Although we all know that death is inevitable, we still cringe when we think of the notion that we will stop existing one day. There are few things on this planet that are as unpredictable as death, it can come suddenly or slowly but it always leaves behind loved ones who will miss the deceased. In this article we look at haunting images taken of people shortly before their demise and remind ourselves that life can be short and that we should live every day to the fullest.

The Last Fight

The popular Spanish bullfighter Victor Barrio probably expected that this fight would be as easy as all the previous ones in which he defeated the bull. However, the final score for this fight turned out to be 1 – 0, with the bull emerging as the victor after trampling poor Victor to death. Clearly, this bull has been pushed just a bit too far with drastic consequences.

A Fiery Death

This is the last known picture of the famous geologist David Johnston. While Johnston was taking readings that the USGS used to warn people of the impending eruption of Mt. St. Helens, the volcano unexpectedly erupted and the lateral blast obliterated Johnston. Despite an extensive search, his body was never recovered but the search party managed to find a few remnants of his USGS trailer.

Friends Gone Crazy

While none of us would ever expect our best friend to turn against us, this is exactly what happened when Cheyenne Antoine strangled her best friend Brittney Gargol with a belt. The incident happened after the two returned from a night out and Cheyenne claims that she cannot remember anything about the incident but later pleaded guilty to manslaughter in court. With friends like that, who needs enemies?

Death By Serial Killer

Regina Kay, one of the 50 victims of the infamous serial killer Robert Ben Rhoades, must have been terrified when this picture was taken. The deranged serial killer was a truck driver who relentlessly tortured his victims before killing them in the back of his semi-trailer. Regina Kay was his last victim and Rhoades took this picture moments before murdering her.

The Last Pose

In this picture, we can see Joseph Kennedy Jr. pose for the last time right before he was killed in combat during his participation in a top-secret mission. Kennedy never returned from the mission and was shot down somewhere over East-Suffolk. It seems like the Kennedy family fell victim to quite a few disasters with Joe Kennedy being the first Kennedy brother to die while serving his country.

A Long Way Down

This is why it is best to pay for your airplane ticket! The 14-year-old Australian boy that can be seen in this picture was trying to stow-away in the wheel well of a Japan Airlines aircraft when he fell more than 60m to his death. This horrifying image was captured just as the boy began his sharp descent and moments before he hit the concrete runway.

Serious As A Heart Attack

In this photo we see a grandmother proudly showing off the feast she had prepared for her family, but little did she know that just moments later she would die from a heart attack. Perhaps the years of family-feasts had taken their toll on her heart but we suspect she died doing what she loved the most and surrounded by those she held dearest.

Fame, Fortune And Death

The last photo of Christina Grimmie in concert- this picture was taken a few minutes before the singer was killed by an obsessed and deranged fan. After her performance at the Plaza in Orlando, Florida Grimmie signed autographs for her fans when she was approached by the gun-wielding fan. The man shot Grimmie before turning the gun on himself. Clearly fame and fortune can come at a huge cost.

Winds Of Change

During routine maintenance on a wind turbine located in Oogenplaats, The Netherlands, four mechanics were trapped by a fire. The fire apparently broke out with little warning and blocked the escape route. Two of the men managed to reach the stairwell but the remaining two were trapped atop the fiery turbine. One of the men decided to take fate into his own hands and jumped 211 feet to the ground and the other’s charred remains were later found by firefighters. Talk about a planned maintenance going wrong!

Killed Out Of The Blue

Moments after this photograph was taken, the life of one of the people in the picture was cut short. After the group photo was shot, the group decided to go for a hike when out of the blue a large rock fell on the head of the boy wearing the red shirt. It is thought that he was killed instantly as the rock severely damaged his skull. Our sympathy goes out to the other members who had to endure this ordeal and lose a friend.

Burning Man Festival Frenzy

Festivals normally bring out the crazy in some people but this man took it to the next level when he decided to run into the burning effigy at the annual Burning Man festival. According to those who witnessed the scene, the young man was not intoxicated or high when he ran into the scorching heat. He must have been very dedicated to the cause.

Flight 182

This image was captured moments before PSA flight 182 hit the ground and all 182 passengers along with several other people lost their lives. The airplane collided with a smaller aircraft over the San Diego skies and is one of the worst air crashes in US history. We can’t help but wonder what the final thoughts of some of the passengers were.

Fate Of The Humboldt Broncos

No-one on the Humboldt Broncos team expected the bus journey to their final game to be anything but ordinary. However, the journey proved to be rather extraordinary and very tragic. Sixteen of the players and support staff in this picture lost their lives when the bus they were travelling in collided with a truck on the highway. This photo was shot right before the group departed and is the last picture of all of the team members. This sad event goes to show just how short and unpredictable life can be.

