Life in Victorian times was considerably more dangerous than now, if the newspaper reports of the time are anything to go by.
The Victorian era was a quirky one, especially when it came to death. For as obsessed as the Victorians were with vitality and beauty, they were just as fascinated with the art of dying.
Cholera outbreaks ravaged England and Europe throughout the late-19th century; typhoid and yellow fever sunk its claws into parts of America. Child mortality rates were on the rise.
And it certainly didn't help when Queen Victoria entered a perpetual state of mourning upon the unexpected death of her husband Prince Albert. Albert died in 1861—the victim, according to his doctors, of typhoid fever. After his death, Victoria donned her black veil and left it in place until her death in 1901.
With mortality on everyone's lips, it comes as no surprise that the newspapers of the day saw fit to report on the many strange demises that occurred throughout the world. Headlines boasting "A Strange Death" or "Mysterious Ending" littered papers on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean throughout the late 1800s. Some of these reports are particularly noteworthy for the curious circumstances surrounding the demises.
Here are nine of the strangest deaths that can be found in Victorian-era newspapers. May the poor souls rest in peace, despite their odd deaths having been forever immortalized thanks to the digital age.
1. An Accidental Death by Tree-Leap
It's not everyday that someone attempts Tarzan-like tree acrobatics, but that is exactly what occurred on August 13, 1912, according to the Times of London.
A woman named Brooker was one of 205 patients at a hospital for the mentally impaired outside of London when she snuck away from supervision.
At first, no one noticed. It was only after the head attendant and nurses began their ritual head count that they realized Brooker had gone missing.
The staff tore across the hospital grounds searching for her, only to find Brooker up in a tree in the recreational yard. Desperate, they first stretched out a blanket into a safety net to break her fall. Yet Brooker refused to budge. The caretakers then placed a fire escape ladder against the trunk and gestured for her to come down.
Brooker promptly climbed to the top of the tree, glanced down at the gathering crowd below her, and took a leap of faith.
She fell toward the outstretched blanket. Unfortunately, "the force of the impact made the blanket touch the gravel beneath, and the woman's neck was dislocated and the base of her skull was fractured."
Her death was labeled "accidental" and no blame came to the asylum.
2. Staring Down the Barrel of a Gun
In 1881, Widnes, England, played host to an unfortunate string of events.
One October night, a man called Birchall assigned his servant, Hague, a rather simple task. There was a four-chamber revolver in Birchall's home, and Birchall asked Hague to retrieve it. The pistol was to be a gift to a policeman.
Hague immediately set off to fetch the gun. He found it on a table, lifted it to his face for close inspection, and promptly shot himself through the mouth.
While a neighbor rushed to the scene with the police, a servant picked up the gun with the intention of demonstrating what had happened during Hague's self-shooting. Then, in an absurd case of irony, the servant managed to duplicate Hague's fate.
According to the Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette, "the firearm went off and shot her through the mouth. Both are dead."
3. The Choking Hazard
