nivek
As Above So Below
The Peculiar Death of Christopher Case
By: Richard While
In April 1991, a man by the name of Christopher Case was found dead in his apartment after a week of telling friends that something was trying to kill him. Did he literally scare himself to death? Or was his passing the result of a terrifying curse?
Christopher Case was a small town radio DJ who had grown up in Richmond, Virginia. He was a well-rounded individual; intelligent, sophisticated and an absolute fitness zealot who took vitamin supplements daily and exercised religiously. In his early 30s, he decided to move out west to Seattle in Washington State to start a new career as a music executive. He worked for the Muzak Holdings company, producing the soft music heard in lifts and waiting rooms all over the world.
Chris was a popular young man. He had made good friends in his new role and still managed to keep in regular contact with old friends back in Richmond, but despite this he was a bit of a loner and had remained single for many years. This is not strange in itself; his job required him to travel all over the United States and he had a real passion for music, particularly compositions of the ancient world.
Chris’ idea of a good time was sitting at home listening to his favourite tracks rather than going out to socialise of an evening. He found solace in the arrangements of notes and harmonies rather than in the company of others. He didn’t want for much; he didn’t bother other people and in return other people didn’t bother him. And it is for this reason that nobody who knew him has ever been able to understand the week in the summer of 1991 which would ultimately end in tragedy.
Christopher falls asleep…
On the morning of Thursday 18th April, Chris was found dead in his apartment. There was no sign of a struggle having taken place or of forced entry. His body was discovered fully clothed, sitting inside his empty bathtub, in a kneeling position with his head resting against the wall. It appeared as though he had simply fallen asleep and passed away.
But when police officers searched the residence, they found a multitude of crucifixes, books on the occult and saw that salt had been poured at the entrance to his home and along every single skirting board inside his apartment. They also heard religious music playing quietly in a number of rooms. At the scene, the coroner was able to determine that Mr. Case had died of heart failure. He was just 35 years old.
Whilst the circumstances surrounding Chris’ death and the state in which his apartment had been found were indeed odd to say the least, the story which transpired over the following months of the investigation read like something straight out of a paranormal thriller.
A sinister twist
Shortly after his passing, friends reported that, in the days leading up to his death, Chris had called them in a panic on numerous occasions, saying that something was after him and that he feared for his life. He told friends that he was certain he would be dead before the end of the week. This baffled authorities, and what was originally thought to have been a death by natural causes would take on a much more sinister twist. After weeks of looking into the case, investigators discovered a very chilling side to this story.
As it turned out, on the 11th April, seven days before his death, Chris had embarked on a business trip to San Francisco, meeting with other executives within the music industry. At some point during his visit he had been introduced to an older woman who shared his passion for music of the ancient world, particularly that of Egypt and other Mediterranean civilisations.
They seemed to have a lot in common and as their conversation progressed, it became clear to Chris that this woman wished to pursue a romantic relationship with him. She made no secret of her feelings and asked him to take her home on more than one occasion. Being a man of integrity, he politely declined these requests. She was an attractive lady, but her intensity had unnerved the young executive. This, coupled with the fact that she was at least 20 years his senior, led Chris to suggest that they call it a night and go their separate ways, but this only seemed to anger her.
She felt the full force of his rejection and then said something strange; she told him that she was a witch, that she would put a curse on him and that he would be sorry. She told him that he would be dead within a week.
Chris, who thought of himself as a rational individual, simply shrugged this off. He did not believe in the paranormal or supernatural and he was not religious in any sense of the word, so he disregarded her threats and travelled back to Seattle the next day. He would relate this tale to his friend, Sammy Sauder, upon his return, who would also dismiss it with the same supposed rationality. And certainly, at least for the first few days after his return home, he completely forgot about the entire incident.
Strange occurences
However, on the morning of 14th April, Chris called Sammy in a panic, saying that he had been kept awake all night by the sound of whispering voices coming from somewhere inside his home, though he could not find the source. He would also go on to say how he had seen shadows moving around his apartment, even though he was the only one there and that he felt like he was being watched during the night.