A Star Taken Too Early

In this picture Paul Walker can be seen getting into his Porsche for the last time. Shortly after this picture was taken, Paul and his passenger were involved in a single car collision which claimed both their lives. Sadly Paul was still working on his last movie at the time and his death came as a great shock to many of his fans. However, Paul always had a love for cars and speed, and in this picture he can also be seen doing what he loved- driving fast cars.

Deathblow

Here we can see Carl Williams the Australian drug lord moments before his death. The man in the back of the picture bludgeoned Carl to death with a baseball bat. The killer decided to strike after a prison yard argument between himself and Carl but there seems to be a bit of irony in the air since Carl was the last victim of the bloody gangs that he once led.

The Horrific Case Of James Bulger

We often hear of children being killed in cold blood but we seldom hear that children kill children in cold blood. Young James Bulger, who was two-years-old at the time, can be seen in this picture as he was being led away from his parents by two ten-year-old boys. The boys later tortured and killed the toddler and this is the last known picture of James Bulger alive. We can’t help but wonder what made children turn into killers at such a tender age?

Freestyle Gone Wrong

We are not sure what exactly the freestyler Pavil Kishin was attempting to do here but his stunt was unsuccessful and he landed with a thud. Pavil participated in the urban sport parkour where participants perform crazy stunts atop high buildings in the name of adrenaline. Pavel lost his footing during this backflip and dropped down 16 stories to his death. Strange enough, the sport quickly lost popularity after this incident.

John Lennon

This is thought to be the last picture of John Lennon, shortly after this picture was taken Lennon was shot in the doorway of his New York City home. Some of the remarks that Lennon made regarding his band and religion infuriated his attacker to the point that he decided to kill Lennon on the evening of the 8th of December 1980. Curiously, the attacker waited on the scene of the crime for the police to arrest him.

The Last Flight

Gary Slok and his mother, two of the victims of flight MH17, can be seen smiling in this picture. Little did the Slok’s know that only minutes later the airplane they were travelling in would no longer be airborne. Flight MH17 ploughed into a field, killing all the passengers aboard.

Leap Of Death

A man known only by the name Maqsood can be seen crouching in fear as a tiger approaches him at the New Delhi Zoo. The young man apparently jumped the fence of the tiger enclosure at the zoo due to an obsession he had with tigers. Clearly Maqsood wasn’t prepared for the tiger to attack him and he shouted loudly for 15 minutes as the tiger mauled him to death.

Dwyer No More

R. Budd Dwyer was not a particularly well known man when he was alive, but his death changed that. Dwyer was facing allegations of fraud and was one week away from being sentenced for his crimes when he called a press conference at his suburban Pennsylvania home. Everybody assumed Budd would just repeat his pleas of innocence but instead he pulled out a revolver and killed himself on television. His suicide rocked the nation and reminded everyone that a man can only be pushed so far before breaking.

True Love

If this picture isn’t an expression of true love and commitment, we don’t know what is. Here a 100 year old man comforts his 96 year old wife during her final moments. She passed away only moments after this photo was taken while her husband was still clutching her hand. It seems like he kept his promise to the bitter end and soon after he also passed away.

911

Gary Box, one of the brave men who responded to the emergency calls during the September 2011 attacks on the Twin Towers can be seen heading out to save survivors in this picture. Sadly, Gary himself never returned from the mission although he managed to save several other people before perishing in the chaos of that day. This picture is a haunting memory of the brave men and women who selflessly gave their lives to save others in the fight against terrorism.

The Last Goodbye

Saying goodbye is always hard but can you imagine how hard it must be to say goodbye to your children for the last time? This father can be seen saying goodbye to his son and daughter for the last time in this picture, shortly after the shot was taken he passed away from cancer. We would not wish this fate onto our worst enemy and commend the dad for his strength and courage.

Down The Aisle

A determined father from the Philippines decided that he would not let cancer keep him from walking his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day. Mr. Pedro Villarin “walked” his daughter down the aisle while lying on a stretcher in order to fulfil his dying wish and three days after the picture was taken, he passed away. What a bittersweet moment it must have been for him and his family.

The Last Drive

This picture shows a cheerful, smiling older brother leaving for college. This last picture was taken by the freshman’s younger brother hours before he was involved in a fatal vehicle accident. The car he was traveling in was hit by a drunk driver and he passed away moments later as he was taken to hospital.

