Voodoo Death

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:

    If science ever gets to the bottom of Voodoo in Haiti and Africa, it will be found that some important medical secrets, still unknown to medical science, give it its power, rather than the gestures of ceremony.
    Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)

    There is no sorrow more grievous than the death of one’s spirit.
    —Chinese proverb.

    Zhaungzi.