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Note also that that could be a euphemism (or simply a cause of) suicide. As suicide was considered a sin (and also often considered scandalous by the surviving

Note also that that could be a euphemism (or simply a cause of) suicide. As suicide was considered a sin (and also often considered scandalous by the surviving family) it was rarely mentioned on death certificates. Interestingly in modern times, at least in conservative areas, sometimes police/coroners will label an accidental self-hanging as suicide, as that's less embarrassing to the family than the reality.

fridif 5y ago
Why not just list the cause of death as "accident", instead of "accidental self hanging" (embarrassing and needlessly specific), and also instead of "suicide" (since it wasnt their intent to kill themselves)
- autoexec 5y ago
  "accident" doesn't tell you anything about what caused their death. They could have been hit by a car, stepped on by an elephant, electrocuted in the bathtub etc. They'd be better off ignoring if it were intentional or accidental and just listing what killed them like asphyxiation, heart failure, etc although that can have problems too since life insurance may or may not pay out without knowing if it was suicide
- vmception 5y ago
  I would just assume it was a euphemism for suicide
- thechao 5y ago
  Misadventure is my favorite euphemism.
  - DanBC 5y ago
    Depending where you are, misadventure isn't really a euphemism. In England: Suicide means the deceased did something to end their life, and had the intention of ending their life when they did it. Misadventure means the deceased did a risky thing and died, but did not have the intention of dying when they did it. Accident means the deceased was doing a normal activity and died. Definitions of the manner of death can be nice and clear on paper, but are much harder to apply to the situations of a person's death, so there's lots of overlap between suicide and misadventure. It's often difficult to show intent, and so those deaths sometimes get called misadventure, or they have a narrative conclusion.
antihero 5y ago
That is extremely fucked up. If a family member accidently killed themselves trying to jerk it there'd at least be some sort of closure, if they supposedly killed themselves people would be running around in circles trying to figure out how they'd missed the signs, what impact they could have had on the person, etc.
- retrac 5y ago
  In such circumstances, the family often would know the truth. And that is put to save them the social and other repercussions. A friend of mine took his own life. The obituary said sudden accident. It's what his family will say in most situations. But they know. It would be very twisted to keep relatives in the dark, though I'm sure someone has done so and thought it a kindness.
petertodd 5y ago
> Interestingly in modern times, at least in conservative areas, sometimes police/coroners will label an accidental self-hanging as suicide, as that's less embarrassing to the family than the reality. I've actually read an interview with a parent who lost a child that way who said it gave them comfort knowing that their child's death was simply an accident, rather than a mental illness problem that they could have missed. Wish I could remember how to google it and get an actual cite. IIRC it was in the New Yorker or something.

fridif 5y ago

Why not just list the cause of death as "accident", instead of "accidental self hanging" (embarrassing and needlessly specific), and also instead of "suicide" (since it wasnt their intent to kill themselves)

autoexec 5y ago
"accident" doesn't tell you anything about what caused their death. They could have been hit by a car, stepped on by an elephant, electrocuted in the bathtub etc. They'd be better off ignoring if it were intentional or accidental and just listing what killed them like asphyxiation, heart failure, etc although that can have problems too since life insurance may or may not pay out without knowing if it was suicide
vmception 5y ago
I would just assume it was a euphemism for suicide
thechao 5y ago
Misadventure is my favorite euphemism.
- DanBC 5y ago
  Depending where you are, misadventure isn't really a euphemism. In England: Suicide means the deceased did something to end their life, and had the intention of ending their life when they did it. Misadventure means the deceased did a risky thing and died, but did not have the intention of dying when they did it. Accident means the deceased was doing a normal activity and died. Definitions of the manner of death can be nice and clear on paper, but are much harder to apply to the situations of a person's death, so there's lots of overlap between suicide and misadventure. It's often difficult to show intent, and so those deaths sometimes get called misadventure, or they have a narrative conclusion.

antihero 5y ago

That is extremely fucked up. If a family member accidently killed themselves trying to jerk it there'd at least be some sort of closure, if they supposedly killed themselves people would be running around in circles trying to figure out how they'd missed the signs, what impact they could have had on the person, etc.

retrac 5y ago
In such circumstances, the family often would know the truth. And that is put to save them the social and other repercussions. A friend of mine took his own life. The obituary said sudden accident. It's what his family will say in most situations. But they know. It would be very twisted to keep relatives in the dark, though I'm sure someone has done so and thought it a kindness.

petertodd 5y ago

> Interestingly in modern times, at least in conservative areas, sometimes police/coroners will label an accidental self-hanging as suicide, as that's less embarrassing to the family than the reality. I've actually read an interview with a parent who lost a child that way who said it gave them comfort knowing that their child's death was simply an accident, rather than a mental illness problem that they could have missed. Wish I could remember how to google it and get an actual cite. IIRC it was in the New Yorker or something.