Who or what event is portrayed in this story?
John threw the javelin far into the field of the college. The students cheered. He bowed and ran to fetch the javelin. The grass was wet and when he approached, he slipped. To the horror of all witnessing the event, the blunt end of the javelin penetrated his eye socket and his brain.
The students ran onto the streets to flag down an ambulance but it was too late.
Who or what event is portrayed in this story?
The previous Death By … story is based on:
William Hover was killed when an icicle fell 30 feet and landed on his head. It went through his Derby hat and caused a scalp wound. Although the wound was dressed and he managed to get home, he died of a concussion of the brain later that day.
Sources:

Congrats Laura! Another point.
ReplyDeleteLaura - 7 points
JTWebster - 2 points
Glynis - 2 points
Jan - 2 point
Cherie - 2 point
Bev - 1 point
Jayne Robin Brown - 1 point
Old Kitty - 1 point
Youngman - 1 point
Angela - 1 point
Suze - 1 point
Sia McKye - 1 point
Let me know if these tallies are off.
And just a hint: Not all names used in the stories will be the right name. Sometimes if I use the right name, it'll be too easy. I can't make it that easy, can I?
Argh, that is horrific!
ReplyDeleteI know this one! Jon Desborough. He was a teacher at Liverpool College.
ReplyDeleteMy husband threw javelin in high school and this happened a year before he started. He and his team knew ALL the freaky javelin accident stories. And the track & field coaches were sooo paranoid when the javelin throwing was going on.
WOW on this one. Can you even imagine being a spectator that day? I was setting in a field last Sept at the WV airshow and witnessed a plane crash and will probably never go to another airshow after that.
ReplyDeleteEeew.
ReplyDeleteMy sister used to throw the javelin, and my husband used to tease her and ask who caught the javelin. Yeah, he has a weird sense of humor.
I knew this one was going to be a messy one. I almost think it has happened more than once, but your description of the injury would allow one to narrow it down.
ReplyDeleteOh that sounds just awful! What a freak accident! Poor man!!
ReplyDeleteTake care
x
I was a javelin catcher on my high school track team. And growing up in Michigan I can relate to those massive icecycles that formed on rain gutters, then fell under their own weight. They can literally crush someone's head.
ReplyDeleteOuch, that sounds painful!
ReplyDeletepierced by the blunt end? Or did he cause fatal trauma by falling on the blunt end? I shudder thinking of it. Bad way to go regardless.
ReplyDeleteOkay. At the end of this post, I actually said out loud, 'Oh, my God' -- horrified.
ReplyDeleteI could never, never have the stomach to be a mystery writer.
eep how horrific. Again, I've no idea who this hapless soul is. But that just sucks that he threw a perfect javelin and ended up dead just trying to pick it up. Life has a bitter irony.
ReplyDeleteYikes!
ReplyDeleteClarissa - OK, real shock value here! Nicely done on that score.
ReplyDeleteNever heard the javelin story before.
ReplyDeleteYikes. I'm so accident prone that this would happen to me--fall on the very javelin I went to pick up.
ReplyDeletePS I'm very wary of iciciles on buildings for the very reason they could fall and stab my brain.
Teresa
What? No way! Death by icicle. Actually, it would be a great weapon for a mystery novel. The evidence melts away!
ReplyDeleteI knew death by javelin was gonna be painful and yucky.
ReplyDeleteNope. Not this one either :)
ReplyDeleteAw man. That's just ... OW!
ReplyDeleteHeather
OMG, what a horror story.
ReplyDeleteI do love me the elegance of a javelin!
ReplyDeleteWow. That was one nasty javelin and icicle.
ReplyDeleteyikes.
ReplyDeleteI actually knew a boy who was hit in the head by a thrown javelin. He survived, thank goodness.
That's horrific!!!
ReplyDeleteAt first you would say the icicle guy was lucky...then not so much. The javelin story is pretty intense...again no idea what the real event is. Can you imagine the people that witnessed it??
ReplyDeleteOooh! Javelin in the eye. Makes me squirm.
ReplyDeleteAnn Best, Author of In the Mirror & Other Memoirs
A very squeamish story!
ReplyDeleteI think it must be Jon Desborough, a PE teacher at Liverpool College. He was only 41 and married with kids. A tragic accident.
Ewwwwwwwww!! Sure that wasn't from a horror movie somewhere? :)
ReplyDeleteAaaa! That is CRAZY! And awful! I can think of a few ways I'd be okay dying, and that is NOT one of them.
ReplyDeleteI've just gone back and read all your previous posts - creepy, ouchy stuff! Love your theme, though. I guess I'm a bit into the macabre. Actually though, I hadn't heard about any of these stories (the real ones) before reading your posts. I look forward to seeing how I go with the rest of your posts!
ReplyDeleteOh yuck! This one is truly gruesome!
ReplyDeleteOh dear. That's bad. :O
ReplyDeleteHow about that story where someone got a nail or something in their brain and it made them super clever and able to speak lots of languages? Good one.
ReplyDeleteDenise