This conversation would be the first of three frantic telephone calls that Chris would make to Sammy over the next few days. On the 16th, he called to tell her that something had attacked him during the night. He had woken to find himself paralysed, being throttled by unseen hands. The attack was particularly intense and violent, the force of it lifting him off of his mattress before releasing him and throwing him back on to his bed. Afterwards he had noticed tiny cuts on the ends of each one of his fingers and that his bed sheets were stained with his blood.
This instance would prove to be too much and on the morning after he visited a religious bookstore called Evangel Incorporated. The store manager, Rodney Higucci, described how Chris had entered the store, walked over to one of the displays and picked up a handful of crucifixes. Mr. Higucci asked him how he intended to use them and Chris told him what he believed to be truth of the matter; that he was being attacked by paranormal entities and that he needed to defend himself. Rodney assisted as best he could and recommended a number of books on the subject of fighting witchcraft.
From rational individual to desperate wreck of a man
Between his visits to the bookstore and his calls to concerned friends, Chris had begun a determined effort to fend off whatever mysterious forces had been tormenting him and by the afternoon of the 16th the battle lines had been drawn. He had placed a number of crucifixes around his home, which were interspersed with candles and he had poured lines of salt along the extremities of each room, leaving small piles in each corner. He had also written many notes on methods of combating evil spirits, which were scattered throughout his apartment.
It had been less than a week since his meeting with the strange woman, but Chris was a changed man, barely recognisable compared to the confident, rational young executive he had been only days beforehand. This was an obsessed individual, determined to the point of it being detrimental to his health. He wasn’t sleeping and he had not shown up for work in two days. He called other friends besides Sammy and they would describe how they could hear in his voice how utterly afraid he was.
And unfortunately for Chris, the evening of the 16th would be his most harrowing experience to date. It is not exactly clear what happened during the course of the night, but something frightened him so much that he left his home during the early hours of the morning and stayed at a hotel.
Because of this, Sammy could not get through to him the next morning. Her only recourse was to call a local police department and ask them to do a welfare check on Chris’ property. Upon arrival, they found the premises locked and were unable to get access. They left the scene and reported their findings back to a concerned Sammy. Living on the other side of the country, she felt distraught and helpless as to what else she could do, and had no other choice but to wait to hear from Chris.
The last time Sammy hears from her friend
That evening, she came home to find a message stored on her answering machine. Little did she know it at that moment, but this would be the last time she ever heard from her friend. To her surprise, there was an eerie calm to the young man’s voice, almost as if he had resigned himself to his fate. In the message, he spoke about how “they” had almost got him the night before and that he believed this would be his last night on Earth. Sammy wouldn’t be the only person to hear from Chris that day, however.
He had also visited a Catholic priest in the afternoon and later on had returned to Evangel Incorporated. On this occasion Rodney Higucci described how Chris had looked exhausted, but desperate, and that he had asked for more advice on how to defend himself, which the store manager was only too happy to provide.
Despite Chris’ best efforts, he would lose his life on the night of 17th April, 1991. Myocarditis was listed as the official cause of death in the coroner’s report; a sudden and seemingly inexplicable stopping of the heart.
What happened to Christopher?
So did Christopher Case somehow manage to convince himself that he had been cursed and then literally scare himself to death? Or was there something far more mysterious and sinister at work? The jury is still out, even after all this time.
Myocarditis is a rare, but potentially deadly disease affecting 1 in every 100,000 people. It is not hereditary and therefore not based on one’s genetic make-up. It can afflict anyone at any time, but most commonly occurs in people between the ages of 20 and 40. It is not unheard of for Myocarditis to strike young men and women who are otherwise fit and healthy and in fact it has been the cause of many sudden deaths in young athletes around the world. Some medical experts have also suggested that there is a link between the disease and man-made supplements, such as vitamins or steroids, which they believe could aggravate an existing condition.
