Voodoo death, a term coined by Walter Cannon in 1942 also known as psychogenic death or psychosomatic death, is the phenomenon of sudden death as brought about by a strong emotional shock, such as fear. The anomaly is recognized as "psychosomatic" in that death is caused by an emotional response—often fear—to some suggested outside force. Voodoo death is particularly noted in native societies, and concentration or prisoner of war camps, but the condition is not specific to any culture or death.
Read more about Voodoo Death: Walter Cannon and His Work, Parasympathetic Over-activation, Critical Evaluation, Notable Cases, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words voodoo and/or death:
“Do do that voodoo that you do so well.”
—Cole Porter (1893–1964)
“Why does man freeze to death trying to reach the North Pole? Why does man drive himself to suffer the steam and heat of the Amazon? Why does he stagger his mind with the mathematics of the sky? Once the question mark has arisen in the human brain the answer must be found, if it takes a hundred years. A thousand years.”
—Walter Reisch (1903–1963)