crassus

Image Source

In 53 BCE, Marcus Licinius Crassus, a Roman general and consul, was reported to have been put to death, by the Parthians after losing the battle of Carrhae, by being forced to drink a goblet of molten gold, symbolic of his great wealth.

King Pyrrhus of Epirus

Image Source 

In 272 BCE, Pyrrhus of Epirus, conqueror and the source of the term “pyrrhic victory”, died while fighting an urban battle in Argos when an old woman threw a roof tile at him, stunning him and allowing an Argive soldier to kill him. He was a cousin of Alexander the Great.

Edward II of England

Image Source 

In 1327 CE, Edward II of England, after being deposed and imprisoned by his Queen consort Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer, was rumored to have been murdered by having a red-hot iron inserted into his anus. That’s such an absurd way to die.

King Martin of Aragon

Image Source 

King Martin of Aragon (1336 – 1410) died of unusual way. He died from a combination of indigestion and uncontrollable laughter in 1410 CE. He was called the Elder, the Humane and the Ecclesiastic.

Bela I of Hungary

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In 1063 CE, Bela I of Hungary, called the Champion or the Bison, died when his throne's canopy collapsed upon him. He was king from 1060 until his death.

George Plantagenet

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In 1478 CE, George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, was executed by drowning in a barrel of Malmsey wine at his own request. What an obscure way to die.

Gyorgy Dozsa

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In 1514 CE, Gyorgy Dozsa, Szekely man-at-arms and peasants' revolt leader in Hungary met his death at the most unusual and peculiar way. He was condemned to sit on a red-hot iron throne with a red-hot iron crown on his head and a red-hot scepter in his hand (mocking at his ambition to be king), by Hungarian landed nobility in Transylvania. While Dózsa was still alive, he was set upon and his partially roasted body was eaten by six of his fellow rebels, who had been starved for a week beforehand.

Adolf Frederick

Image Source

Don’t eat too much, it kills. In 1771 CE, Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden, died of digestion problems on February 12, 1771 after having consumed a meal of lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, smoked herring and champagne, topped off with 14 servings of his favorite dessert: semla served in a bowl of hot milk. He is thus remembered by Swedish schoolchildren as "the king who ate himself to death

Sigurd the Mighty

Sigurd Eysteinsson (aka Sigurd the Mighty, ruled circa 875–892) was the second Viking Earl of Orkney. He was a leader in the Viking conquest of Northern Scotland. Bizarrely, he was killed by the severed head of one his enemies, Mael Brigte. Sigurd strapped Máel Brigte's head to his saddle as a trophy of conquest, and as he rode, Máel Brigte's teeth grazed against Sigurd's leg. The wound became infected and Sigurd died in 892 CE.

See also

• The 12 Most Absurd and Weirdest Acts ofWorld Leaders and Their Obscure Deaths
• The Most Peculiar and Unusual Ways on How People Were Killed by Machines
• The 13 Most Horrifying and Ridiculous Deaths Ever
• 12 Absurd and Strange Ways To Die
• The Most Excruciating, Brutal and Cruel Punishments in History
• 10 Weirdest and Bizarre Causes of Deaths
• 15 Most Notable Crucifixions in History

The Weirdest and Most Unusual Death of Great Kings and Leaders

If you are given the chance to choose which way you should die, which one will you choose- death by a shot to the head or a shot to the heart?

This article provides a list of unusual deaths – unique, or extremely rare circumstances recorded throughout history. The list also includes less rare, but still unusual, deaths of prominent people.

William Wallace

Image Source 

Sir William Wallace (1272 or 1273 – 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scittish Independence. In 1297, he defeated an English Army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge and was dubbed the Guardian of Scotland. He was defeated by the English Army at the Battle of Falkirk. In 1305, he was captured and was handed to Edward I of England and he was ordered to be hanged, drawn and quartered. He was fastened to a wooden hurdle and drawn by horse to the place of execution, where he was hanged (almost to the point of death), emasculated, disemboweled, beheaded and quartered (chopped into four pieces). His remains were displayed in prominent places across the country.

Marcus Licinius Crassus

Image Source

In 53 BCE, Marcus Licinius Crassus, a Roman general and consul, was reported to have been put to death, by the Parthians after losing the battle of Carrhae, by being forced to drink a goblet of molten gold, symbolic of his great wealth.

