| 1 | ->''"See, say what you like about us British, we're punctual and clean -- none of this shitting-out-our-internal-organs-in-a-screaming-blubbering-heap for us. No, we just lay down and die, in neat piles.''" |
| 2 | -->-- '''Creator/CharlieBrooker''', commenting on ''Series/{{Survivors}}'' |
| 3 | |
| 4 | People die, for whatever reason. Some die a natural death, some get killed, some kill themselves, but still dead is dead is dead. [[Memes/{{Nasuverse}} People die when they are killed]]. A natural occurrence, after all is said and done, is that someone tries to retrieve the body of the dead person. However, biology does not stop at death. Muscles control the retention of wastes in the bladder and the rectum, and these muscles relax soon after death. If the rectum or bladder happens to be occupied at the moment of death, the result in RealLife is that the people who find the body would wish the dead person [[BringMyBrownPants had worn brown trousers]] (and wish they had brought a gas mask). |
| 5 | |
| 6 | In fiction, much like many unpleasant and unromantic aspects of dying, this is almost always ignored. Therefore, we have a case of No Dead Body Poops, where the death scene is almost always much ''much'' less nasty than it could be in real life. This is not surprising, given most people are not aware that someone dying can be a [[{{Pun}} crapshoot]]. It is also somewhat [[UndignifiedDeath undignified]] -- it really wouldn't do for someone's HeroicSacrifice to [[{{Narm}} end with a fart noise and a bad smell]], would it? |
| 7 | |
| 8 | However, a recent trend in popular fiction (particularly the DarkerAndEdgier variety) of characters {{lampshad|ehanging}}ing this trope has led to the growing belief that the ''opposite'' is true: that everyone poops their pants on death. You die, you poop your pants, that's the way it is. Actually, this trope ''is'' more or less TruthInTelevision. Exact statistics are hard to find (surprisingly, nobody has done a scientific survey), but anecdotal evidence suggests this happens only around 30% of the time. How the victim died is also a factor. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | A SubTrope of NobodyPoops, which is for examples of living people whose biological functions of this type aren't shown. See also UndignifiedDeath. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | !!NOTE: No examples of this trope being played entirely straight are listed below. [[OmnipresentTropes We're not interested in having a huge list of every character dying without soiling themselves.]]\ |
| 13 | \ |
| 14 | WARNING: As a {{Death Trope|s}},, all spoilers will be unmarked ahead. ''Beware!'' |
| 15 | ---- |
| 16 | !!Exceptions: |
| 17 | |
| 18 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 19 | |
| 20 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 21 | * In Creator/YoshiyukiTomino's ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' novels, one character is described as losing control of her bowels while suffering a particularly violent death. Interestingly, she also seems to suffer a psychic version of this effect & begins uncontrollably broadcasting her worst memories into Amuro's mind in her death throes. |
| 22 | * ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' |
| 23 | ** Referenced in the manga when [[PsychoForHire Jin-e]] tries to kill Kaoru by paralyzing her lungs with his illusory stare. He then tells Kenshin about how asphyxiation is an "ugly way to go", mentioning that Kaoru will salivate and lose control of her bladder and bowels, urinating and defecating as she dies. |
| 24 | ** Also, in the Kyoto Arc, the corpses of the parents of Saitou's dead informant Eiichirou Mishima are hanged in Shingetsu Village; Kenshin, Misao, and the Mishima family's youngest son and SoleSurvivor Eiji come across them when they arrive at the place. A mess is seen underneath the two ''on top'' of their corpses being covered in blood, implying that this trope was ''very'' much averted. |
| 25 | * In ''Anime/YomigaeruSoraRescueWings'' an earthquake victim suffers from crush syndrome and is shown becoming incontinent. |
| 26 | * The anime adaptation of ''Literature/KingsGame'' shows the grisly aftermath of Daisuke's hanging. Not only do we see his pale face with his bloated tongue sticking out, but it's shown that he urinated his pants and left a puddle on the floor. |
| 27 | * The characters of ''Anime/QueensBlade'' wet themselves very often, usually in fear or pain, and almost, if not all the girls who are killed urinate when or after they die. |
| 28 | %%Please stop adding the ''Madoka Magica'' example: it's actually a part of the "Chidamari Sketch" video, which is a fan edit. It doesn't happen in the actual show. Not to mention, "Chidamari Sketch" is already mentioned below under Fan Works. |
| 29 | * Averted once in the manga version of ''VideoGame/CorpseParty'' when a character is shown urinating after her apparent suicide. |
| 30 | * Averted in ''Anime/BloodC'', where Kanako's corpse is seen twitching ''and'' urinating after she's murdered via an ImpromptuTracheotomy. |
| 31 | * Referenced and completely misunderstood in ''Anime/SpacePatrolLuluco''. When Luluco dies, Over Justice suggests stuffing tissues up her nose because as far as he knows, humans start leaking on death. |
| 32 | * Guts from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' was said to have been found under the hanged corpse of a woman, implying that she was pregnant with him, and he "fell out" while she was dying and suspended from the rope. |
| 33 | * Averted and discussed in ''Manga/SilverSpoon'': The day before the pigs being used for Ooezo High's meat practicums are sent off to be slaughtered for meat, their food supply is cut off. Fuji-sensei explains that this is done to purge their digestive systems of waste because the slaughterhouses need to be as hygienic as possible. |
| 34 | [[/folder]] |
| 35 | |
| 36 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 37 | * ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'', though it's not shown in-panel. |
| 38 | -->'''Empowered:''' I '''wasn't''' a superhero back then, okay? I was... I was just a '''little girl'''... and watched my '''daddy''' fall on the floor and '''shudder''' and '''groan''' and ____ '''himself''' and then '''die'''. |
| 39 | * On two separate occasions in ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'', a man is hanged, and on both of them, the corpse visibly voids its bowels. On one of them, a man who doesn't know better was [[{{Squick}} standing under the body]]. |
| 40 | * On ''ComicBook/JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac'''s twitter account he acknowledged it at least three times, one time being about how they pissed themselves though. |
| 41 | * In Jacques Tardi's graphic novel ''Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot'', a woman is shot in the chest and a caption mentions "the sound of her bowels emptying" as she falls. |
| 42 | * A variant in the ''ComicBook/{{Druuna}}'' album "Mandragora". During her JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind, Druuna has sex with several men at the behest of a mutant tribe who are then [[OutWithABang killed in the moment of climax]]. This is because of an old myth about hanged men experiencing the most intense orgasms of their lives. |
| 43 | * In one issue of ''ComicBook/{{Scalped}}'', Lincoln Red Crow says that committing murder is not as clean as it appears in movies and TV: "Usually they shit themselves. Sometimes you do too." |
| 44 | [[/folder]] |
| 45 | |
| 46 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 47 | * A rather infamous fan video for ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' crossed over with ''Manga/HidamariSketch'', known as "Chidamari Sketch", shows this happening to Mami/Miyako. Note that this did '''not''' take place in the actual episode... but many confused viewers believe it did. |
| 48 | * Trivia and AKK's Fanfics will mention this. Not so shocking when you consider the fanfic writers themselves. Both have medical backgrounds and are known for their brutally frank exploration of the effects of death... [[{{Pun}} including the obvious]]. |
| 49 | * There's a ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' fanfic where Lara (the chick from the Den) goes up to fight against Lo Pan, hand to hand. When close to defeat, Lo Pan cheats, and he kills her with a shot to the head with his pistol, blowing away half of Lara's face. As Lara dies, her urine and feces both flow out of her spasming body. |
| 50 | * Subtly referenced in the ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' fanfiction ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6613086/1/bDetermined_b Determined]]'' by Sergeant Conley. |