69 Years

This grandpa can be seen holding the hand of his beloved wife, just as he had done for the past 69 years, as she draws her last breath. Although this must have been a very emotional moment for him, he managed to stay strong and stand by his wife. If that is not true love, we don’t know what is! We do, however, wonder how the old man is going to manage without his beloved wife moving forward.

The Last Dive

Former Thai navy seal and diver Saman Kunan sacrificed his life to save the lives of a number of trapped boys. The boys became trapped in a cave system in Thailand after a heavy downpour of rain and divers took on the risky job of supplying them with fresh air, Sunman was one of these divers but he never returned from the cave. This photo is the last one of him alive.

Married, No Matter What!

There is nothing quite like human determination! This woman was determined to marry the love of her life and she decided that not even cancer would stand in the way of her walking down the aisle. A mere 18 hours after this photo was taken, the women succumbed to the disease but she died a happy woman, knowing that she had married the love of her life.

Deadly Photo

This fearless photographer went head to head with a martyr and, unfortunately, did not survive the blast. In this photo, the last one she ever took, you can see the blast that would ultimately kill her. We salute the brave men and women who put their lives on the line for us and tip our hats to the journalists who visit warzones.

Tara And Pippa

Tara and Pippa, two sisters from the UK, decided to visit Morocco for a three month “trip of a lifetime”. On their way back to the UK for their mum’s birthday, they were killed in a horrific car crash. This picture is the last one of the two sisters together and alive. Little did they know that this would be the last trip of their lifetime.

A Good Sense Of Humor

It seems like this lady managed to hold on to her sense of humor right until the bitter end! In this picture she can be seen waving goodbye to her boss, the picture was taken just days before her death. She deleted all the contents from her work phone and left only this picture for her boss to find, we hope it made his day.

Going Out With A Bang

Speaking of people with a sense of humor, this man takes the cake! Here he can be seen just hours before his death. He decided that he wanted to give his family one last silly picture to remember him by and he had his daughter take this picture while he was dying in the hospital. He must have been a fun guy to know!

The Warning Pamphlet

This father clearly has been a smoker all his life and decided to use this last opportunity to warn others of the dangers of smoking. He can be seen holding up a pamphlet that his son made him years ago as he lies in a hospital bed with emphysema. This was the last picture that was taken of him and it has a bitter sweet ring to it. If only he had heeded the warning, this might not have been the last picture of him.

Mugged

Here we can see two best friends enjoying their last ride together. In this picture all seems well, however, little did the two friends know that just two weeks later they would be mugged. The friend on the left did not survive the attack and received a fatal knife wound to the chest. Isn’t it unbelievable how quickly life can change?

Shallow Water Blackout

We have never heard of the condition called shallow water blackout, have you? This is the last picture of this boy and it was snapped a mere five minutes before he lost his young life to the condition. His mother took the photo and must have been devastated by the loss of her son at such a tender age. There was nothing that she could do to prevent his death and when paramedics arrived on the scene, he was pronounced dead.

Selfie Of Death

This selfie might have been the cause of Ramon Gonzalez’s death in a motorbike accident. The picture was taken just moments before he was involved in a fatal head on collision with another vehicle. We are sure that it isn’t a very good idea to take selfies while you are driving, especially if you are driving something with two wheels.

Assasination Of A President

John F. Kennedy probably didn’t expect that this would be his last ride through the streets of Texas when this photo was taken but it proved to be just so. A few seconds after this picture was taken, the 35th President of the United States was fatally wounded when he was shot by an assassin. This picture must be one of the most famous pictures of all time and we simply could not exclude it from this list.

Taking Risky Selfies

Xenia was a victim of a craze that swept through Russia. The aim of the game was to take selfies in extremely risky places without getting hurt. Unfortunately for Xenia she got hurt when she fell from the train bridge on which she decided to take a selfie. This picture is the last ever taken of the Russian teenager and it forever immortalized the expression, “don’t play on the train tracks”.

The Last Leap

This haunting image was taken shortly after the first aircraft smashed into the World Trade Center on 9/11. Here you can see a man falling to the ground after he decided to jump out of the building to escape the flames and devastation. This sad day will forever be etched into the minds of people and photos like this serve as a reminder of the terrible toll that terrorism can take on humanity.

A Hard Landing

In this picture we can see a Nepali man only inches from the ground, and death, after he decided to jump from a rooftop. Emergency services had tried to talk the man down from the ledge for hours but their attempts were unsuccessful in the end and the man decided to take his own life on the 13th of September 2013. We wonder whether this picture was taken at this exact moment by accident or on purpose.

