Life
19 of The Strangest Last Words Ever Spoken, Because Not Everyone Is at Peace on Their Deathbed
One would like to hope that when it’s our time to go, we’ll have some pretty damn ingenious last words to impart on those who happen to be near us when we take that last breath, and cross over into the great beyond. While everyone’s final words are worth at least something, it’s usually the really famous people who get sort of high marks for whatever they say simply because of their celebrity status. In reality, the rest of the world is just as skilled, if not even better equipped to say some fairly crazy and snarky things right before they die.
We may have already covered infamous last words said by famous people, but there are others out there who really hit the nail on the head in their final moments, too. They went out with a bang, wit, or some insightful commentary that the rest of us should be so lucky to conjure up right before we say adieu to those around us.
Although not every one of these people is going to be a household name, what they had to say when their time had come will definitely make you say, “Really?”
Here are 19 crazy last words from people who may or may not have been crazy themselves.
Image: WikiCommons
Giles Corey, farmer stoned For witchcraft
“More weight!”
Said to his executioners instead of pleading guilty to the crime of witchcraft.
Image: WikiCommons
Joseph Henry Green, british surgeon
Dominique Bouhours, French grammarian
“I am about to — or I am going to — die: either expression is correct.”
Said to loved ones just before he passed.
Image: WikiCommons
Image: WikiCommons
Tallulah Bankhead, actress
Karl Marx, economist, philosopher, writer, and revolutionary
“Go on, get out! Last Words are for fools who haven’t said enough!”
Said to his housekeeper who asked him to tell her his last words for the sake of history.
Image: WikiCommons
Anna Pavlova, prima ballerina
“Get my ‘Swan’ costume ready.”
Said in her hotel room in The Hague before succumbing to pleurisy. Her most notable role of her career was The Dying Swan.
Image: WikiCommons
Carl Panzram, serial killer
“Hurry up, you Hoosier bastard! I could hang a dozen men while you’re fooling around.”
Said to the hangman who asked him if he had any last words.
Image: WikiCommons
Bob Hope, comedian
“Surprise me.”
Said to his wife when she inquired where he wanted to be buried.
Whitney Moore Young, Jr., civil rights activist
“This is great!”
Said to his friends while swimming in Lagos, Nigeria, shortly before drowning.
Image: WikiCommons
Mary Blandy, English murderer
“Gentlemen, don’t hang me high for the sake of decency.”
Said to her hangmen before being strung up for her execution.
Image: WikiCommons
Robert Alton Harris, American murder
“You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everyone dances with the grim reaper.”
Said to his executioner.
Image: WikiCommons
Aldous Huxley, writer
“LSD — try it inter-muscular — 100mm —”
Written to his wife. Although, it should be noted that he died of cancer, not acid.
Image: WikiCommons
Maria Montessori, Italian physician and educator
“Am I no longer of use then?”
Asked of her son before she died from a cerebral hemorrhage.
Image: WikiCommons
Anders Jahan Retzius, Swedish chemist
“Now the legs are dead; now the muscles of the bowels cease their functions. The last struggle must be heavy, but for all that, it is highly interesting.”
Said to those observing the “dissolution of his body.”
Image: WikiCommons
Percy Grainger, Australian musician
Francisco Suárez, philosopher and clergyman
“I would never have thought it was so sweet to die.”
Said to his loved ones from his deathbed in Lisbon, Portugal.
Image: WikiCommons
Rachel Félix, French actress
“I am happy to die on a Sunday. It is sad to die on a Monday.”
Said from her tuberculosis deathbed.
Image: WikiCommons
James D. French, American murderer
“How about this for a headline? French fries!”
Said to his executioner before he was electrocuted.
Image: WikiCommons