King Pyrrhus of Epirus

Image Source 

In 272 BCE, Pyrrhus of Epirus, conqueror and the source of the term “pyrrhic victory”, died while fighting an urban battle in Argos when an old woman threw a roof tile at him, stunning him and allowing an Argive soldier to kill him. He was a cousin of Alexander the Great.

Edward II of England

Image Source 

In 1327 CE, Edward II of England, after being deposed and imprisoned by his Queen consort Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer, was rumored to have been murdered by having a red-hot iron inserted into his anus. That’s such an absurd way to die.

King Martin of Aragon

Image Source 

King Martin of Aragon (1336 – 1410) died of unusual way. He died from a combination of indigestion and uncontrollable laughter in 1410 CE. He was called the Elder, the Humane and the Ecclesiastic.

Bela I of Hungary

Image Source 

In 1063 CE, Bela I of Hungary, called the Champion or the Bison, died when his throne's canopy collapsed upon him. He was king from 1060 until his death.

George Plantagenet

Image Source

In 1478 CE, George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, was executed by drowning in a barrel of Malmsey wine at his own request. What an obscure way to die.

Gyorgy Dozsa

Image Source

In 1514 CE, Gyorgy Dozsa, Szekely man-at-arms and peasants' revolt leader in Hungary met his death at the most unusual and peculiar way. He was condemned to sit on a red-hot iron throne with a red-hot iron crown on his head and a red-hot scepter in his hand (mocking at his ambition to be king), by Hungarian landed nobility in Transylvania. While Dózsa was still alive, he was set upon and his partially roasted body was eaten by six of his fellow rebels, who had been starved for a week beforehand.

Adolf Frederick

Image Source

Don’t eat too much, it kills. In 1771 CE, Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden, died of digestion problems on February 12, 1771 after having consumed a meal of lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, smoked herring and champagne, topped off with 14 servings of his favorite dessert: semla served in a bowl of hot milk. He is thus remembered by Swedish schoolchildren as "the king who ate himself to death

Sigurd the Mighty

Sigurd Eysteinsson (aka Sigurd the Mighty, ruled circa 875–892) was the second Viking Earl of Orkney. He was a leader in the Viking conquest of Northern Scotland. Bizarrely, he was killed by the severed head of one his enemies, Mael Brigte. Sigurd strapped Máel Brigte's head to his saddle as a trophy of conquest, and as he rode, Máel Brigte's teeth grazed against Sigurd's leg. The wound became infected and Sigurd died in 892 CE.

See also

• The 12 Most Absurd and Weirdest Acts ofWorld Leaders and Their Obscure Deaths
• The Most Peculiar and Unusual Ways on How People Were Killed by Machines
• The 13 Most Horrifying and Ridiculous Deaths Ever
• 12 Absurd and Strange Ways To Die
• The Most Excruciating, Brutal and Cruel Punishments in History
• 10 Weirdest and Bizarre Causes of Deaths
• 15 Most Notable Crucifixions in History

The Most Torturous and Most Peculiar Deaths Ever

Throughout history, humans have displayed their savagery, evidence than we are indeed animals. We have witness the unimaginable and cruelest forms of punishments. Here’s a list of popular personalities in history who suffered the most painful and most inhuman punishments.

1.) William Wallace – hanged, drawn and Cut into Pieces

Image Source

If you have seen the film Brave Heart, you’ll probably remember Sir William Wallace. The leading star on the said film is Mel Gibson. Wallace, born in 1272 or 1273, was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the War of Scottish Independence.

Image Source

He, along with Andrew Moray, defeated the English Army at the Battle of Sterling Bridge in 1297 and many other battles and was called the “Guardian of Scotland. He was finally defeated at the Battle of Falkirk. In 1305, he was captured and handed over to King Edward I of England. He was hanged, drawn and quartered for treason in August 23, 1305. He was fastened to a wooden hurdle and drawn by horse to the place of execution, where he was hanged and quartered (chopped into four pieces).

2.) Gyorgy Dozsa – Roasted Alive

Image Source

Gyorgy Dozsa who lived about the 15^th was a man-at-arms and peasants’ revolt leader in Hungary. Because his revolt was unsuccessful (he could have been a hero if the revolt succeeded), he was condemned to sit on a red-hot iron throne with a red-hot iron crown on his head and a red-hot scepter in his hand (mocking at his ambition to be king), by Hungarian landowners in Transylvania on July 20, 1514. To make things crueler, while he was still alive, he was set upon and his partially roasted body was eaten by six of his fellow rebels, who had been starved for a week beforehand.

