How do you want to die?

I’m not asking to get any ideas or suggest any kind of threat. It’s more of a thought experiment. Surely you’ve considered a few options – maybe even had some close calls of your own. Perhaps you’re more familiar with death that you’d like to be and already know your ideal final situation.

I’ve personally tried to narrow things down to avoid the unpleasant-sounding ones. I absolutely don’t want to drown, which keeps me on the sand when I go to the beach. I’m also lucky enough not to have any food allergies (that I know of). But there’s always the possibility of an accident, no matter how careful you are.

My friend Ricky and I have talked it through many times. He’s as much a horror aficionado as I am and settled rather quickly on ‘dying in his sleep.’ I suppose that’s fairly common. Why would anyone want to face death while conscious?

Then again, there’s something to be said for seeing the end coming. I’d prefer something painless, of course, but doing something exciting. A jet-pack ride gone wrong, or a snapped bungee-jumping cord. If I’m going to die, I might as well get the adrenaline high first.

I think I’d like my last feeling to be the wind through my hair. For my last thoughts to be, ‘wow, isn’t this fun?’ To reach the pinnacle of human experience just as the reaper arrives. I certainly don’t want anything slow, or to outlive my own mind.

Which is perhaps why I am such a thrill seeker. I had a heart attack a few years ago despite my age and general health. ‘It’s rare, but it happens,’ the doctor said. ‘Just a stroke of bad luck.’

But I know it had nothing to do with chance.

The night of my ‘misfortune’ I had the most vivid dream of my whole life. Shadowy figures chased me down neverending hallways that twisted into the limbs of my family members. Their faces dripped with rot as they moaned in horrific suffering. I knew at that moment what true fear was.

And that passing in your sleep might not be so peaceful after all.