| 51 | --> There lay the still bleeding body of Stan Merdetzky, surrounded by the stink of death and its unpleasant releases. |
| 52 | * ''Fanfic/TiberiumWars'' doesn't shy away from this (WarIsHell being a central theme) with several scenes mentioning the stench of "corpse-shit" from the bodies littering the urban battlefields. |
| 53 | * ''[[Fanfic/PokeWars Downfall of a Champion]]'' mentions the "malodor of fecal matter" when someone is killed by an explosive bubble. |
| 54 | * In the ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'' fic [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9916984/1/One-Shot "One-Shot,"]] where high school girls drive real tanks to fight each other, almost all, and eventually all of the girls are killed in the battles that take place. As the girls die, nearly all of them urinate and many of them defecate, filling the interior of their tanks with not only blood and innards but the girls' urine and feces. When the recovery teams go to retrieve the girls' remains, they recoil at the stench coming from the inside of the tanks. |
| 55 | * In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3426676/7/Rising-Phoenix Rising Phoenix]]'' Marge's bulldog Ripper both shits and pisses when he suddenly kicks the bucket. |
| 56 | * Invoked in ''WebVideo/JojosBizarreAdventureAbridged'', Dio Brando believes dead people will poop, so he states he's going to pull off Jotaro's pants to check if he's really dead from his knife combo. Jotaro, [[FakingTheDead who isn't really dead]], evidently actually does crap himself to fool Dio. That doesn't stop Dio from going to grab a stop-sign to perform a quick decapitation, just to be on the safe side, though [[BigDamnHeroes Polnareff's intervention]] puts a stop to that. |
| 57 | * In the ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' special ''Bardock: The Father of Goku'', this is averted. Bardock is buried in a pile of his dead teammates and exclaims "Oh god, it's true! You really do soil yourself when you die! [[{{Squick}} God, it's everywhere!]] ''[[FromBadToWorse It's in my Dodoria wounds!]]''" And later on, when he's trying to warn all the Saiyans, one of them points out that he still smells of feces. |
| 58 | * In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12511998/1/Wind-Shear Wind Shear]]'' a prejudiced auror implies that the Muggles who were being terrorized by the Knights of Walpurgis Harry just killed aren't anyone of importance. |
| 59 | -->'''Harry:''' Auror Moody, don't you think it would be prudent to make sure that nothing important was lost when the deceased had their bowels release?\ |
| 60 | '''Moody:''' Indeed, and best not to use magic. You never know what might get vanished by accident. |
| 61 | * In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12895634/7/A-Second-Chance-at-Happiness-Maybe A Second Chance at Happiness? Maybe?]]'' Voldemort releases shit, piss, and blood when he dies after Harry and Regulus shoot him with an overdose of large-animal tranquilizers. |
| 62 | * Referenced in the ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' fic “[[http://www.fireflyfans.net/bluesun.aspx?bid=22158 The Execution of Jayne Cobb]]”. The one who brings what’s supposed to be his last meal says they do it early because disposing of his body is easier without “britches full of shit”. Luckily Jayne gets a last minute BigDamnHeroes moment from the TropeNamers and avoids actually dying. |
| 63 | * In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13638300/1/Too-old-to-be-this-young Too old to be this young]]'' Harry and two colleagues end up in a black hallway full of doors to alternate worlds which open only if their counterparts have just died. After opening numerous doors, they finally give up and pick a world to stay in. When Harry arrives in his counterpart's body, he finds himself with a rope around his neck and freshly-soiled underpants. |
| 64 | [[/folder]] |
| 65 | |
| 66 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 67 | * A post-mortem version occurs in ''Film/{{Anazapta}}'' when monks are cleaning a body which keeps passing gas as it decomposes. They put this down to "[[EvilSmellsBad The sounds of the Devil himself]], bleeding his last moments on Earth." |
| 68 | * Steve Martin plays an asshole action movie director in the Kasdan movie ''Film/GrandCanyon''. In an early scene, he berates a flunky for cutting out a scene where a criminal is shot in the head because there was "too much blood splatter." Later, after he himself is shot by a mugger, he lies on the street bleeding, and the camera reveals he'd also urinated on himself. |
| 69 | * The Golgothan Shit Demon from the movie ''Film/{{Dogma}}'' is a demon created from this exact excrement. Golgotha was the place where Christ was crucified; it's made from the build-up of hundreds of crucified criminals. On the other hand, it was where ''Christ'' was crucified too so, while [[StealthPun never stated]], it might quite literally be "Holy Shit". |
| 70 | -->'''Serendipity''': The Romans crucified everyone there. Christ excluded, they were criminals: Killers, brigands, thieves, rapists. Whenever the crucified expired, their bodies lost muscle control, spilling bowel and bladder in the process, the result of which is that walking pile of crap there. |
| 71 | * A related example is from the film ''Film/PointOfNoReturn'', the [[ForeignRemake American Remake]] of ''Film/{{Nikita}}'', where Maggie urinates after being given a lethal injection. |
| 72 | * In ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera'', after finishing disemboweling his latest victim, the victim's waste is emptied onto Nathan Wallace's shoes, as far as we can tell from his expression and the subtle sound effect. |
| 73 | * At the start of ''Film/BlackBeltJones'', a pair of Mafia thugs kill a man, then hide his body in a wine cask. Their boss then orders, "Mark this one down to five dollars a bottle - he shit his pants when he died." |
| 74 | * In ''Film/{{Phantasm}}'', after a man is killed by the silver sphere, a pool of pale urine slowly spreads across the floor from the corpse's legs. |
| 75 | * The Creator/TakashiMiike film ''Film/VisitorQ'' shows the father [[ILoveTheDead having sex]] with the naked corpse of a young female coworker. Halfway through the act, he feels that her genitals have moistened, and muses about corpses still being able to get wet. Shortly after, however, he realizes that it's actually because the woman's body has voided her bowels; the movements have caused her feces and urine to flow out of her dead body. Doesn't bother the man though, as ''he keeps going''. |
| 76 | * In ''Film/TheHumanCentipede'', which is already teeming with BodyHorror, this occurs upon the death of one of the victims. Too bad that victim's anus is sewn to another's mouth. |
| 77 | * ''Film/Se7en''. When Detective Mills reprimands a patrolman for [[HesDeadJim not checking the vital signs]] of the Gluttony victim--an excessively obese man who was force-fed until he burst--the patrolman retorts that he's "sitting in a pile of his own piss and shit". |
| 78 | * Kate Hudson voids her bladder in ''Film/TheKillerInsideMe'' after Casey Affleck beats her to death. |
| 79 | * In the little known New Zealand film ''Film/CarryMeBack'' the lads take their dead father back home-on several occasions the corpse farts prodigiously. |
| 80 | * In ''Film/MonstersBall'', when a condemned criminal is to be electrocuted he is shown with adult diapers. |
| 81 | * A dying character shits himself at least twice in ''Film/{{Cannibal}}''. |
| 82 | * MonsterClown butler Mr. Mascaro comments on this phenomenon while killing a security guard in ''Film/BloodDolls''. |
| 83 | -->'''Mr. Mascaro:''' Two kinds of people I know about, little man - The kind that piss their pants when you kill them, and the kind that don't. Now, which kind do you think you are?\ |
| 84 | [guard dies, Mascaro looks down at the body]\ |
| 85 | '''Mr. Mascaro:''' Pisser. |
| 86 | * In ''Film/TheMasterOfDisguise'', the villain has irritable bowel syndrome and occasionally farts while in the middle of something important. When he is flung into a pool, the protagonists wonder whether he is dead, citing this trope. Sure enough, the villain responds with a massive underwater fart. |
| 87 | * The 1988 Polish film ''Film/AShortFilmAboutKilling'' directed by Creator/KrzysztofKieslowski shows its protagonist Jacek Łazar quickly and efficiently put to death by hanging. The body is shown defecating immediately afterwards. |
| 88 | * In the 1994 thriller ''Film/{{Sensation}}'', police detective Creator/RonPerlman attempts to {{Squick}} out heroine Kari Wuhrer by describing a murder scene and noting that the naked victim emptied her bowels while she was being strangled. |