3.) Hypatia of Alexandria – Skinned Alive

Image Source

Isn’t it madness to murder a woman as beautiful as Hypatia? Hypatia of Alexandria, who was born about 350 CE, was a Greek mathematician and pagan philosopher. She was murdered by a mob that ripped her skin off with sharp sea-shells such as clams, oysters, abalones, etc. Other sources claim tiles or pottery-shards were used. She was considered the first notable woman in mathematics, who also taught astronomy and philosophy. She was accused of causing religious turmoil.

4.) Saint Antipas – Burn Alive

Image Source 

Non-Christians during the early days were so cruel. Saint Antipas, Bishop of Pergamum, was roasted to death in a brazen bull during the persecutions of Emperor Domitian in 92 C.E.   Some Catholics pray to this saint for ailments of the teeth.

Image Source 

The brazen bull, bronze bull, or the Sicilian bull was a torture and execution device designed in ancient Greece. It’s a new means of executing criminals during that time. The bull was made entirely of bronze, hollow, with a door in one side. The condemned were shut inside and a fire was set underneath, heating the metal and roasting the person inside to death.

5.) Herod the Great – Died of Bizarre Multiple Unexplained Reasons

Image Source 

Herod the Great was not punished or tortured. He died in 4 BC after suffering from fever, intense rashes, colon pains, foot drop, and inflammation of the abdomen, a putrefaction of his genitals that produced worms, convulsions, and difficulty breathing before he finally expired. Herod I or Herod the Great was born in 73 or 74 B.C.E. This king of Israel was described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many.

6.) Prince Popiel – Eaten by Mice Alive

Image Source

Prince Popiel of the proto-Polish Goplans and Polans encountered death in the most unusual manner. Popiel and his wife were eaten alive by mice in the Kruszwica Tower in the 9^th century. This curse was a consequence of his lack of hospitability or obeying traditions. He was the ruler of the West Slavic and as a consequence of bad rule he was deposed, besieged by his subjects. Prince Popiel was a cruel and corrupt ruler who cared only for wine, women, and song. He was greatly influenced by his wife, a beautiful, but power-hungry German princess. His twelve uncles conspired to depose him. However, at his wife's instigation, he had them all poisoned during a feast (she might have done it herself). Instead of cremating their bodies, as was the custom, he had them cast into Lake Goplo.

7.) Hatto II

Image Source

Hatto II was the Archbishop of Mainz. He was a crooked ruler who oppressed and exploited the peasants in his domain. He used the Mouse Tower as a platform for crossbow men and demanded tribute from passing ships. The crews of those who refused to pay were shot. During a famine in 974 CE, the poor people were without food, and Hatto, having all the grain stored up in his barns, used his monopoly to sell it at such a high price that most could not afford any.

The peasants were getting angry and organizing to rebel, so Hatto devised a cruel trick. He promised to feed the hungry people and told them to go to an empty barn and wait for him to come with food. The peasants were overjoyed and praised Hatto heartily, and all of them journeyed to the barn to await his coming. When he showed up with his servants, he ordered the barn's doors shut and locked, then set the barn on fire and burned the peasants to death, derisively commenting on their death cries with the words "Hear the mice squeak!"

When Hatto retired to his castle, he was instantly besieged by an army of mice. He fled the swarm and took a boat across the river to his tower, hoping that the mice could not swim. The mice followed him and rushed into the river by the thousands. Many of them drowned, but even more crawled onto the island. There, they ate through the tower's doors and crawled up to the top floor, where they found Hatto and ate him alive.

See also 

• The 12 Most Absurd and Weirdest Acts of World Leaders and Their Obscure Deaths


• The Most Peculiar and Unusual Ways on How People Were Killed by Machines


• The 13 Most Horrifying and Ridiculous Deaths Ever


• 12 Absurd and Strange Ways To Die


• The Most Excruciating, Brutal and Cruel Punishments in History


• 10 Weirdest and Bizarre Causes of Deaths 


• 15 Most Notable Crucifixions in History 

The Most Torturous and Most Peculiar Deaths Ever

Throughout history, humans have displayed their savagery, evidence than we are indeed animals. We have witness the unimaginable and cruelest forms of punishments. Here’s a list of popular personalities in history who suffered the most painful and most inhuman punishments.

