Phobias and Freak-outs

[VoxClamantis]

Another one (and there was a lightning strike a few months ago here in Indy that tagged some man or his son when they were just out having a good time). From the Associated Press:

 

 

Three Killed, Three Injured
in Lightning Strike in Mexican Graveyard
The Associated Press
Published: Nov 10, 2005
 
 
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Three people were killed by lightning at a graveyard on the outskirts of Mexico City while attending the funeral of a 62-year-old man, authorities reported Thursday.
 
The accident occurred late Wednesday when rain forced participants at funeral gathering to take shelter under a tree in the graveyard of San Francisco Acuautla, a town on the eastern outskirts of the capital.
 
A lightning bolt hit the tree and then apparently struck six people, all of whom collapsed on the ground.
 
One man, a gravedigger, died instantly, local media reported. Two relatives died en route to a local hospital.
 
Three others were being treated for the injuries.
 
The remaining mourners continued with the burial ceremony after the accident.

[Agnes]

OK, I really wish I wasn't alone in a dark and scary college room, not knowing what time, or if, my suitemate will be coming back to comfort me. Thanks a lot, guys.

 

[AdoramusTeChriste]

This is why I'm glad I don't live by an ocean:

 

Surfer, 18, bitten by shark off Florida coast
Man suffered wounds to his foot after ‘case of mistaken identity’

The Associated Press

Updated: 4:05 a.m. ET Nov. 13, 2005

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. - A surfer dangling his feet into the Atlantic Ocean on Florida’s east coast was bitten by a shark, authorities said.

The 18-year-old man was surfing in water up to 8 feet deep near the New Smyrna Beach jetty Saturday when the shark swam up and bit him, said Scott Petersohn, spokesman for the Volusia County Beach Patrol.

“This was a case of mistaken identity,” Petersohn told the Daytona Beach News-Journal. “The guy’s foot dangling in the water looks a lot like a fish.”

The man, who was not identified, suffered puncture wounds on his right foot, Petersohn said. He was taken to a hospital by ambulance in stable condition, officials said.

The size of the shark was not known.

The incident was the second confirmed shark bite off a beach in this county in less than a month, authorities said. A 15-year-old boy suffered minor injuries when he stepped on a shark Oct. 15 at the Ponce Inlet jetty.

© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

 

© 2005 MSNBC.com

 

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10022111/

[VoxClamantis]

OH, boy, you ready for THIS one? This is (Dali X Lynch X Poe X Ipecac)²  

 

You HAVE been WARNED!

 

From breitart.com:

 

 
 
Ants Reportedly Eat Woman's Eye in India
Nov 15 8:30 AM US/Eastern
 

NEW DELHI
 
 
A woman died in a Calcutta hospital after ants ate one of her eyes as she was recovering from a cornea operation, media reports said Tuesday.
 
Gauri Chakraborty, 55, had complained of terrible pain after the operation at a state-run hospital, but a nurse told her it was normal and left her unattended, her son Soumen told the Press Trust of India news agency.
 
He said that when her bandage was removed the next day they found big black ants nibbling at her eye, PTI reported.
 
"She died a ghastly death. We don't even know the reason of her death," Amitabha Kar, Chakraborty's son-in-law told PTI.
 
Local Health Minister Surjya Kanta Mishra demanded a report of the incident from the hospital authorities. In response, hospital superintendent Sukumar Das said a five-member inquiry committee has been set up, PTI reported.

 

That poor, poor woman. May she rest in peace, and may her family never think of her horrible end... Wow.

[VoxClamantis]

Another lightning strike. Spook told about one last night. We need the story for the collection, Spooks!

From AOL News:
 

 

Woman Hit By Lightning While Praying in Storm
 
 
DAPHNE, Ala. (May 29) - Worried about the safety of her family during a stormy Memorial Day trip to the beach, Clara Jean Brown stood in her kitchen and prayed for their safe return as a strong thunderstorm raged through Baldwin County.
 
Suddenly, lightning exploded, blowing through the linoleum and leaving a pockmarked area on the concrete. Brown wound up on the floor, dazed and disoriented by the blast but otherwise uninjured.
 