With this in mind, it is important to remember that Christopher Case was a fitness enthusiast; he went to the gym to exercise daily. He also took vitamin supplements. And at the age of 35, he was well within the scope of being affected by this disease.
However, close friends and relatives of Mr. Case are not so quick to just accept the possibility that he died of natural causes. First of all, there are a variety of other symptoms which usually manifest in sufferers of Myocarditis, such as chest pain, difficulty breathing and general fatigue. Furthermore, before a fatal attack such as this, the sufferer will usually display flu-like symptoms in the weeks leading up to their death. Chris experienced none of these things. He was an otherwise fit and healthy young man with a top notch immune system.
And then there is the small matter of Chris’ mental state during those last five or six days. As we have already established, he was a stable individual and not prone to such flights of fancy regarding the paranormal. So why did he suddenly and inexplicably change? Is it really possible for someone to go from being a sane, rational young man one day, only to change to a desperate and obsessed wreck of a man the next? It makes absolutely no sense.
Finally, we are faced with the fact that Chris knew he was going to die. He predicted it with alarming accuracy, saying to his friend Sammy on the 17th that he knew he would not last the night. What are the chances of an otherwise fit, healthy and mentally stable young man dying of natural causes after a week of saying to friends that he feared for his life? One has to wonder whether there is more to this than meets the eye.
In summary
Whatever happened during that week back in April of 1991, Chris truly believed that he was being haunted and ultimately hunted by something utterly sinister and horrific enough to literally scare him to death. After days of being tormented and tortured at the hands of who knows what, he finally succumb to his fears and left behind a tantalising mystery, which will probably never be solved.
You may be wondering why the police never followed up on the identity of the woman who supposedly put this curse on him, but his death was never seen as suspicious and so it did not warrant that kind of investigation. Besides, Chris took her name with him to the grave.
Whether he died of a terrifying curse or whether it was simply all in his head, this case is no less heart-breaking for those who were close to Chris. And we can only hope that he rests in peace…
Bedtime Stories Podcast S02E01 - The Peculiar Death of Christopher Case
.
By: Richard While
In April 1991, a man by the name of Christopher Case was found dead in his apartment after a week of telling friends that something was trying to kill him. Did he literally scare himself to death? Or was his passing the result of a terrifying curse?
Christopher Case was a small town radio DJ who had grown up in Richmond, Virginia. He was a well-rounded individual; intelligent, sophisticated and an absolute fitness zealot who took vitamin supplements daily and exercised religiously. In his early 30s, he decided to move out west to Seattle in Washington State to start a new career as a music executive. He worked for the Muzak Holdings company, producing the soft music heard in lifts and waiting rooms all over the world.
Chris was a popular young man. He had made good friends in his new role and still managed to keep in regular contact with old friends back in Richmond, but despite this he was a bit of a loner and had remained single for many years. This is not strange in itself; his job required him to travel all over the United States and he had a real passion for music, particularly compositions of the ancient world.
Chris’ idea of a good time was sitting at home listening to his favourite tracks rather than going out to socialise of an evening. He found solace in the arrangements of notes and harmonies rather than in the company of others. He didn’t want for much; he didn’t bother other people and in return other people didn’t bother him. And it is for this reason that nobody who knew him has ever been able to understand the week in the summer of 1991 which would ultimately end in tragedy.
Christopher falls asleep…
On the morning of Thursday 18th April, Chris was found dead in his apartment. There was no sign of a struggle having taken place or of forced entry. His body was discovered fully clothed, sitting inside his empty bathtub, in a kneeling position with his head resting against the wall. It appeared as though he had simply fallen asleep and passed away.
But when police officers searched the residence, they found a multitude of crucifixes, books on the occult and saw that salt had been poured at the entrance to his home and along every single skirting board inside his apartment. They also heard religious music playing quietly in a number of rooms. At the scene, the coroner was able to determine that Mr. Case had died of heart failure. He was just 35 years old.