| 89 | * Averted in ''Film/{{Spy}}'' for comedic effect. |
| 90 | -->"One of these dead fuckers shat his pants!" |
| 91 | * ''Film/TedBundy'': Before his execution on the electric chair, Ted's rectum is stuffed with cotton balls by the guards and he's fitted with an adult diaper so they won't have to clean up a mess afterwards. |
| 92 | * The BlackComedy of the scene in ''Film/SevenBeauties'' where Pasqualino kills Potono is taken up a notch when Pasqualino tries to dispose of Potono's corpse. The corpse farts loudly and repeatedly as Pasqualino wrestles with it. |
| 93 | [[/folder]] |
| 94 | |
| 95 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 96 | * Léopoldine's death is speculatively (but realistically) described in graphic detail by Nina the journalist in Amélie Nothomb's ''Hygiène de l'assassin'' ("The Assassin's Hygiene"). Her incestuous first cousin and Nina's interviewee, Prétextat Tach, however, refuses to acknowledge that and insists on a beautiful fantasy account of how she died. |
| 97 | * In the ''Literature/{{Hurog}}'' duology, a character kills someone who had held her captive, but refrains from stealing his clothes, on the grounds that there was "something other than blood" on them because of his death. |
| 98 | * In Creator/RobertAHeinlein's novel ''Literature/{{Friday}}'', the heroine explains to her friends in graphic detail exactly ''why'' they do not want to drag a dead cop to their secret hiding place (which is accessible only through the hot tub), at least unless they clean up the corpse first. |
| 99 | * In Salman Rushdie's short story ''Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabella of Spain Consummate Their Relationship,'' one of the dirty jobs Isabella gives Columbus is cleaning up the bodies of dead soldiers for burial, and the fact that they're wearing (usually full) diapers under their uniforms is mentioned. |
| 100 | * In Creator/GabrielGarciaMarquez's ''Literature/ChronicleOfADeathForetold'', after Santiago Nasar gets stabbed in the belly, his fiancee's family notices the smell of shit coming from his protruding bowels. |
| 101 | * ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', where Tywin Lannister very obviously defecates after being shot. With a crossbow. On the toilet. And unlike his reputation states, [[BrickJoke he does not, in the end, shit gold]]. |
| 102 | ** In ''Literature/ADanceWithDragons'', Brown Ben alludes to this trope: |
| 103 | --->Silver's sweet and gold's our mother, but once you're dead they're worth less than that last shit you take as you're dying. |
| 104 | ** Later in the book, Grand Maester Pycelle shits himself after he's dealt a fatal head wound. Varys had to open a window because of the stench. |
| 105 | * Creator/TamoraPierce averts this some of the time, particularly with several strangling deaths in the ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'' books. |
| 106 | * Also mentioned in Pierce series ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'', where Kel knows she's fatally wounded a centaur because of the stink that alerts her to damaged (human) intestines. She ends up having to perform a MercyKill because no healer can cure a "belly wound". |
| 107 | * ''Literature/TheGodfather'' includes a scene where one traitor to the Corleones, Carlo Rizzi, is garroted in a car and craps himself. The killer, Clemenza, then rolls down the window to let out the stink. |
| 108 | ** Also the description of the garroting of Luca Brasi. |
| 109 | * In Literature/TheBible's Literature/BookOfJudges, chapter 3, King Eglon is stabbed in the gut by the left-handed Ehud, causing "the dirt" to come out. The fact that "dirt" is excrement is made even clearer when Eglon's personal guard delay going in to check on him because they believe him to be relieving himself- they can smell it. |
| 110 | ** Earlier in Literature/TheBible, there is a FidelityTest for a woman accused of cheating on her husband. After being stripped of her head-covering (and possibly some or all of her other clothing) at the temple, her husband makes an offering of coarse flour, and the priest has her drink bitter "water" that has been cursed. If she has been faithful, the "water" will have no ill effect on her...but if she hasn't, her "belly will swell and her thighs will waste away." The exact meaning of this phrase has been lost to history, but many scholars believe it would cause a uterine or vaginal prolapse, or a miscarriage...or an instant UndignifiedDeath. It's also believed that it would have affected her lover(s) in some way. |
| 111 | * Most of the deaths in the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' series involve people being blown up in space, but one in particular notes this as occurring. An undercover agent, realizing he's been made, judo flips over and snaps the neck of the man who's caught him, and notes in narration the smell of the voided bowels, presumably while his victim is still upside down. |
| 112 | * Creator/DavidWeber also makes reference to this in ''Literature/{{Safehold}}'', when "the stink of voided bowels" follows a character being killed. |
| 113 | * This is referenced in the ''Literature/MissionEarth'' series by Creator/LRonHubbard. It is one of the alien invaders who are attempting to turn the world's population homosexual who uses it to argue that this means the sphincter is central to life. |
| 114 | * In Bryce Courtenay's book ''Literature/TommoAndHawk'' this is used to confirm a character is dead. |
| 115 | * In ''Literature/TheWitcher'' novel, when Ciri's team gets slaughtered by a PsychoForHire, he makes her take a look at the bodies "See, that's how people die. In their own piss." |
| 116 | * {{Justified}} in ''Enderby'', by Anthony Burgess: The title character, about to kill himself, is very careful to empty his bowels first. |
| 117 | * The trope is noted several times in ''Literature/TheActsOfCaine'' books. Within the first few pages of the first book, in fact. |
| 118 | * When Lestat, the main character of ''[[Literature/TheVampireChronicles The Vampire Lestat]]'' of Anne Rice, is transformed into a vampire and has to "die" for this, it is described in great detail how his bowels empty while he isn't able to move and the rats come to eat the excrement. Yeah. This happens to ''all'' vampires when they're turned. Louis at least gets some advance warning (probably because of this very incident), but it's still uncomfortable for him. |
| 119 | * Almost all the female characters in ''Literature/UnderTheDome'' avert this. Particularly notable when Junior kills Angie and Dodee, as both girls urinate and defecate as they die. He later goes on to molest their dead bodies, noting that more fecal matter oozes out of them as he moves their corpses. |
| 120 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': |
| 121 | ** In ''Literature/AHatFullOfSky'': Granny Weatherwax depicts the chores done by a witch on a regular basis, which includes sitting with an old man during his last moments and helping the widow clean the body and change the bedsheets, which is no chore for the faint of heart. |
| 122 | ** In ''Literature/MakingMoney'' Moist von Lipwig has just, [[PetHeir for all intents and purposes]], inherited the Royal Bank after its president passed away. He's trying out the bed in the suite provided, noticing that it feels all warm and squishy, then immediately shoots up and asks ''where'' his predecessor died. He's informed she died at her desk, sitting in her chair (which has since been replaced). |
| 123 | * In one of the VideoGame/{{Hitman}} novels, Agent 47 kills a clone brother, who makes a long "farting" sound as he's strangled to death. Realistic much? |
| 124 | * At the end of ''Literature/TheBuilders'', the Captain empties his weapons into the Toad Lord but assumes he's not dead because his giant body wasn't fully damaged from all the gunshots. It isn't until after he hears a nasty fart that smells as bad as Mephetic's skunk oil that he knows he killed him. |
| 125 | * In Creator/JohnVarley's ''Literature/SteelBeach'' we learn that low gravity + explosive decompression + no space suits/clothing (clothing optional moon colony) + bowel gas = the 'Brown Rocket' effect. |
| 126 | * ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' at one point justifies putting a man out of his misery with a list of what he would have had to endure before dying anyway. The stink of his own guts[[note]]from the abdominal injuries variant[[/note]] is on the list. |
| 127 | * In the ''Literature/LiveshipTraders'' trilogy, Davad Restart returns to his carriage to find a dead pig hanging out of the window and the word "traitor" written on the vehicle in blood. It is also noticed that the pig's bowels had loosened in death and as a result, the coach was smeared with the pig's shit as well. |