A Princess Taken Too Early

The death of Princess Diana will always be controversial and shrouded in mystery. This picture was taken just moments before the fatal car crash that claimed the princess’s life and plunged the UK and the rest of the world into mourning. Ironically, this picture was taken by the paparazzi who were later blamed for Lady Diana’s death. Although we are not sure what exactly the circumstances surrounding her death were, we are sure that the world had lost a bright light on this fateful night.

Burial Pit

This image conjures up feelings of horror, especially when you realize that this pit would be turned into the final resting place of these Checnen villagers in just a few seconds. The image was taken during the civil unrest in Chechnya when many villagers were forced to dig pits like these themselves before being shot and buried. It must have been a very scary experience for these poor villagers since they almost certainly knew what was about to happen to them.

Wing Walker No More

Jane Wicker was a famous wing walker and she was one of the best in the industry. Having performed thousands of times, she perfected her art down to a tee and amazed large crowds with her balance and skill. However, this picture is the last one of Jane Wicker. Moments after it was snapped, she and her pilot died in a horrific plane crash and fire.

Doomed Flight

This picture shows a happy Anna Sergeeva, it was snapped moments before her Fly Dubai flight took off for the last time. The doomed flight crashed shortly after take-off, killing all the passengers and crew aboard. This picture is the last one of Ana alive and her friends and family say that they are grateful that she shared the picture on social media just before her death.

The Last Run

Cameron Gallagher, a healthy 16-year-old teenager from Ireland, enjoyed participating in sporting events. This picture was taken at a marathon in which she participated, just moments after passing the finishing line, Cameron collapsed and died shortly after. This picture is the last picture of her doing what she loved most. The worst part of the tragedy is that doctors were uncertain exactly what the cause of the young girl’s death was.

Marry Miller

This is the last ever picture of Mary Miller. Miller jumped from an 8th story window at the Genesee hotel in Buffalo and this picture was taken by a local photographer after he was sent out on assignment by a newspaper. In the photo, Mary can be seen passing the third story, just before she hit the ground and passed away.

The Last Stunt

Krishnan Nair, a famous Indian actor was well known for the dangerous stunts that he had performed in the 120 movies that he starred in. Unfortunately the stunt that he performed in this picture would also be his last one. The actor performed his stunt perfectly but the helicopter failed and crashed to the ground, killing everyone on board the aircraft.

Flight 235

This horrifying photo captures the final moments of TransAsia flight 235 and everyone aboard it. After the aircraft ran into trouble in the skies above Taipei a mere two minutes after taking off, it crashed into this highway. Everyone on board the aircraft were killed in the incident and it was one of the worst air disasters of all time. The image was captured by a passing vehicle’s dash cam- it must have been a frightening sight for the people on the highway!

Concorde

The Concorde was one of the most advanced aircraft of its time and taking a flight on this unique aircraft was the ultimate experience for many travellers. The Concorde, however, had a short lived career that ended in tragedy when this particular aircraft took off from Charles de Gualle airport in Paris. The craft burst into flames and crashed shortly after, taking the lives of all the passengers and crew.

Never Turn Your Back On A Leopard

Turning your back on a wild animal is never a good idea, particularly not if that animal is a stealth hunter. This picture shows the final moments of a guard in West Bengal. The guard was trying to find and kill the leopard that had been terrorizing the local village when he was attacked by the animal and killed instead.

Attack At The Zoo

The woman in this picture was the unfortunate victim of a polar bear mauling after she jumped into the animal’s enclosure at the Berlin zoo. It was later revealed that the woman had been suffering from depression and that the jump might have been a suicide attempt. Whatever the reason for her actions may be, death by polar bear doesn’t seem like something that we would wish upon anyone.

Final Stunt

This daredevil decided to take on the might of the Niagara falls with his jet-ski. Needless to say the man did not survive this and fell to his death in a watery grave. The daredevil planned to ride the jet-ski over the falls and then open a parachute to allow for a soft landing, however, his stunt did not go according to plan.

Hero Of Columbine

In one of the most well known US mass school shootings an unlikely hero emerged. William Sanders probably never imagined that he would one day be responsible for saving the lives of hundreds of students when he sacrificed his own life to warn the students of the impending attack that took the lives of 12 people and injured 24 others. Had it not been for his heroic actions, many more may have perished.

Deadly Stingray

This is the last picture of the famous Australian TV personality, Steve Irwin. Steve was famous for his efforts to rehabilitate injured wild animals and he felt that he had a personal connection with many of the animals he had rescued. Unfortunately for him, this particular stingray disagreed and stung him in the chest with its tail. Moments after the picture was taken Steve passed away.