Whilst the circumstances surrounding Chris’ death and the state in which his apartment had been found were indeed odd to say the least, the story which transpired over the following months of the investigation read like something straight out of a paranormal thriller.
A sinister twist
Shortly after his passing, friends reported that, in the days leading up to his death, Chris had called them in a panic on numerous occasions, saying that something was after him and that he feared for his life. He told friends that he was certain he would be dead before the end of the week. This baffled authorities, and what was originally thought to have been a death by natural causes would take on a much more sinister twist. After weeks of looking into the case, investigators discovered a very chilling side to this story.
As it turned out, on the 11th April, seven days before his death, Chris had embarked on a business trip to San Francisco, meeting with other executives within the music industry. At some point during his visit he had been introduced to an older woman who shared his passion for music of the ancient world, particularly that of Egypt and other Mediterranean civilisations.
They seemed to have a lot in common and as their conversation progressed, it became clear to Chris that this woman wished to pursue a romantic relationship with him. She made no secret of her feelings and asked him to take her home on more than one occasion. Being a man of integrity, he politely declined these requests. She was an attractive lady, but her intensity had unnerved the young executive. This, coupled with the fact that she was at least 20 years his senior, led Chris to suggest that they call it a night and go their separate ways, but this only seemed to anger her.
She felt the full force of his rejection and then said something strange; she told him that she was a witch, that she would put a curse on him and that he would be sorry. She told him that he would be dead within a week.
Chris, who thought of himself as a rational individual, simply shrugged this off. He did not believe in the paranormal or supernatural and he was not religious in any sense of the word, so he disregarded her threats and travelled back to Seattle the next day. He would relate this tale to his friend, Sammy Sauder, upon his return, who would also dismiss it with the same supposed rationality. And certainly, at least for the first few days after his return home, he completely forgot about the entire incident.
Strange occurences
However, on the morning of 14th April, Chris called Sammy in a panic, saying that he had been kept awake all night by the sound of whispering voices coming from somewhere inside his home, though he could not find the source. He would also go on to say how he had seen shadows moving around his apartment, even though he was the only one there and that he felt like he was being watched during the night.
This conversation would be the first of three frantic telephone calls that Chris would make to Sammy over the next few days. On the 16th, he called to tell her that something had attacked him during the night. He had woken to find himself paralysed, being throttled by unseen hands. The attack was particularly intense and violent, the force of it lifting him off of his mattress before releasing him and throwing him back on to his bed. Afterwards he had noticed tiny cuts on the ends of each one of his fingers and that his bed sheets were stained with his blood.
This instance would prove to be too much and on the morning after he visited a religious bookstore called Evangel Incorporated. The store manager, Rodney Higucci, described how Chris had entered the store, walked over to one of the displays and picked up a handful of crucifixes. Mr. Higucci asked him how he intended to use them and Chris told him what he believed to be truth of the matter; that he was being attacked by paranormal entities and that he needed to defend himself. Rodney assisted as best he could and recommended a number of books on the subject of fighting witchcraft.
From rational individual to desperate wreck of a man
Between his visits to the bookstore and his calls to concerned friends, Chris had begun a determined effort to fend off whatever mysterious forces had been tormenting him and by the afternoon of the 16th the battle lines had been drawn. He had placed a number of crucifixes around his home, which were interspersed with candles and he had poured lines of salt along the extremities of each room, leaving small piles in each corner. He had also written many notes on methods of combating evil spirits, which were scattered throughout his apartment.
It had been less than a week since his meeting with the strange woman, but Chris was a changed man, barely recognisable compared to the confident, rational young executive he had been only days beforehand. This was an obsessed individual, determined to the point of it being detrimental to his health. He wasn’t sleeping and he had not shown up for work in two days. He called other friends besides Sammy and they would describe how they could hear in his voice how utterly afraid he was.
And unfortunately for Chris, the evening of the 16th would be his most harrowing experience to date. It is not exactly clear what happened during the course of the night, but something frightened him so much that he left his home during the early hours of the morning and stayed at a hotel.
