Dying from Fright: Women and the Weak Minded? February 14, 2016
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback
A lazy morning and so Beach inspired by his recent post of a girl who died of fear decided to look a little deeper. How many people really die because they are frightened? To carry out a half decent experiment he surveyed the British press from January 1850 to December 1859. He ignored probable urban legends (no names, sound like jokes – there were only two); and he concentrated on contemporary news stories (ignoring tales from the past). The result was this list of 32 (all but three from the United Kingdom). Leaving aside the medical theory of ‘dying of or from fright’: what causes these kinds of death in the minds of nineteenth-century writers? Well, there are not many common elements: crime features quite a lot. However, it is striking that of our 32 there were four men, twenty-one women and five children. Even those four men included: a ‘degenerate’, a foreigner (‘they don’t count’) and an old man. Fear clearly was not supposed to effect sturdy Anglo-Saxon yeomen. There is one reference, though, to the weak-minded dying of fear: it gives some idea of the way this ‘condition’ was viewed.
Any other thoughts on death by fear: drbeachcombing AT yahoo DOT com
Who: Mother and Newborn
Cause: Mother fear of rats, baby fear of mother’s death
Place: Alderney (Channel Islands)
Date: 26 Jan 1850 (Bells)
Who: ‘Two people’
Cause: Earthquake
Place: Smyrna (Russia)
Date: 2 May 1850, (Stirl Obs)
Who: Woman, 53 (Sarah Snelling)
Cause: Robbers (in doctor’s opinion)
Place: Clapham (UK, Lancs)
Date: 7 May 1850 (Morn Chron)
Who: Mrs Corcoran
Cause: Losing her house in a fire (and a subsequent fire in the house where she was staying)
Place: Fethard, (Tipperary, Ireland)
Date: 15 Feb 1851
Who: Wife of a working man
Cause: Walking into a cart on the street
Place: Salford (Manchester, UK)
Date: 10 May 1851 (Staf Adv)
Who: Man
Cause: discovered trying to palm off a fake coin
Place: Bridewell
Date: 20 Sep 1851 (Prest Chron)
Who: John Bellis
Cause: Falling 80 Yards [!?!]
Place: Holywell, Wales (?)
Date: 30 October 1851 (Fif Her)
Who: Mrs Collins
Cause: Robbers in house
Place: Near Bath
Date: 6 August 1852 (Chel Chron)
Who: ‘a person’ (editor heard a rumour)
Cause: Thunder Storm
Place: Awre (Glos)
Date: 21 Aug 1852 (Glos Chron)
Who: a baby of six months
Cause: Little girl screaming
Place: Worksop
Date: 25 Dec 1852 (Derb Cour)
Who: A woman
Cause: Being put to sleep by a doctor with chloroform
Place: London
Date: 20 May 1854 (Exam)
Who: King of Spain’s brother
Cause: News of attack on palace
Place: Madrid
Date: 27 July 1854 (Falk Her)
Who: Wife
Cause: Husband gambled with an officer of the law
Place: Ireland
Date: 26 August 1854 (Gloc Chron)
Who: Woman
Cause: Heard her child scream ‘nearly run over by a cart’
Place: London
Date: 28 August 1854 (Bells)
Who: Old Woman
Cause: Massive Explosion
Place: Kentucky (US)
Date: 28 August 1854 (Mor Post)
Who: Woman
Cause: Stones thrown through her window
Place: Tipperary
Date: 14 March 1855 (Tipp F P)
Who: Woman
Cause: A ghost
Place: Sheffield
Date: 16 Mar 1855 (Liv Merc
Who: Shop woman
Cause: Robbery (in a later report because suspected of thieving)
Place: Oldbury (Staffs)
Date: 18 May 1855 (Stam Merc)
Who: Hannah Curtis
Cause: Explosives (fireworks??)
Place: London
Date: 27 August 1855 (Aris’)
Who: Henry Harrison, boy
Cause: Saw blood in a cut on his chest
Place: Fulford (Yorkshire)
Date: 29 Dec 1855 (York Gaz)
Who: a lady
Cause: A runaway horse
Place: Dudley
Date: 4 Oct 1856 (Camb Chron)
Who: Commander’s wife
Cause: While hiding in the mutiny
Place: India
Date: 19 Aug 1857 (Ev Mail)
Who: Grace, 5 years old
Cause: Got lost and wandered through the countryside
Place: Stirlingshire (Scotland)
Date: 29 Apr 1858 (Inv Cou)
Who: Miss Lewthwaite
Cause: Thunderstorm
Place: Leamington
Date: 26 Jun 1858 (Leeds Int)
Who: William Warren, 8
Cause: Threatened by bully on horse
Place: England
Date: 12 Aug 1858 (Birm Dai Pos)
Who: Elizabeth Hillman
Cause: Careless hunter shoots at windows
Place: Somerset
Date: 16 Sep 1858 (Bath Chron)
Who: ‘Lad’, 17
Cause: Finding a girl’s body (who he knew)
Place: South Weald
Date: 9 October 1858 (Her Times)
Who: Woman
Cause: Not given
Place: St Blazey (Cornwall)
Date: 7 January 1859 (Royal Corn Gaz)
Who: A woman
Cause: Floor collapsed and a group dropped a floor
Place: Warren (New England, US)
Date: 29 Jan 1859 (Pre Chron)
Who: Woman
Cause: Fire
Place: Tralee (Ireland)
Date: 9 April 1859 (Wat Chron)
Who: ‘Wife’
Cause: Sinking ship
Place: At Sea
Date: 11 Jun 1859 (Hamp Tel)
Who: Joshua Johnson, 63
Cause: Being knocked down by a bull [!!]
Place: Norfolk
Date: 24 Dec 1859 (Norf News)
Chris from Haunted Ohio Books: Loved the scared to death post! I need to look up the Spanish King’s brother. Rats, fires, and robbers: you could scarcely escape some exposure to those stressors in the 19th century. But why did only a few fall dead?
Here are some from my collection:
I think the gist is contained in that word “scuffling.” I haven’t found a grave or death date for the lady so can’t confirm that this killed her. A SERIOUS JOKE Springfield, Ohio, Nov. 13 Special Telegram. An extraordinary case of fright has just occurred here which may result in the death of Miss Louise Eltingly, a beautiful and accomplished young lady. Miss Eltingly lives at Brighton, ten miles east of here, and has been visiting her sister, Mrs. Sam Wilson, living in the outskirts of the town. Miss Eltingly is of slight build, rather delicate, and has been in mortal terror of darkness. Mr. Wilson came home two nights ago at a rather late hour, and after some conventionalities began scuffling with his sister-in-law. The night was very dark, and, for fun, he pushed her through an open door and locked her outside. She fancied she saw a ghost, which was in reality a swaying grain sack, gave vent to her terror in screams and went into convulsions. She has been critically ill since and her condition is such that little hope of recovery is expected. Mr. Wilson is overcome with grief at his thoughtless action.
Daily Inter Ocean [Chicago, IL] 14 November 1890: p. 8
