death: people

I used to believe that when someone died their head fell off, even if they'd did of say, a heart attack. I think this came from how a dead person if always referred to as a body, as in "they're going to cremate the body". It just seemed natura to assume that they either did something else with the head or that it fell of.

When I was about 4 or so, I didn't really understand death. (But what 4 year old does?) I knew that the person went to heaven, but that was about it. I thought their body would just one day disapear and they would be in heaven. Well, one day, my mom had to go in early to work. (My mom was always around in the morning when I woke up.) When I got up, I went into my parents bedroom to see (to my horror) my mom's side empty. I fell on the floor and started crying so loud I woke up my dad. I was screaming "mommy's gone! mommy's gone!" but then my dad picked me up and said "it's ok, remember, she went to work early today." then i wiped my tears and said "...she did?" and my dad said "yep." and I was just so grateful that my mom wasn't dead.

When I first learned about the concept of death, I also learned that a common cause of death is old age. I thought "I'm getting older... oh my god - I'm gonna die soon!" I was so scared until I relised that I had alot more time to go before I would die of old age.

When I was a kid my brother was always naughty and misbehaving. One day he got me so upset that I secretly wished he would die (I had a short temper when I was young). The next day he died in an accidental fire at home when I was in school. I have never been able to completely forgive myself as I thought my wish had come true. Even though today I know it wasn't my fault I still have issues with it.

I used to believe that you had to keep moving. If you kept still (like while you were sleeping) god would think you were dead. So whenever I went to bed I would always kick.

My brother used to tell me when mum went out that she'd been killed in a car crash and was never coming back.

When I was a child, we lived on a street with a funeral home on the corner. For some reason, I, as well as several neighbor kids, seemed to think this was the only funeral home in town (our town was NOT that small). This led to speculation about what they did with the dead people while waiting for the funeral. We decided, since it wasn't a large place, that they stored them in a secret room under the parking lot. After deciding that, some of the kids didn't want to ride their bikes or skateboards in the lot, even though it was the best place around for practicing tricks.

my brother once told me that the reason coffins were only halfway open was because the lower half of the body was cut off. That had me terrified at my mom's funeral. I was 8.

i thought that when people got to a certain age (80 or so) they would start getting young and become a baby. i was 8 years old and talking about when "I was born again", imagine my disbelief when my mother explained death to me...i was horrified, the shock never really wore off.

i believed that when a person died, god came down in a helicopter to go to heaven! i still have a mild interest in helicopters!

I used to believe if you got a splinter and you couldn't get it out, that it would travel through your blood stream, poke a hole in your heart and kill you. This is thanks to my older sister, who frequently scared the crap out of me as a kid.

I used to believe that you would get a letter in the mail and that told you that it was your time to die. I thought you would enter the big gates of the cemetary and then soldiers would come out at shoot you. What also supported my idea was the large gates and fences which I thought were there to prevent you from running out without being shot.

i remember when i was little a friend of the family had passed away, my parents told me that we were going to his wake, when we got there i just sat around watching the casket waiting for him to wake up. I thought everyone else was there for that purpose too.

When I was 7, I had my first experience with death. My great-grama died. At the wake - I met a lot of people I had never met before. I was standing with my grama (my great grandmother's daughter). Talking to a lady that was standing with us - I said "That's my grama over there in that box". The lady just happened to be my great grandmother's sister.

when i was around six i used to watch this t.v. show called walker, texas ranger. and one this one episode this guy pulled his pinky and died.( i think thats what happen). and i beleived if i popped my pinky i would die. for years i would not pop my pinky. then finally i got the guts to pop it and i didnt die!

I was around 5 years old and was watching on TV an annual broadcast tribute to JFK. My big brother told me that I had killed him and that I had just blocked it out. I believed him and became hysterical. Mind you, JFK died in 1963 and I was born in 1967...