History CruelAndUnusualDeath / RealLife

* UsefulNotes/JamesGarfield endured a pretty agonizing demise. After being wounded by Charles Guiteau's bullet, he spent two months in utter pain. And his doctors caused him greater injury trying to find the bullet with un-sterilized hands and surgical tools. He was unable to eat solid foods, and he often suffered from high fever. Most doctors in modern times have deduced that his life could have been saved had x-rays been used to more accurately locate the shot; but of course, those would not be discovered until 1895.

* Marooning was a frequent punishment at sea in the old days, and was typically used on mutineers or [[TheNeidermeyer hated captains]] who were successfully deposed. It simply involved leaving them stranded on a desert island in the middle of nowhere, where they would usually die of thirst after a few days due to there being no potable water in the middle of the ocean. This would occasionally be a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] by giving the victim a pistol in case they [[AteHisGun couldn't take it anymore.]]

* UsefulNotes/CrownPrinceSado died of starvation and dehydration in 1762 AD after being locked in a box for days... [[OffingTheOffspring on his father's orders]].

* There are a number of parasites that take control of insects or small animals and then force them against their will to allow themselves to be eaten by predators. For example, the Dicrocoelium infects an ant and then forces the ant to crawl to the tip of a blade of grass where it can easily be eaten by a bird, thus allowing the parasite to continue its cycle inside a bird. Even worse, the Spinochordodes larvae enter grasshoppers that drink the water they reside in and then after growing inside the grasshopper, they take control and force the grasshopper to jump into a body of water and drown itself. [[MurderBySuicide Imagine being mentally aware of what's happening, but still physically unable to stop your own body from committing suicide]].

** And even ''if'' it is detected, one of the few viable methods of treatment are chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which involves ''poisoning the bodily cells'', which could make the victim feel even more sick than they had been, and not to mention the side effects of the treatment: over the course of the period, chemotherapy and radiotherapy will cast the patient down into the dark depths of the UncannyValley, causing them to slowly and painfully lose anything they had of the image of a healthy human being. Hair will fall, nails will break, fat will disappear. They will vomit, and they will wither, and they will cry silently as they are transformed into pale, skinny mockeries of the human form not by a disease, ''but by the cure''. Sometimes, even long after the treatment has ended, it will leave scars on the body, marking it as an eternal reminder of the monstrous time that they went through.

*** There's a good reason why people consider this disease [[TheDiseaseThatShallBeNotNamed extremely taboo to talk about]], especially in front of people who lost friends and loved ones, or even ''were'' a cancer patient.

* One simple word: '''cancer'''. In this disease, the reproduction of cells goes out of control. Instead of dividing and multiplying in an orderly fashion, as they should, the cells multiply chaotically and violently without stopping, invading nearby parts of the body, and sometimes even spreading further through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. There would be few symptoms at the beginning, all of them easy to miss, but if it is left on it's own, BodyHorror will hit in full force as the tumors, black and slimy or bloated and red would become visible over the skin. Or perhaps, they never will, and all you would see is the patient writhing in agony for days before finally finding release in death. Or they could just go out with a single seizure, out of the blue. And even ''if'' it is detected, one of the few viable methods of treatment is chemotherapy, which involves ''poisoning the cells'', which could make the victim even more sick than they usually were, and not to mention the side effects of the treatment.

'''[[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned WARNING]]: As the following examples have actually occurred, serious NightmareFuel, NauseaFuel, and {{Squick}} abound. Take care greater care than you would viewing fictional examples.'''

** This is also how numerous species of insects feed on prey, including the [[MeaningfulName aptly titled]] assassin bug.
* Lobsters get StewedAlive...but this is a ''merciful'' death compared to how you ''broil'' lobsters; tie their claws down, slit them open with a knife, then put them into the oven while they're still alive (though the infamous "scream" they make is actually steam escaping from their shells). Hence the infamously incoherent quote by Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi of ''Series/JerseyShore'' fame: "That's why I don't eat friggin' lobster or anything like that--because [[CaptainObvious they're alive when you kill it]]." On the other hand, a simple MercyKill is to put them in the freezer for five to ten minutes. Or just quickly stick a knife through their heads.
* One of the methods used to hunt the now extinct Passenger Pigeon was to capture one and use it as a decoy. The method of turning the captured pigeon into a decoy was to [[EyeScream sew its eyes shut]] and set it free near a pigeon nesting area. Being blind, the pigeon would flap about, drawing the attention of the nesting birds. Hunters would then capture the rest of the birds with nets, and kill them by ''[[HeadCrushing crushing their skulls]]'' using their own hands.

* Death by boiling was a form of execution used in Europe and Asia, as recently as 1687. The condemned was lowered into a cauldron containing boiling water, oil, tar, wine, or wax, causing prolonged scalding, fourth-degree burns, and eventually, destruction of the epidermis and dermis, leading to the complete breakdown of subcutaneous fat. Eventually the heat would expose muscle, leading to breaches in major arteries and veins. In England, this ghastly and horrid method was first legalized by Henry VIII for murderers who killed by poison, which was considered a form of treason. It tended to draw more crowds due to the rarity until Edward VI outlawed it in 1547.

** It is, however, an ''absolutely horrible and traumatic'' way for an animal to die. Animals infected with rabies are routinely put down, as this is a far more humane death than allowing them to succumb to the disease.
* There are a number of parasites that take control of insects or small animals and then force them against their will to allow themselves to be eaten by predators. For example, the Dicrocoelium infects an ant and then forces the ant to crawl to the tip of a blade of grass where it can easily be eaten by a bird, thus allowing the parasite to continue its cycle inside a bird. Even worse, the Spinochordodes larvae enter grasshoppers that drink the water they reside in and then after growing inside the grasshopper, they take control and force the grasshopper to jump into a body of water and drown itself. Imagine being unable to stop your body from drowning itself.

* UsefulNotes/JamesGarfield endured a pretty agonizing demise. After being wounded by Charles Guiteau's bullet, he spent two months in utter pain. And his doctors caused him greater injury trying to find the bullet with un-sterilized hands and surgical tools. He was unable to eat solid foods, and he often suffered from high fever. (Most doctors in modern times have deduced that his life could have been saved had x-rays been used, but they would not be discovered until 1895.)

* This was the whole purpose of crucifixion. Not only did the Romans have to invent a whole new word to describe the pain of having nails driven through one's medial nerves ("excruciating" comes from ''ex crucia'', "out of the cross"), but the victims were put up on display for everyone naked while they suffocated to death, probably crying in agony and pleading for their lives. On top of everything else, the victims were viciously scourged with studded whips just beforehand. The Romans themselves considered crucifixion so terrible that it was ''illegal'' for citizens to be crucified.

* Ancient Greece had three timelessly great dramatists, all of whom died in memorable ways. Euripides was torn to pieces by a [[FedToTheBeast pack of dogs]]; Sophocles [[WeaksauceWeakness choked on a grape]], and Aeschylus was killed by a tortoise. (Specifically, by a tortoise that was dropped on his head by a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearded_vulture bearded vulture]] which, apparently, mistook his bald spot for a rock.)