‘Frighted to Death by Faries’
To celebrate the publication of 1001 Ridiculous Ways To Die yesterday, below is an unedited draft of the final entry in the book, written by Matt, which is one of my favourites.
HISTORICAL HILARITY
Somehow it is reassuring to realise that ridiculous deaths are not restricted to the present day, as the discovery of an old parish burial register listing deaths from 1656-1663 in the parish of Lamplugh, Cumbria revealed.
Among the causes of death listed in it are such gems as the following: four people were ‘Frighted to death by faries’; another died after he was ‘Led into a horse pond by a will of the wisp’; 11 people died after catching a cold from ‘sleeping at Church’; two were done for by ‘Mrs Lamplugh’s cordial water’; a further two met their end ‘By the Parson’s bull’ and a couple of ‘Vagrant beggars’ were ‘worried’ to death by the Squire’s housedog; one man died after drunken duel ‘fought with frying pan and pitchforks’ while another life was claimed when, a man died in a fight ‘between a 3-footed stool and a brown jug’.
If nothing else, the register reminds us that death and the ridiculous have always been and always will be, a part of life.
HISTORICAL HILARITY
Somehow it is reassuring to realise that ridiculous deaths are not restricted to the present day, as the discovery of an old parish burial register listing deaths from 1656-1663 in the parish of Lamplugh, Cumbria revealed.
Among the causes of death listed in it are such gems as the following: four people were ‘Frighted to death by faries’; another died after he was ‘Led into a horse pond by a will of the wisp’; 11 people died after catching a cold from ‘sleeping at Church’; two were done for by ‘Mrs Lamplugh’s cordial water’; a further two met their end ‘By the Parson’s bull’ and a couple of ‘Vagrant beggars’ were ‘worried’ to death by the Squire’s housedog; one man died after drunken duel ‘fought with frying pan and pitchforks’ while another life was claimed when, a man died in a fight ‘between a 3-footed stool and a brown jug’.
If nothing else, the register reminds us that death and the ridiculous have always been and always will be, a part of life.
Labels: 1001 Ridiculous Ways To Die, Fairies, Matt Adams
posted by David at
11:59 PM
1 Comments:
Congratulations and I would love to read the book! Auguri from Sicily.
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