1.) William Wallace – hanged, drawn and Cut into Pieces

Image Source

If you have seen the film Brave Heart, you’ll probably remember Sir William Wallace. The leading star on the said film is Mel Gibson. Wallace, born in 1272 or 1273, was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the War of Scottish Independence.

Image Source

He, along with Andrew Moray, defeated the English Army at the Battle of Sterling Bridge in 1297 and many other battles and was called the “Guardian of Scotland. He was finally defeated at the Battle of Falkirk. In 1305, he was captured and handed over to King Edward I of England. He was hanged, drawn and quartered for treason in August 23, 1305. He was fastened to a wooden hurdle and drawn by horse to the place of execution, where he was hanged and quartered (chopped into four pieces).

2.) Gyorgy Dozsa – Roasted Alive

Image Source

Gyorgy Dozsa who lived about the 15^th was a man-at-arms and peasants’ revolt leader in Hungary. Because his revolt was unsuccessful (he could have been a hero if the revolt succeeded), he was condemned to sit on a red-hot iron throne with a red-hot iron crown on his head and a red-hot scepter in his hand (mocking at his ambition to be king), by Hungarian landowners in Transylvania on July 20, 1514. To make things crueler, while he was still alive, he was set upon and his partially roasted body was eaten by six of his fellow rebels, who had been starved for a week beforehand.

3.) Hypatia of Alexandria – Skinned Alive

Image Source

Isn’t it madness to murder a woman as beautiful as Hypatia? Hypatia of Alexandria, who was born about 350 CE, was a Greek mathematician and pagan philosopher. She was murdered by a mob that ripped her skin off with sharp sea-shells such as clams, oysters, abalones, etc. Other sources claim tiles or pottery-shards were used. She was considered the first notable woman in mathematics, who also taught astronomy and philosophy. She was accused of causing religious turmoil.

4.) Saint Antipas – Burn Alive

Image Source 

Non-Christians during the early days were so cruel. Saint Antipas, Bishop of Pergamum, was roasted to death in a brazen bull during the persecutions of Emperor Domitian in 92 C.E.   Some Catholics pray to this saint for ailments of the teeth.

Image Source 

The brazen bull, bronze bull, or the Sicilian bull was a torture and execution device designed in ancient Greece. It’s a new means of executing criminals during that time. The bull was made entirely of bronze, hollow, with a door in one side. The condemned were shut inside and a fire was set underneath, heating the metal and roasting the person inside to death.

5.) Herod the Great – Died of Bizarre Multiple Unexplained Reasons

Image Source 

Herod the Great was not punished or tortured. He died in 4 BC after suffering from fever, intense rashes, colon pains, foot drop, and inflammation of the abdomen, a putrefaction of his genitals that produced worms, convulsions, and difficulty breathing before he finally expired. Herod I or Herod the Great was born in 73 or 74 B.C.E. This king of Israel was described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many.

6.) Prince Popiel – Eaten by Mice Alive

Image Source

Prince Popiel of the proto-Polish Goplans and Polans encountered death in the most unusual manner. Popiel and his wife were eaten alive by mice in the Kruszwica Tower in the 9^th century. This curse was a consequence of his lack of hospitability or obeying traditions. He was the ruler of the West Slavic and as a consequence of bad rule he was deposed, besieged by his subjects. Prince Popiel was a cruel and corrupt ruler who cared only for wine, women, and song. He was greatly influenced by his wife, a beautiful, but power-hungry German princess. His twelve uncles conspired to depose him. However, at his wife's instigation, he had them all poisoned during a feast (she might have done it herself). Instead of cremating their bodies, as was the custom, he had them cast into Lake Goplo.

7.) Hatto II

Image Source

Hatto II was the Archbishop of Mainz. He was a crooked ruler who oppressed and exploited the peasants in his domain. He used the Mouse Tower as a platform for crossbow men and demanded tribute from passing ships. The crews of those who refused to pay were shot. During a famine in 974 CE, the poor people were without food, and Hatto, having all the grain stored up in his barns, used his monopoly to sell it at such a high price that most could not afford any.

The peasants were getting angry and organizing to rebel, so Hatto devised a cruel trick. He promised to feed the hungry people and told them to go to an empty barn and wait for him to come with food. The peasants were overjoyed and praised Hatto heartily, and all of them journeyed to the barn to await his coming. When he showed up with his servants, he ordered the barn's doors shut and locked, then set the barn on fire and burned the peasants to death, derisively commenting on their death cries with the words "Hear the mice squeak!"