| 128 | * ''Literature/EndersShadow'' averts this, as Achilles talks about how Poke urinated and defecated as she died. |
| 129 | * The Literature/GentlemanBastard Sequence features a scene where young Locke and the twins end up buying a corpse from the day's hanging (long story) and Locke is annoyed that he had to be downwind of the corpse because ... well. |
| 130 | * Referenced in a David Sedaris essay. His Greek grandmother came to live with the family when David was a kid, and his father was telling him and his sisters about how the grandmother found her brother dead in the streets, slain by mercenaries. David and his sisters pester the grandmother with questions like "When he died, did he crap his pants?" |
| 131 | * Somewhat averted in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'''s ''Blood of Kerensky'' trilogy, where Dr. Lear at one point goes into some detail on just what treating a soldier with abdominal injuries ''means'' for both the patient and the medics. No, she's not a fan of war at all. |
| 132 | * Averted in the ''Literature/{{Outlander}}'' series, as it is often described that the deceased 'lose their bowels' shortly after death, except in the case of Roger, who lost his bowels when he was NEARLY hung to death. |
| 133 | * Referenced in ''Dead Lines'' by John Skipp and Craig Spector. The antagonist tries to avoid soiling himself following his suicide by fasting and emptying his bowels and bladder as much as he can beforehand because he doesn't want his body to be found covered in effluvia. It is not stated whether the plan worked or not. |
| 134 | * In his ''Literature/IslandInTheSeaOfTime'' and ''Literature/{{Emberverse}}'' series, S. M. Stirling often describes people as "voiding" when they die, and battlefields smelling like sewers. |
| 135 | * In ''Literature/TheBookOfTheNewSun'', Severian, while having the last talk with a prisoner he is putting to death the next day, advises him to eat only a light breakfast to avoid this. |
| 136 | * In Jean Genet's ''Our Lady of the Flowers'', Divine is described as excreting her body's waste matter quite graphically after her miserable death from tuberculosis. The author doesn't shy away from the subjects of various bodily functions ([[{{Squick}} even when one might want him to]]) and it's not a terribly romantic scene. |
| 137 | * In ''[[Literature/TheVampireFiles The Dark Sleep]]'', Escott first realized that his acting-troupe colleagues -- all 12 of them -- had been murdered when he catches the scent of blood, urine, and excrement at the crime scene. He recognizes the significance of this because he'd smelled the same thing during his [=WWI=] military service. |
| 138 | * In Creator/ChrisRyan's novel ''Strike Back'', the Hezbollah mention that the reason they're starving their captive Katie is to give her a "dignified death", mentioning that Katie's body would void her bowels when she died. |
| 139 | * Averted in the Michael Crichton book ''Literature/{{Prey}}'', when in the beginning a person in a hospital is dying next to the bed of a small boy. The curtains are drawn during the dramatic death, but the boy can still smell the bowels being emptied. |
| 140 | * In ''The Dressmaker'', Stuart Pettyman does this after running head-first into a wall and breaking his neck. |
| 141 | * Averted in Literature/TheRiftwarCycle; the stink of the bowels being voided is often mentioned when someone dies. |
| 142 | * Not quite dealing with post-mortem defecation, but corpses in ''Literature/TheThingsTheyCarried'' are mentioned as belching as they are loaded onto carts. |
| 143 | * Averted in Creator/SpiderRobinson's [[Literature/CallahansCrosstimeSaloon Callahan's Legacy]], when a character talks about a knife fight he had when he was younger. He specifically mentions that he knew, intellectually, what was going on, but becomes shocked and physically ill when he gets feces on his hand after stabbing someone in the abdomen. |
| 144 | * Implied aversion in the ''Literature/XeeleeSequence'' story ''Raft''. One character sees "a shape hanging from rope" and "a pool of something brown and thick" beneath it. |
| 145 | * One of the ''Series/{{CSI Miami}}'' tie-in novels averts it; the corpse is found in a car trunk and a 'number 3' is referred to, then it's explained. |
| 146 | * In ''The Afterlife'' by Gary Soto, Chuy is stabbed to death in the bathroom while on a date. When he looks at his body (as a ghost), he thinks that his father will be ashamed of him because he peed himself. |
| 147 | * In ''Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town'', Mimi tells the story of how, when she was a little girl, her aunt and sole caretaker died. Mimi tried to clean up the body before going to get anyone, which is how she found out that her aunt had wings too, just like her. |
| 148 | --> There was a stain forming under Auntie, piss and shit and death-juice, and as I looked at her, I had a firm sense that it wouldn't be ''right'' to bring people up to her apartment with her like this. I'd seen dead people on TV. They were propped up on pillows, in clean hospital nighties, with rouged cheeks. |
| 149 | * There's an aversion played for horror in Donald Goines's novel ''Dopefiend''. When Terry's pregnant friend hangs herself, Terry discovers the body and suffers a FreakOut after accidentally touching the woman's feces that have slipped to the floor. Then the narrative mentions that the fetus's head is protruding from the dead woman's vulva. |
| 150 | * In George Hutton's ''Zapotec'', a thirteen-year-old virgin girl defecates as she is killed on the altar as a live sacrifice. |
| 151 | * In James Thompson's ''Lucifer's Tears'', when the cops discover the dead body of Iisa Filippov lying on a hotel bed, they note that she had voided her bowels in death, and the bed sheets under her thighs are stained with her urine and feces. |
| 152 | * In the novel ''The Other Side of Midnight'' by Sidney Sheldon, Noelle is given an enema before her execution to prevent her from defecating in death when she is killed. However, she still urinates as she is shot dead by the firing squad. |
| 153 | * In Mark Baker's ''Cops'', the protagonist pulls a dying young girl out of a wrecked car from an accident. The girl urinates as she dies, soaking his arms and uniform. |
| 154 | * Referenced and then averted in J.F. Gonzalez's ''Shapeshifters''. Before killing herself, Carol goes to the toilet to pee, as she didn't want whoever cleared her body to "deal with what she shit out of herself". Nevertheless, she still soiled herself as she died; Bernard, who discovered her body, mentions the "stench of Carol's voided bowels" and the dirty mess under her corpse. |
| 155 | * In Michael R. Collings's ''Devil's Plague'', Alix is fatally poisoned and wets herself while convulsing in death. |
| 156 | * In Anthony Genualdi's ''Treason'', Alissa rapes Arianne's dead body and the movements cause the dead girl's urine and feces to ooze out of her. |
| 157 | * Averted in Richard Morgan's ''Literature/AlteredCarbon'', where Louise defecates as she is tortured and killed. Her body is later thrown and locked in a car boot with the protagonist, who comments with disgust at the sight and stench of the young woman's body voiding the last of her bowels. |
| 158 | * Referenced in Jonathan Smith's ''Summer in February'', where Gilbert reads a book on death by cyanide poisoning to learn about how Florence died. The book mentions that her involuntary muscles would relax upon her death, causing her body to void her bladder and bowels, and that "the strong smell of her feces and urine would be evident to one entering the room". |
| 159 | * Averted multiple times in Seishirou Terumi's ''Essence'' by the characters who die in the battles. |
| 160 | * ''[[http://www.peterbeagle.com/works/shorts/two_hearts.htm Two Hearts]]'', a sequel to Literature/TheLastUnicorn by Peter S. Beagle, has a scene towards the end where King Lir is nearly ripped in half by the griffin. The narrator notes that there is "blood, and worse", and when Lir speaks to the others while dying, he too notes the smell and suspects he wet himself. Notably, the griffin did not suffer the same, although its "lion half" is dead. |
| 161 | * Averted in Clint [=McCullough's=] ''Literature/{{Nevada}}'', where Tony Guliano is in a pit, thinking he's being forced to dig his own grave, when Gatori, the man he hired to get Meade Slaughter's son hooked on drugs, is tossed into the pit. Because Guliano is another casino owner and it would look bad if he was killed, Meade lets him live, and lets Guliano climb out: |
