10 Creepy Stories About Real Life Executioners

Being an executioner is certainly not the happiest job. Killing people for a living, whether or not it’s in the name of ‘justice’, would be tough for most people. Most executioners find that the work causes them some distress or trauma throughout and after their career. And for the early 20th century British executioner John Ellis, the job proved to be too much.

After the particularly difficult execution of Edith Thomas, John Ellis was traumatised. He quit his job shortly after and his mental health continued to suffer. He took to heavy drinking and later attempted suicide by shooting himself in the jaw. Things continued to get worse for Ellis, because at that time suicide was still a crime, so he faced a criminal trial for attempting to take his own life. He was sentenced to one year in prison. Eight years later, he committed suicide by cutting his throat.