When Hatto retired to his castle, he was instantly besieged by an army of mice. He fled the swarm and took a boat across the river to his tower, hoping that the mice could not swim. The mice followed him and rushed into the river by the thousands. Many of them drowned, but even more crawled onto the island. There, they ate through the tower's doors and crawled up to the top floor, where they found Hatto and ate him alive.

See also 

• The 12 Most Absurd and Weirdest Acts of World Leaders and Their Obscure Deaths


• The Most Peculiar and Unusual Ways on How People Were Killed by Machines


• The 13 Most Horrifying and Ridiculous Deaths Ever


• 12 Absurd and Strange Ways To Die


• The Most Excruciating, Brutal and Cruel Punishments in History


• 10 Weirdest and Bizarre Causes of Deaths 


• 15 Most Notable Crucifixions in History 

Famous People Who Died of Eating and Drinking

Is it a shame to die because of eating and drinking? Scroll down and find out who were the popular people in history who died of drinking and eating.

1.) Tycho Brahe

Image Source

Some etiquette kills!

Tycho Brahe is one of the most famous astronomer and alchemist during his time. But because of etiquette, he died at the age of 55 on October 24, 1601 due to complications resulting from a strained bladder at a banquet. Considered extremely bad etiquette to leave the table before the meal was finished, he stayed until he became fatally ill. He suddenly contracted a bladder or kidney ailment after attending a banquet in Prague, and died eleven days later.

2.) Adolf Frederick

Image Source

Gluttony kills!

Adolf Frederick was king of Sweden from 1751 until his death in 1771. He died at the age of 60 on February 12, 1771 of digestion problems. What are the foods he ate? Well, he consumed a meal of caviar, lobster, sauerkraut, smoked herring and champagne. He topped it off with 14 servings of semla, his favorite dessert. Today, he is well remembered by Swedish schoolchildren as “the king who ate himself to death”.

3.) Julien Offray de La Mettrie

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Overeating is dangerously deadly!

Julien Offray de La Mettrie is a popular materialist and sensual philosopher during his time. He is the author of L'Homme machine or Machine Man. Like King Adolf Frederick of Sweden, he also died of overeating at a feast given in his honor on November 11, 1751 at the age of 41.

4.) Marcus Licinius Crassus

Image Source

Greediness will kill you!

How does gold tastes? Marcus Licinius Crassus is known in the Roman Empire as a wealthy man. This Roman general and consul was reported to have been put to death in 53 BCE by the Parthian General Surena after losing the battle of Carrhae. Crassus was forced to drink a goblet of molten gold, symbolic of his great wealth.

5.) Lucius Fabius Cilo

Watch out with the milk you drink!

This is ridiculously absurd. In 212, Lucius Fabius Cilo, a Roman senator of the 2nd century, died of choking by a single hair in a draught of milk.

6.) Len Koenecke

Too much drink will kill you!

It has been proven time and again that too much drink will kill you. In 1935, Baseball player Leonard George “Len” Koenecke died at the age of 34 due to excessive alcoholic drinking. While on a plane he drank a quart of whiskey and became very drunk. He then harassed other passengers and hit a stewardess. He was removed unconscious from the flight in Detroit and after sleeping on a chair in the airport he chartered a flight to Buffalo. While flying over Canada he had a disagreement with the pilot and a passenger and attempted to take control of the aircraft. In order to avoid a crash he was hit over the head by both the pilot and the other passenger with a fire extinguisher.

7.) Basil Brown

Carrots are healthy but they can be deadly!

In 1974, Basil Brown, a 48-year-old health food advocate from Croydon, drank himself to death with carrot juice. Anything that is too much will kill you.

8.) Maximo Rene Menendez

Be careful of soft drinks especially if it’s from Colombia!

Twenty years ago, Maximo Rene Menendez, a 25-year-old man from Miami, Florida, USA, fell into a coma after drinking “Pony Malta de Bavaria”, a Colombian soft drink. The bottle had been laced with cocaine in an apparent smuggling scheme. Menendez was declared brain dead and died after doctors disconnected his life-support equipment in 1991.

See also 

• 10 Weirdest and Bizarre Causes of Deaths
• 12 Absurd and Strange Ways To Die 
• The 13 Most Horrifying and Ridiculous Deaths Ever