| 162 | -->Shaking himself, Meade said in a quieter voice, “Why don't you use Gatori like a ladder and climb out? Maybe you should check his pants first. They may be cleaner than yours.” \ |
| 163 | Tony Giuliano stared dumbly down at the corpse. “Forget it. The guy shit his pants when he died,” Jack said, moving up beside Meade. |
| 164 | * ''Literature/GuardiansOfTheFlame'': Averted. Walter notes that after a battle, the whole area smells, as people will mostly void their bowels at death. |
| 165 | * In ''Winner Takes All'', Literature/JohnRain ambushes a man as he leaves the toilet, and notes it has the added advantage in that he has less of a mess to clean up afterwards when [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident rearranging the scene]]. |
| 166 | * ''Literature/{{Worm}}'': |
| 167 | ** When Marissa's friend Chris dies, Krouse notes that his bowels had released, and even corrects Luke when he assumes that the smell outside was from a broken septic pipe and not all the dead bodies created by the Simurgh. |
| 168 | ** In a fit of boredom, Jack Slash offers a deal to one of his soon-to-be victims: |
| 169 | --->'''Jack Slash:''' ''I'll even let you relieve yourself in the bathroom beforehand so you don't shit yourself so badly when you drop dead. You'd have to be quick unless you want to be on the toilet when she comes in, but it's a chance few get.'' |
| 170 | * RecycledInSpace in ''[[Literature/TheExpanse The Butcher of Anderson Station]]''. |
| 171 | -->Fred’s vacuum-rated armor protected him from the smell of viscera, but it reported it to him as a slight increase in atmospheric methane levels. The stench of death reduced to a data point. |
| 172 | * In the Creator/JohnSandford novel ''Mind Prey'', a woman is strangled "until her bladder relaxed" at the moment of death. |
| 173 | * In the TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 novel ''Flesh and Steel'', a murder victim's trousers are "damp with his last emissons, front and back." |
| 174 | * Averted by ''Literature/TheSpeedOfSound''. In the first book, [[spoiler:Dr. Fenton]] pees himself after he commits suicide. In the second book, Carla's killers wrap her face in a plastic sheet to suffocate her, then put her on top of another sheet so she won't make a mess when she pees herself. |
| 175 | * ''Literature/Resurfacing1972'': After catching their first fish in the book, TheProtagonist sees it hanging out to dry on a tree. She makes note of the dribble of poop coming out of its anus. |
| 176 | [[/folder]] |
| 177 | |
| 178 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 179 | * {{Discussed|Trope}} and PlayedForLaughs in ''Series/BrooklynNineNine''. While faking Adrian Pimento's death, Pimento suggests pouring water on his crotch to make it look more realistic, and then offers to pee his pants for real when Jake refuses. Jake insists on taking the dead body picture from the waist up. |
| 180 | * ''Series/TheLeagueOfGentlemen'' does this with a bunch of people who died when the air supply to their bondage suits was cut off. When the suits are opened... eugh! |
| 181 | * Actually PlayedForLaughs in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', believe it or not. In the episode "[[Recap/SupernaturalS03E11MysterySpot Mystery Spot]]", Sam is stuck in a GroundhogDayLoop where Dean dies (in various, hilarious ways) every day. Sam is aware of the repeating days; Dean is not. Sam tries to explain that in another version of that day, Dean got hit by a car and killed: |
| 182 | -->'''Dean:''' And?\ |
| 183 | '''Sam:''' And what?\ |
| 184 | '''Dean:''' Did it look cool like in the movies?\ |
| 185 | '''Sam:''' You peed yourself.\ |
| 186 | '''Dean:''' ''[defensively]'' Of course I peed myself. Man gets hit by a car, you think he has full control over his bladder? Come on! |
| 187 | * In ''Series/{{Misfits}}'', one of Nathan's first lines after [[ResurrectiveImmortality coming back from the grave]] is "I appear to have shit myself". He later says that he learns how to control this with his subsequent deaths. However, it's played straight by all of the other deaths in the show. No one seems to notice any shit. |
| 188 | * Obliquely referenced in a ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' involving a man who was buried alive, dug his way out, then died. One of the clues that he'd previously been interred is that he's found wearing an adult diaper: a standard precaution in the funeral industry. |
| 189 | * Original ''{{Series/CSI}}'' had an implied one where Warrick complained about the smell at a scene and someone else mentions that what's inside comes out after death. |
| 190 | * One episode of ''Series/TwinPeaks'' had Agent Cooper mention this fact, but never actually depicted it. |
| 191 | * Before his scheduled lethal injection in ''Series/PrisonBreak'', Lincoln is presented with a diaper to put on beforehand for precisely this purpose. |
| 192 | * Happens in ''Series/SixFeetUnder'' when a character is transporting a corpse back to the morgue and has to clean it up later. |
| 193 | * In ''Series/TheSopranos'' episode "[[Recap/TheSopranosS6E1MembersOnly Members Only]]", Eugene urinated immediately after he hung himself in the basement. |
| 194 | * In the ''Series/{{House}}'' episode "97 Seconds", a clinic patient (and later, House himself) poops after deliberately electrocuting himself in order to have a Near Death Experience. |
| 195 | * Mentioned in ''Series/{{Oz}}'', when a Catholic priest in the prison who had begun trying to reform [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Ryan]] [[MagnificentBastard O'Reilly]] and became his cellmate died suddenly in his sleep. Ryan gets to deal with the bowel failure, and in an unusually thoughtful and morose moment afterward, muses on the symbolism of the fact that everyone shits as they die. |
| 196 | * On ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', the presence of urine on a carpet provided the first confirmation of an eyewitness's claim she'd seen a murder through her window. [=McGee=] explains this trope to account for it. |
| 197 | * In an episode of ''Series/{{Action}}'', director [[Creator/RLeeErmey Titus Scroad]] drowns face down in his pool. When Peter and Uncle Lonny go to investigate, Lonny muses on the possibility that he might not be dead, because "people usually shit their pants when they die". Then he sees "the turd in question". |
| 198 | * ''Series/GameOfThrones'' usually averts this, at least in how much it is discussed: |
| 199 | ** King Robert mentions how "they don't put that in the songs" during a conversation with Ser Barristan. Robert himself is nearly disemboweled a few episodes later, and while lying on his deathbed mentions how it "stinks like death". This is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d later in Season 2. |
| 200 | --->'''[[TheEeyore Dolorous Ed]]:''' If the gods wanted us to have dignity, they wouldn't make us fart when we died. |
| 201 | ** The season 4 finale, "The Children", alters one of the most memorable death scenes in the series. In the books, Tywin Lannister empties his bowels when he's shot with a crossbow bolt. The chapter ends with a morbidly funny twist on the joke that Tywin is so rich he shits gold. But the show tidies his death up somewhat and avoids any direct implication he used the privy at his moment of death, probably because [[ToiletHumour a big ol' fart noise]] would have [[{{Narm}} completely destroyed]] the tense, dramatic mood of the scene. |
| 202 | ** And then Season 6 Episode 6 features a play mocking the Lannisters and especially Tywin whose death scene is accompanied by fart noises. |
| 203 | ** In the middle of Season 7, Jaime Lannister asks young noble Dickon Tarly how he feels after his first battle, and Dickon responds that 'the smell' is one of the most vivid things he remembers about wholesale slaughtering his former allies, the Tyrells. Bronn, Jamie's guard, is not noble-born and has been exposed to battle far longer, cheerfully pipes up about how he first experienced the phenomenon - at five years old. |
| 204 | --->'''Bronn''': Men shit themselves when they die. Didn't they teach you that at Fancy Lad School? |
| 205 | * Mentioned in [[Recap/TalesFromTheCryptS1E1TheManWhoWasDeath the pilot episode]] of ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt''. A prison executioner (William Sadler) muses on the impending end of a death-row inmate's life and decides that the man will probably soil himself when he dies in the electric chair. |
| 206 | * Not involving death, but still extremely [[DrinkingGame/TVTropes egregious]]. In one episode of ''Series/TheJob'', [[Creator/DenisLeary Mike]] is suffering a severe PottyEmergency when a criminal body-checks him into the bathroom wall, knocking him on his ass and unconscious. By all reasonable logic, this should have caused him to [[PottyFailure shit his pants]]. |
