History Main / MurderByCremation

* Suicide by cremation happens in ''Film/{{Gattaca}}''.

** In "The Devil's Work", the killer disposes of their their third [[VictimOfTheWeek victim]] by locking them in a ceramics kiln and cranking the temperature to the max. Fleur helpfully comments as she is sifting the ashes for human remains that the kiln reaches the same temperature as a crematorium furnace.

* The killer attempts to dispose of one victim this way in the ''Series/MidsomerMurders'' episode "Secrets and Spies".

* Early in Part 1 of ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'', Dio [[DisproportionateRetribution responds]] to Johnathan beating him in a fight by tricking a butler into throwing Johnathan's dog into the trash incinerator.

* In ''Franchise/StarWars: [[Literature/XWingSeries Solo Command]]'', the Wraiths are nearly killed this way by Dr. Gast. A room in the complex the were infiltrating was given a giant TrapDoor for a floor and filled with fake furnishings, and when they entered it they were all dropped into the giant incinerator below, which then activated. Fortunately, they were able to trick the stormtrooper sent to relieve them of their explosives, so they were able to blast their way out in time to survive.
* A supernaturally-strong killer in ''Wolf In The Fold'' cuts out the middleman of a coffin or a full crematorium, and simply shoves a living victim's face into the fireplace until he's dead. While this doesn't destroy the whole body, it burns the corpse's face beyond recognition, [[spoiler: which allows the illusion-casting killer to impersonate the dead man]].

* In ancient Greece, the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazen_bull Brazen Bull]] (invented in the 6th century BCE) was said to be a particularly horrible variation. Amounting to a large metal oven, as much a torture device as an execution method, those trapped inside were left to roast while the brass interior heated to lethal temperatures. Phalaris, the tyrant who commissioned it, reportedly tested it on its inventor, almost killing him before he was removed (and then executing him in a different manner). Phalaris himself was said to be executed in the bull when he was overthrown.

* Burning at the stake was one possible method of execution from the Middle Ages to around 17th century in Europe. The most famous offense to earn such treatment was of course [[BurnTheWitch witchcraft]] (though only ''after'' the Middle Ages), but heresy and even adultery were also viable options. As with most fire-related fatalities, death was usually caused by smoke inhalation rather than by lethal harm from burns, especially when many people were burned at once. Depending on the circumstances the victim could also be surreptitiously strangled just before the act, but genuine live immolations were far from unheard of. Some victims -- if they or their families could afford it -- actually had explosives strapped to them, which would detonate when exposed to the fire and grant them a quicker and less painful sendoff.

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazen_bull Brazen Bull]] was said to be a particularly horrible variation. Amounting to a large metal oven, as much a torture device as an execution method, those trapped inside were left to roast while the brass interior heated to lethal temperatures. The ruler it was presented to was said to be [[EveryoneHasStandards so horrified by the thing that he ordered its inventor to be its first victim]].

* Viktor Suvorov claims that when he was recruited into the GRU, he was shown a film of [[ResignationsNotAccepted this being done to a traitor]]. This is often presumed to be GRU Colonel Oleg Penkovsky, who was discovered passing secrets to the CIA, but Suvorov doesn't specify.
* [[UsefulNotes/RasputinTheMadMonk Rasputin]] died immediately from a gunshot to the head. However, the man who killed him embellished the tale for dramatic effect - Rasputin supposedly being [[RasputinianDeath poisoned, bludgeoned, shot, drowning, and finally hypothermia before kicking the bucket.]] Urban legend has it that he survived even this, saying that he sat up during his cremation; if it occured, this could be attributed to the heat tightening the ligaments in his legs. In truth, even if Rasputin had survived the headshot he would have died after being interred in the traditional Orthodox manner in December 1916, prior to his corpse's cremation in March 1917.
* This was said to be [[DefiedTrope completely unacceptable]] for the personnel of UsefulNotes/NaziGermany's [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust Concentration Camps Directorate]]. They felt that to retain their moral superiority Germans had to be respectable, civilised, and humane in their conduct of genocide. To kill any living creature in this way would be to stoop to exactly the kind of wanton cruelty and barbarism that they were trying to eradicate from the world by destroying the Judeo-Asiatic races (for starters). At Concentration Camp Directorate facilities, ''Sonderkommando'' were tasked with reporting miraculous survivors of shootings (Majdanek, etc 1942), Carbon Monoxide Suffocation Vans (Riga, Chelmno, and Treblinka 1942), and Nerve Gas Chambers (Belzec 1942, Auschwitz-II 1943-5) to nearby ''Trawniki'' (Soviet Volunteer under CCD command) or CCD Security personnel. These were expected to fix the problem with small-arms fire. Supposedly, it is claimed that during the ''Sonderkommando'' escape attempt at the Auschwitz-I subcamp in 1944 one of the guards (whether ''Trawniki'' or German is unclear) was killed this way.

* This happened to [[LaResistance Resistance]] member Andrée Borrel. When captured by German command, Borrel, along with several others, were given a supposedly lethal dose of poison before being slated for cremation. [[http://windowstoworldhistory.weebly.com/soe-agent-andree-borrel-lived-several-lifetimes-in-her-24-years.html Borrel was said]] to have regained consciousness while being shuttled to the crematorium, attacking her executioner enough to scar his face before being thrown into the flames still alive.
* This accidentally almost happened to an old woman in China who sat up straight while on the conveyor belt. A worker noticed and the line was stopped.