"I said, 'Amen,' and the room was engulfed in a huge ball of fire," she said. "I'm blessed to be alive."
 
Brown, 65, was hit by a bolt of lightning that apparently struck outside and traveled into the house Monday afternoon. She doesn't know how much time passed while she remained disoriented on the floor before Jamie Matthews, her 14-year-old granddaughter, discovered her after returning from the beach.
 
"I was just standing there when a huge ball of fire engulfed this whole room. I don't remember much after that," Brown said hours later as her family helped clean her home. "Concrete was everywhere."
 
Brown was at home alone when the storm hit, while her husband, James Brown, was at the store and her son and his family were on their way back from the beach.
 
James Brown said fire officials told him lightning likely struck across the street from the couple's home and traveled into the house through a water line. The lightning continued into the couple's backyard and ripped open a small trench, James Brown said. Pieces of concrete were scattered throughout the family's kitchen - ruining day-old brownies sitting on the stove.
 
"Never in my life did I think something like this could happen," James Brown told the Press-Register. "I always thought if you're in a house that you're safe. That's not the case."
 
Mrs. Brown said paramedics suggested she go to the hospital, but she chose to stay at home with her family.
 
"I'm blessed. That's the good news," she said.
 
Eric Esbensen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mobile, said dime-sized hail and wind gusts of up to 45 mph were reported in coastal Baldwin County. As much as 3 inches of rain fell in some areas in three hours, he said.

[VoxClamantis]

Moving this post from another thread. Posted earlier by Eric:

 

 

April 27, 2006 at 07:22 PM

 

Man killed in Fla. when lightning strikes head

‘It was like somebody had shot him,’ neighbor says after witnessing event

Updated: 4:54 a.m. ET April 27, 2006

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A man was fatally struck by lightning while talking to his neighbor about the coming hurricane season.

Harold Bennett, 65, was standing outside his home when he was hit in the head about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, said neighbor Judy Thompson.

“It was like somebody had shot him,” Thompson said. “The lightning went right through him ... It was horrible.”

 

It was lightly raining when Bennett was taking the garbage outside and spotted Thompson rearranging furniture.

“He always liked to talk any chance he got, and he asked me if I was moving,” Thompson said. “I said I was just clearing out the back for hurricane season.”

The two were standing about 25 feet apart. Thompson was not hurt.

[miss_fluffy]

Oh man!!!!  The ants in the eye!!!  My eyeball is going to hurt all day now!

[catholicresistence]

 

Another lightning strike. Spook told about one last night. We need the story for the collection, Spooks!

From AOL News:
 

 

Woman Hit By Lightning While Praying in Storm

 

Guess she got a powerful response to her prayer? I prefer that quiet signal grace.

 

I will have to find that article about the man in Orlando lying in driveway for days-by his own request-until he died. Just did not want to get up.

 

or the one wit the lady stuck to the couch......

[lumengentleman]

This was decades ago, but in my old hometown there was a guy who got struck and killed by lightning ... on a clear sunny day.  He was in the middle of an early-evening softball game, standing on the pitcher's mound when he got struck.  It was a clear day, blue skies, sun shining ... lightning would be the last thing you would expect.

 

So there you go, Vox.  You're not safe anywhere or anytime, not even on sunny days.

[VoxClamantis]

This was decades ago, but in my old hometown there was a guy who got struck and killed by lightning ... on a clear sunny day.  He was in the middle of an early-evening softball game, standing on the pitcher's mound when he got struck.  It was a clear day, blue skies, sun shining ... lightning would be the last thing you would expect.

 

So there you go, Vox.  You're not safe anywhere or anytime, not even on sunny days.

 

See, now that's just not right, Jacob. It ain't fittin'! I've read how that happens, though: apparently lightning can strike SIDEWAYS -- and from 30 miles away! You could be minding your own beeswax, basking in the sun with a bottle of suntan lotion in one hand and an ice cream cone in the other --- and a lightning cloud THIRTY MILES AWAY can blast you. Way too freaky to contemplate...