| 207 | * In the ''Series/{{Columbo}}'' episode "Agenda for Murder" (1990), Patrick [=McGoohan=]'s character refers to the "digestive spasm" that often precedes rigor mortis. |
| 208 | * In ''Series/EleventhHour'', it's determined that a chimpanzee was killed elsewhere and then moved to the location it was found because there's no poop in the vicinity. Human victims still play it straight, though, so apparently while animals may lose control of their functions, humans remained civilized even in death. |
| 209 | * This is averted in an episode of ''Series/{{Salem}}'' when a young midwife is hanged after being accused of witchcraft. When she finally succumbs to the noose, the camera explicitly shows her urinating at the moment of death. |
| 210 | * ''Series/{{Community}}'': Abed relates a story to Jeff about getting to be a background extra on ''Series/CougarTown'', where he immerses himself so thoroughly into the character he'd created internally that when the shot was over, so was his character's life. He metaphorically died, collapsing and evacuating his bowels. Or maybe he made it all up. |
| 211 | * One ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' [[http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/pickup-artist/2985370 sketch]] features Creator/MelissaMcCarthy as Rhonda, a woman who is trying (and failing) to learn how to flirt. She attempts to proposition Kyle Mooney by suggesting they go to an execution and make bets on whether the prisoner "poops himself on the slab". |
| 212 | * On ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', Earl throws a funeral for a young man he'd accidentally kidnapped in an earlier episode, who unfortunately died in a MurphysBed incident before Earl could make it up to him. Since this young man didn't really have any nice clothes, Joy sold Earl the purple tuxedo that Darnell wore when he married her. At the funeral, Darnell is less than pleased to see his beloved purple tux on the deceased and is especially concerned that the deceased might be ''farting'' in it. Earl offers to have it dry-cleaned, but Darnell can't allow it because the purple dye is illegal. |
| 213 | * On one episode of ''Nightwatch'' the family of an elderly African-American man picked up by the paramedics states he lost control of his bowels before they arrived so they assume he's going to die, stating an old belief that a black man does that before dying. When his partner mentions it to him later, one of the paramedics dryly notes that ''everyone'' does that when they die. |
| 214 | * When the killers were about to be hanged for the Clutter family murders in Truman Capote's non-fiction novel ''In Cold Blood'', one of them kept asking to use the bathroom because they wanted to avoid this. They had to be told no matter how much you get out before you die, it will still happen. |
| 215 | * In the first season finale of ''Series/Peacemaker2022'', Peacemaker kills a Butterfly-possessed cop and strips him of his uniform so that [[MuggedForDisguise Economos can wear it to infiltrate the Butterflies' base of operations]]. Before handing the uniform to Economos, he washes it in a nearby creek. |
| 216 | -->'''Peacemaker:''' One of the things us warriors seldom talk about is how often people shit themselves when they die. It's a touch of gray in the white cloud of kicking ass.\ |
| 217 | '''Economos:''' So, now, you want me to risk my life while wearing diarrhea pants?\ |
| 218 | '''Peacemaker:''' Hey, nobody said anything about diarrhea. I said it was shit. |
| 219 | [[/folder]] |
| 220 | |
| 221 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 222 | * Music/{{Eminem}}, known for his VulgarHumor, makes a point on mentioning on the MurderBallad "Stepdad" that the abusive stepfather murdered by a child Slim released two entire litres of piss upon dying. |
| 223 | [[/folder]] |
| 224 | |
| 225 | [[folder:Theater]] |
| 226 | * Referenced (sort of) in ''Theatre/WaitingForGodot'', except it's about the penile sphincter rather than the anal one. |
| 227 | -->'''Vladimir:''' What do we do now?\ |
| 228 | '''Estragon:''' Wait.\ |
| 229 | '''Vladimir:''' Yes, but while waiting.\ |
| 230 | '''Estragon:''' What about hanging ourselves?\ |
| 231 | '''Vladimir:''' Hmm. It'd give us an erection.\ |
| 232 | '''Estragon:''' (highly excited). An erection!\ |
| 233 | '''Vladimir:''' With all that follows. Where it falls mandrakes grow. That's why they shriek when you pull them up. Did you not know that?\ |
| 234 | '''Estragon:''' Let's hang ourselves immediately! |
| 235 | ** Postmortem erections, by the way, are known as "angel lust," and occur when a body dies in an upright position. Gravity causes the person's blood to pool in his lower extremities, which causes the feet and legs to swell along with... the obvious. In some cases they also ejaculate. |
| 236 | * Creator/FrankWedekind (the guy who wrote the original ''Theatre/SpringAwakening'') references this in the play Lulu. After her elderly husband dies and she thinks he is just unconscious, Lulu notes "He's shit himself and doesn't even know!" |
| 237 | * In ''Theatre/TheBookOfMormon'', "Joseph Smith American Moses" plays Joseph Smith's death of dysentery for maximum ToiletHumor. |
| 238 | [[/folder]] |
| 239 | |
| 240 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 241 | * In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', one of the bosses alludes to this as he dies: |
| 242 | --> '''Forgemaster Garfrost yells:''' Garfrost hope giant underpants clean. Save boss great shame. For later. |
| 243 | * In ''[=DikuMUD=]'', one of the possible item drops from killing a monster is "steaming turds of [monster name]". |
| 244 | * In ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'', most enemies (and thankfully, all players) avoid this trope. One boss you fight, however, is the [[VillainousGlutton rather corpulent]] sin lord of gluttony, Ghom. Throughout the battle with him, he farts out noxious fumes which indicate he has serious turmoil going on down there. And when you kill him, well... |
| 245 | * In the online flash game ''VideoGame/DontShitYourPants'', the goal is to... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well..]]. In an interesting nod to realism, killing yourself will lead to a game over as you lose control of your bowels [[spoiler:[[LoopholeAbuse unless you took your pants off first]]]]. |
| 246 | * When investigating a murder victim in ''VideoGame/LANoire'' the coroner will refer to the usual evacuation smell. |
| 247 | * Some of the shown deaths in ''VisualNovel/KaraNoShoujo'', particularly [[spoiler:those of Tsuzuriko and Orihime]], avert this; the urination and defecation of the girls as they die is shown in vivid detail. |
| 248 | * The patient in ''VideoGame/TraumaCenter'' doesn't die, but one of them has a hole in her intestines that is, essentially, leaking shit into her blood and poisoning her to death; you have to remove some of it from the liver and then patch the hole. |
| 249 | * It's mentioned in ''VideoGame/LauraBow and the Dagger of Amon Ra'' that several victims have "additional wet marks", which Laura declines to touch. |
| 250 | * Lampshaded in ''VideoGame/DejaVu1985''. |
| 251 | --> '''Atari ST version text:''' You realize with horror that you will be found dead without a proper change of underwear and socks. [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten You cringe in the worst way till death mercifully takes the unbearable thought away.]] Start again. |
| 252 | * ''VideoGame/TheOregonTrail'': You have died of dysentery. |
| 253 | * In ''{{VideoGame/Lisa}}'', walking under a certain hanged body in the first crossroads results in it ''explosively'' voiding its bowels, causing damage to the party. |
| 254 | * In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', Ron mentions seeing someone "void his bowels." |
| 255 | * Averted in ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami''. Some melee kills result in a beaten, bloody mobster with an urine stain in his pants. |
| 256 | * In the fighting game maker ''VideoGame/{{MUGEN}}'': |
| 257 | ** Some of the female characters which can be ported and used will urinate after they are killed. |
| 258 | ** Original character Dee Bee Kaw makes several fart sounds when KO'd, implying that he crapped himself. |
| 259 | * In ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' killing the infested barbarians in Blighttown will occasionally net you the Dung Pies, and you can inflict toxin by [[DungFu throwing their poop towards your enemies]]. |
| 260 | * In ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'', the giants in Cathedral of the Deep and the Monstrosities of Sins in Profaned Capital will drop dung pies upon death as well. |