Because of this, Sammy could not get through to him the next morning. Her only recourse was to call a local police department and ask them to do a welfare check on Chris’ property. Upon arrival, they found the premises locked and were unable to get access. They left the scene and reported their findings back to a concerned Sammy. Living on the other side of the country, she felt distraught and helpless as to what else she could do, and had no other choice but to wait to hear from Chris.
The last time Sammy hears from her friend
That evening, she came home to find a message stored on her answering machine. Little did she know it at that moment, but this would be the last time she ever heard from her friend. To her surprise, there was an eerie calm to the young man’s voice, almost as if he had resigned himself to his fate. In the message, he spoke about how “they” had almost got him the night before and that he believed this would be his last night on Earth. Sammy wouldn’t be the only person to hear from Chris that day, however.
He had also visited a Catholic priest in the afternoon and later on had returned to Evangel Incorporated. On this occasion Rodney Higucci described how Chris had looked exhausted, but desperate, and that he had asked for more advice on how to defend himself, which the store manager was only too happy to provide.
Despite Chris’ best efforts, he would lose his life on the night of 17th April, 1991. Myocarditis was listed as the official cause of death in the coroner’s report; a sudden and seemingly inexplicable stopping of the heart.
What happened to Christopher?
So did Christopher Case somehow manage to convince himself that he had been cursed and then literally scare himself to death? Or was there something far more mysterious and sinister at work? The jury is still out, even after all this time.
Myocarditis is a rare, but potentially deadly disease affecting 1 in every 100,000 people. It is not hereditary and therefore not based on one’s genetic make-up. It can afflict anyone at any time, but most commonly occurs in people between the ages of 20 and 40. It is not unheard of for Myocarditis to strike young men and women who are otherwise fit and healthy and in fact it has been the cause of many sudden deaths in young athletes around the world. Some medical experts have also suggested that there is a link between the disease and man-made supplements, such as vitamins or steroids, which they believe could aggravate an existing condition.
With this in mind, it is important to remember that Christopher Case was a fitness enthusiast; he went to the gym to exercise daily. He also took vitamin supplements. And at the age of 35, he was well within the scope of being affected by this disease.
However, close friends and relatives of Mr. Case are not so quick to just accept the possibility that he died of natural causes. First of all, there are a variety of other symptoms which usually manifest in sufferers of Myocarditis, such as chest pain, difficulty breathing and general fatigue. Furthermore, before a fatal attack such as this, the sufferer will usually display flu-like symptoms in the weeks leading up to their death. Chris experienced none of these things. He was an otherwise fit and healthy young man with a top notch immune system.
And then there is the small matter of Chris’ mental state during those last five or six days. As we have already established, he was a stable individual and not prone to such flights of fancy regarding the paranormal. So why did he suddenly and inexplicably change? Is it really possible for someone to go from being a sane, rational young man one day, only to change to a desperate and obsessed wreck of a man the next? It makes absolutely no sense.
Finally, we are faced with the fact that Chris knew he was going to die. He predicted it with alarming accuracy, saying to his friend Sammy on the 17th that he knew he would not last the night. What are the chances of an otherwise fit, healthy and mentally stable young man dying of natural causes after a week of saying to friends that he feared for his life? One has to wonder whether there is more to this than meets the eye.
In summary
Whatever happened during that week back in April of 1991, Chris truly believed that he was being haunted and ultimately hunted by something utterly sinister and horrific enough to literally scare him to death. After days of being tormented and tortured at the hands of who knows what, he finally succumb to his fears and left behind a tantalising mystery, which will probably never be solved.
You may be wondering why the police never followed up on the identity of the woman who supposedly put this curse on him, but his death was never seen as suspicious and so it did not warrant that kind of investigation. Besides, Chris took her name with him to the grave.
Whether he died of a terrifying curse or whether it was simply all in his head, this case is no less heart-breaking for those who were close to Chris. And we can only hope that he rests in peace…
Bedtime Stories Podcast S02E01 - The Peculiar Death of Christopher Case
.