Suicide Notes
A suicide note or death note is a message that states the author has died by or plans to die by suicide, and left to be discovered. 12–20% of suicides leave notes. According to Gelder, Mayou and Geddes (2005) one in six leave a suicide note whether written, audio, or video. Others do not see the need of leaving behind any final communication. Maybe because they are focused on the suicide act, maybe choice was impulsive, or maybe because they have nothing to say and prefer the mystery. In some cases , they may not be physically capable of writing.
According to Dr. Lenora Olson, the most common reasons people write suicide notes are:
- To ease the pain of those known to the victim.
- To increase the pain by creating guilt.
- To explain the reason(s).
- To express thoughts and feelings not expressed or not expressable when alive
- To give instructions for disposal of remains.
- To confess some other offence like murder, see e.g. Marc Lépine’s suicide and videotaped statements of the 7 July 2005 London bombers.
The most common reasons suicides do not write a note are:
- They are focused on the practicalities of what they are about to do (e.g. loading a pistol or tying a noose, etc.).
- Their choice was impulsive, or at least hasty enough so no time was available to compose a suicide note.
- They have nothing to say and/or nobody to say it to.
- They feel that they cannot express what they wish to say.
- They do not wish to write about their choice, or see no point.
- They are illiterate.
- They hope the suicide will be seen as an accident or homicide, common in those who wish to be buried in consecrated ground or hope their families collect insurance
Below are some of the many suicide notes left by the famous and not so famous. Suicide notes can sometimes provide a reason and seek to express hidden feelings to the living once and for all. Some suicide notes are written to cause guilt to those who left behind. The contents range from I can’t living any longer for any number of specific reasons to wise cracks about the meaning or lack of meaning of life. Some plea for absolution; some blame family, lovers or ex-lovers, the vagaries of fate, bad luck, health or all manner of particulars that to a third party may not be justification.
The following are the selected notable people who left the most obscure and unusual suicide notes.
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Open Letter
Hi, It’s great that you are visiting this site. By reading this letter I hope you understand that acting on suicidal thoughts will in no way make you feel better. When a person is thinking about suicide it means that they are faced with a problem of such magnitude to themselves they simply can no longer process it and feel that by ending their own life they will feel relief. But, you won’t! You won’t feel anything, you will just be dead. You not only do not resolve the issues that created so much pain,but also have forever...
read moreAnonymous Married Male Suicide Note
Two Suicide Notes – One Suicide Suicide Note #1 “What is a few short years to live in hell. That is all I get around here. No more I will pay the bills. No more I will drive the car. No more I will wash, iron & mend any clothes. No more I will have to eat the leftover articles that was cooked the day before. This is no way to live. Either is it any way to die. Her grub I can not eat. At night I can not sleep. I married the wrong nag-nag-nag and I lost my life.” Suicide Note #2 to the undertaker “We...
read moreJames Whale’s Suicide Note - Getting Old is Illness and Pain
James Whale’s Suicide Note Sees Getting Old as Illness and Pain “To ALL I LOVE, Do not grieve for me. My nerves are all shot and for the last year I have been in agony day and night—except when I sleep with sleeping pills—and any peace I have by day is when I am drugged by pills. I have had a wonderful life but it is over and my nerves get worse and I am afraid they will have to take me away. So please forgive me, all those I love and may God forgive me too, but I cannot bear the agony and it [is] best for everyone this...
read moreSuicide note Virginia Woolf died March 28, 1941
“I feel certain that I’m going mad again. I feel we can’t go thru another of those terrible times. And I shan’t recover this time. I begin to hear voices.” Suicide note Virginia Woolf died March 28, 1941. Important English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century. Share and Enjoy ...
read moreSuicide note Wendy O. Williams died April 6, 1998, punk rock performer
I don’t believe that people should take their own lives without deep and thoughtful reflection over a considerable period of time.” Suicide note Wendy O. Williams died April 6, 1998. punk rock performer. Share and Enjoy
read moreSuicide note from Hunter S. Thompson
“Football Season Is Over. No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax This won’t hurt.” Suicide note Hunter S. Thompson died 20 February, 2005. He left the note for his wife, Anita and shot himself four days later after weeks of pain from many physical problems including a broken leg and hip replacement. His ashes...
read moreSuicide poem by Sara Teasdale – American lyrical poet
“When I am dead, and over me bright April Shakes out her rain drenched hair, Tho you should lean above me broken hearted, I shall not care. For I shall have peace. As leafey trees are peaceful When rain bends down the bough. And I shall be more silent and cold hearted Than you are now.” Suicide poem by Sara Teasdale died 1933. An American lyrical poet with poor health most of her life. She wrote her suicide note to her lover who left her many years before. Share and Enjoy ...
read moreSuicide note by Nicolas-Sebastien Chamfort – French writer
“And so I leave this world, where the heart must either break or turn to lead.” Suicide note by Nicolas-Sebastien Chamfort died 1794, French writer best known for his witty epigrams and aphorisms, secretary of Louis XVI’s sister, and of the Jacobin club. Share and Enjoy
read moreRomain Gary – French diplomat, novelist, film director and World War II aviator
“I really had fun. Goodbye and thank you.” Romain Gary died December 1980, gunshot wound. French diplomat, novelist, film director and World War II aviator. The only author to have won the Prix Goncourt twice as a popular and prolific writer authoring more than thirty novels, essays and memoirs. Share and Enjoy
read moreGeorge Eastman – American innovator and entrepreneur
“My work is done. Why wait?” George Eastman died March 14, 1932, single gunshot to the heart. A hugely successful American innovator and entrepreneur who founded the Eastman Kodak Company and invented roll film, helping to bring photography to the mainstream. Share and Enjoy
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