| 261 | * ''Videogame/LiberalCrimeSquad:'' The game occasionally describes characters as "gasping a last breath and soiling the floor" when they die. |
| 262 | * In the ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' comics, Spy and a [[FullFrontalAssault naked]] Sniper have this conversation shortly after killing [[spoiler: the ''VideoGame/TeamFortressClassic'' Sniper]]: |
| 263 | -->'''Spy:''' I still don't see why you couldn't have stolen pants off the dead man.\ |
| 264 | '''Sniper:''' Y'do ''know'' what people do in their pants when they die, right?\ |
| 265 | '''Spy:''' Yes. I am aware. [[PleasePutSomeClothesOn It would still be preferable]]. |
| 266 | * ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'' has ??? (Blue Baby), who is a [[UndeadChild dead, cyanotic Isaac]] who starts off with an item that allows him to poop on command. Can't get closer to averting this trope than that. Taken further with ???'s Tainted version, which is seemingly filled with poop, has poop smeared on his mouth, poops sometimes in battle, and can throw poop with various abilities in combat; when he dies, Tainted ??? drops all his held poops behind him, averting the trope even further. |
| 267 | * ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' has a track colorfully named "Bloody Excrement". The title has been interpreted to be a reference to what results from war: lots of bloodshed and feces. |
| 268 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Tyranny}}'', one of the [[TortureTechnician Voices of Nerat]]'s victims, Mattias "Brown Bottom", is noted to have "live[d] up to his name" and "soiled himself horribly during his final moments of life". |
| 269 | * The averted version is exploited in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'': while outgunned, nearly naked, and escaping from a military hospital, Ishmael empties out an IV bag while PlayingPossum to sell his ruse. |
| 270 | * In ''Videogame/RogueLegacy2'', characters with the [[{{Gasshole}} IBS]] Trait will let out a fart upon death. Character with the [[{{Fartillery}} Super IBS]] trait will fart hard enough to propel their corpse out of the screen upon death. |
| 271 | [[/folder]] |
| 272 | |
| 273 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 274 | * ''WebAnimation/DrHavocsDiary'': The Henchmen vacate their bowels when they're killed in Episode 17. Brock is surprised that it actually happens since he never sticks around his victims. |
| 275 | [[/folder]] |
| 276 | |
| 277 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 278 | * In ''Webcomic/AlcatrazHigh'', Harry's decapitated body voids its bowels during class, and since everyone thinks he's still alive due to the Gods altering their memories, he's not looking forward to being resurrected at all. |
| 279 | * ''Webcomic/VGCats'' [[http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=240 example here.]] Leo levels up after eating and needs to learn Poop, but [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} he must forget one of his four moves]] in order to do so. He foolishly forgets Breathe and dies, and then learns and uses Poop upon death. |
| 280 | [[/folder]] |
| 281 | |
| 282 | [[folder:Web Video]] |
| 283 | * ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWallTheMovie'': Linkara and Obscurus Lupa mention that [[spoiler: Allen's]] corpse smells so bad because he emptied his bowels when he died. [[spoiler: When Allen is brought back to life, he admits that he needs a new pair of pants]]. |
| 284 | [[/folder]] |
| 285 | |
| 286 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 287 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'': When [[WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest Race Bannon]] dies, he evacuates his bowels. The boys get {{Squick}}ed out and Brock [[RealityIsUnrealistic points out]] that "They never show that part on TV". |
| 288 | * Averted in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' as a RunningGag in "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes". |
| 289 | ** In another episode, specifically as a CallBack to the above, it was an indication that a major character, Chef, had been KilledOffForReal. Cartman says "The last thing you do before you die is crap your..."- cue poop. Also see, CrossesTheLineTwice. |
| 290 | ** To the point where it's now become a running gag to show a dead body unceremoniously letting out loud fart sounds to purposely ruin the drama going on. |
| 291 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "The Sting" the priest at Fry's funeral grosses out the audience by drawing attention to this having occurred. |
| 292 | * Referred to in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. When Quagmire is playing dead to be rid of a woman, Peter attempts to confirm it by shouting "You know what'll prove it? When people die, they void their bowels. I said, when people die they void their bowels!" Quagmire sells it. [[JerkAss Peter]] then makes fun of him for it. |
| 293 | ** In the season 3 episode, "Death Lives", Death told Peter he soiled himself when lightning struck him. |
| 294 | ** Also, when Peter takes first aid, he runs to assist someone (who's perfectly fine), freaking them out when he insists he has to check if they've soiled themselves. |
| 295 | ** Brian comments that Bertram voided his bowels upon being killed by Stewie. |
| 296 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "Who Would Win", after a character is beaten to a bloody pulp and passes out, he farts. Finn's initial horrified reaction is, "Did you just die?" |
| 297 | * ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'': |
| 298 | ** Semi-{{averted|Trope}} in a sketch about ''Franchise/GIJoe''. After Seal Team 6 shoots Cobra Commander in the head, his body farts for a couple of seconds. |
| 299 | ** This was also touched upon in the episode "Moesha Poppins" during a skit about the current lives of girl toys where it was revealed that Venus de Milo, the fifth female turtle from ''Series/NinjaTurtlesTheNextMutation'', killed herself by drowning herself in the toilet. |
| 300 | -->'''Cop 1:''' Ironically, she crapped herself when she died.\ |
| 301 | '''Cop 2:''' Is that ironic or just funny? |
| 302 | * A strange variation occurs in ''WesternAnimation/MrPickles'' where it happens to the female bounty hunter, but [[{{Squick}} defecating and urinating through her breasts instead.]] Most other corpses don't defecate, but this may be because Mr. Pickles takes no time in [[BodyHorror rearranging]] them into graphic tools or works of art. |
| 303 | * A variant in ''WesternAnimation/TheStreet'', in which a girl, in an obvious effort to gross her younger brother out, talks about how a man will have an orgasm when he's hanged. |
| 304 | * This becomes a plot point in ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' when Ruben's death leads to a concentration of fecal matter that overloads his artificial sphincter and destroys Anatomy Park's evacuation route. |
| 305 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'' episode “Sacred Cow”, when Moolinda the steer dies of a heart attack after narrowly avoiding getting hit by a car, Tina (who is convinced that Moolinda is communicating his emotions with his feces) finds feces in the shape of a heart and Louise says it’s ''not'' one of the fake piles that she planted. |
| 306 | [[/folder]] |
| 307 | |
| 308 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 309 | * As mentioned above, real life is rather more complicated. It really depends on the manner of death, with it often due to the cause of death rather than the death itself. People who die after a long illness are unlikely to do this, as when death approaches many people start refusing food for several days before the end (if they aren't already incapable from medication or their illness). Contrariwise, it happens often with people who die suddenly from allergic reactions (due to the body's instinct to not only spontaneously shit but piss and vomit as well in an attempt to get the poison out). Deaths from seizures or the like that cause loss of muscle control can also regularly lead to this. For people who die violent deaths it's more of a toss-up, but spontaneous shitting can also be the result of terror at whatever killed them (a fear or stress response) rather than something postmortem. |
| 310 | * Some {{Samurai}} would fast before a battle so that "their bodies would not pass dirt upon death" in order to ensure this trope. |
| 311 | * The classic joke where the condemned orders fiber muffins for their last meal. Think about it... |
