From the man who fell to his death while trying to prove a skyscraper window was unbreakable to the anti-seat belt activist killed in a car accident, these tragic deaths were anything but expected.
Death is an unfortunate, often tragic, reality of life. Of course, not everyone dies in the same way. Sometimes, they suffer horrific, agonizing deaths. Other times, they die peacefully in their sleep. But among the countless deaths throughout recorded history, there are a few that stand out for how bitterly ironic they were.
For instance, there’s “Grizzly Man” Timothy Treadwell, who dedicated his life to documenting his interactions with grizzly bears to show that they trusted him — and was then mauled to death by the wild animals. There’s also the story of Troy Leon Gregg, who escaped from prison after being sentenced to death only to be murdered the very same night.
From the infamous deaths of historical figures like Edgar Allan Poe to the man who drowned at a party for lifeguards, the deaths featured on this list are ironic in the truest sense of the word.
The Mysterious Death Of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was one of America’s most influential writers. His stories were often dark, macabre, and sprinkled with an eerie sense of dread and mystery. He was known for tales such as “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Masque of the Red Death” — but the circumstances surrounding Poe’s death seemed like something out of one of his own stories.
Wikimedia CommonsEdgar Allan Poe’s life was plagued with tragedy — up until the very moment he died.
Edgar Allan Poe died of unknown causes on Oct. 7, 1849, after he was found delirious on the streets of a city in which he did not live, wearing clothes that weren’t his, and babbling so incoherently that he could not explain how he came to be in the situation.
Poe, whose life was plagued with tragedy, was a known alcoholic. Many have theorized that this disease was what ultimately led to his death. But not all historians are convinced, and to this day, no official explanation has ever been determined.
Poe had left his home in Richmond, Virginia, on Sept. 27, 1849. He was bound for Philadelphia to edit a friend’s poetry collection. But Poe never made it to Philadelphia — and he somehow wound up in Baltimore. When he was next seen six days later, he was lying in a gutter outside a local pub wearing someone else’s heavily-soiled clothing, per Smithsonian Magazine.
For the next four days, Poe was wracked with fever dreams and vivid hallucinations. He frequently called out for a man named “Reynolds,” whose identity has never been discovered.
Although many initially believed that Poe’s drinking led to his demise, a physician who tested Poe’s hair after his death claimed that the author may not have had a sip of alcohol in months. Other experts eventually ruled out other theories, including influenza and rabies.
Perhaps it’s fitting that one of history’s greatest mystery writers died a mysterious death — or perhaps it is bitterly ironic.