| 312 | * Not death, but one of the (several) reasons patients scheduled to undergo surgery are often instructed to fast beforehand is if their operation requires the administration of a muscle-relaxant that will affect the anal sphincter. This is also cause to pity obstetricians, since the baby's head emerging from the birth canal compresses the lower intestine, like a tube of toothpaste (squeezed from the bottom, no less.) In fact, a logical sister trope to this one would be [[CleanPrettyChildbirth No Newborn Has Crap On Him At Arrival]]. They're rarely covered, and what with all the blood and mucus as well you can miss it, but sometimes it's hard to miss entirely. |
| 313 | ** More likely reasons are to avoid regurgitation/inhalation of vomit and to have the operating zone reasonably clean in cases of intestinal surgery. |
| 314 | ** In surgery, one of the medications given as standard anesthesia is a paralytic - all of the muscles are paralyzed in a relaxed state. This is why a respirator is required (the paralytic relaxes the diaphragm and the pain medications suppress the respiratory drive) and absorbent padding is placed under the patient's pelvis to collect any urine/feces released. One reason for the paralytic is that it is easier to cut through fully relaxed muscle tissue than muscle tissue that is in its resting (slightly tensed) state. Another major reason is if the patient has a seizure (for whatever reason), then the patient's body will not move in the slightest. |
| 315 | *** If intestinal surgery can be postponed for 24-36 hours, then the patient undergoes the same preparation as for a colonoscopy. The patient, if conscious, will be required to drink a cup from a gallon of clear, colorless laxative (usually in the patient's requested flavor from 5-7 flavor packets that can make the laxative less distasteful) and clear, colorless liquids (water, clear soda) until the gallon is finished, or the patient is passing only clear fluid from the bowels. This is generally in conjunction with antibiotics which kill off most of the normal intestinal bacteria so that the bowels are both clean and relatively sterile before surgery. If emergency intestinal surgery is required, ample suction is used to remove bowel content as quickly as possible, and high doses of strong antibiotics are given during and after surgery to prevent infection inside the abdominal cavity. |
| 316 | ** Though for procedures on the intestines themselves, an enema would usually be administered -- the only way to reliably avert this. In the 20th century, it was quite common practice for hospitals to routinely give an enema to women in labor (as well as always shaving their genitals, for reasons harder to explain). Both have since been rejected by most authorities as unnecessarily invasive things to put the patient through at a time like that. |
| 317 | * Some places in the United States which still have the death sentence put an adult diaper on the condemned. |
| 318 | * When a programmer says that their computer, program, or operating system "shit the bed", they mean that the computer/program/operating system crashed horribly. [[DontExplainTheJoke The phrase comes from this trope]]. |
| 319 | * In a variation, when [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Thompson_and_Frederick_Bywaters Edith Thompson]] was executed in 1923, she suffered a massive vaginal hemorrhage during death, causing rumors to spread that (contrary to the law) she had been hanged while pregnant, though it was very unlikely. (The case was more horrific in that over a million people had requested she be spared the death penalty, an ultimately futile attempt.) In response, the last few women who were condemned to hang in Britain were given knickers made from a similar material to those worn for PE in order to prevent, at the least, evacuation of gender-specific abdominal fluids, and at worst, prolapse (the ejection and turning inside-out-of) of the entire vagina, womb and ovaries. |
| 320 | * Care workers in old peoples' homes are inevitably confronted with the need to wash and lay out a body for decent inspection by the deceased's relatives and/or collection by the undertakers' "private ambulance". This invariably involves cleaning up the terminal bowel movement. |
| 321 | ** Not just in modern care homes. Virtually every funerary tradition known to anthropology includes washing the deceased's body, for this reason (less well known is that undertakers or, before that, midwives, would also plug the orifices of the body to prevent leakage during the mourning rites -- which in some Christian traditions could go on for days). Of course, it's not hard to find a religious significance in a final 'cleansing' before the funeral (consider in the Christian faith, where it [[SymbolicBaptism echoes baptism]], or the significance of washing in the Jewish and Islamic traditions, which have very rich symbolism around hygiene). |
| 322 | * An undertakers' practice in Britain once collected from a mortuary the corpse of a man who had [[OutWithABang succumbed to over-exertion during sex]]. Getting him onto the slab for preparation, they were consternated that the corpse [[RagingStiffie still had an erection]]. This should be impossible, as the engorged blood vessels that supply an erection will drain back into the body on death. Thinking at first it was a medical students' prank, they looked closely at the corpse. It turned out that in life, the dead man had used a vacuum pump to artificially draw blood into his penis and to conserve the resultant erection; he had slipped an elastic band around the base of the shaft to prevent it subsiding. The police, the doctor certifying death, and the hospital staff had either completely missed it or had left the band in place so the funeral directors could have a laugh too... |
| 323 | * This is one reason why veterinarians usually insist that pet owners leave the examination room before the final stage of their pets' euthanasia. Seeing one's beloved pet make a last deposit for the pooper-scooper rather kills the solemn dignity of such farewells. |
| 324 | * A contemporary account of the execution of General Malet and his involuntary accomplices mentions that "before the execution, one of the main conspirators walked away for a while. The soldiers thought he was trying to escape and followed him; but he turned around and told those who walked in his footsteps: 'Don't worry, it's only a natural need.' Then he came back to the place where he was to be shot." |
| 325 | * According to church historians, Arius, of the Arian Heresy (against which the famous Council of Nicaea was convened and the Nicene Creed written) fame, died after literally shitting out most of his intestines and a bit of his liver. |
| 326 | -->''"As [he] approached the Constantine’s Forum, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone a terror arising from the remorse of conscience]] seized Arius, and with the terror a violent relaxation of the bowels: he therefore enquired whether there was a convenient place near, and being directed to the back of Constantine’s Forum, he hastened thither. Soon after a faintness came over him, and together with the evacuations his bowels protruded, followed by a copious hemorrhage, and the descent of the smaller intestines: moreover portions of his spleen and liver were brought off in the effusion of blood so that he almost immediately died. The scene of this catastrophe still is shown at Constantinople, as I have said, behind the shambles in the colonnade: and by persons going by pointing the finger at the place, there is a perpetual remembrance preserved of this [[UndignifiedDeath extraordinary kind of death]]."'' |
| 327 | --->-- '''Socrates Scholasticus''' |
| 328 | ** Most modern historians interpret this account to say that Arius was probably poisoned to death. |
| 329 | * "Pee your pants" has come into vogue on Website/{{Tumblr}} as {{Bowdlerized}}/NonSequitur insult, riffing on how some people will construe anything on the internet as meaning "[[SuicideDare kill yourself]]" -- and with this trope, there might be justification. |
| 330 | * Any mother who ever used the StockPhrase "Always wear clean underwear, because it'll be shameful if you get run over by a car and are found to have been wearing dirty undies when you died". Hate to break this to you, Mom, but as Creator/BillCosby said in reference to mothers insisting that their children wear clean underwear in case they get in a car accident: "First you [[OhCrap say it]], then you do it." He did come up with a workaround in that most mothers say "Have a clean pair of undies" when invoking this phrase, all he needs is to have them [[ExactWords stored in the glove compartment]]. |
| 331 | [[/folder]] |
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