The 33 Club

Varad,

‘Welcome to the 2798th meeting of the 33 club. What’s today’s agenda?’ Irma grimaced, ‘Same old?’

Thirty-two heads nodded solemnly.

William Rambo moved amidst them, ‘Well? Am I in?’

Frederick nodded, ‘The poor man’s been waiting for years now. I say yes.’

‘But, we’ll no longer be the 33 Club.’ Evelyn scoffed. ‘We’ve been doing our best to keep the original number intact. Look, look…’ She pointed at a man running towards the observatory ledge. She groaned and blew hard, creating a gust of wind that blew the jumper back to the 86th floor.

‘Another wannabe. I don’t know why everyone wants to jump off the Empire State Building.’

Written for the weekly Friday Fictioneers challenge hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. This week’s prompt is from Jill Wisoff. Please find other entries here. 

Note: This is a work of fiction. Irma P. Eberhardt, Frederick Eckert, William Lloyd Rambo, Evelyn McHale have the notoriety of committing suicide by jumping from the Empire State Building. Their names have been used only for fictional purposes and not intended to insult their memories in any way. 

 

 

Published by Varad

Self-published author/ Social media neanderthal.

63 Comments

  16. That is an interesting, select club to be part of, Varad. It shows some kernel of determination from the jumpers to use such a high building with no chance of survival at the end. Chilling but well written

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    1. Thank you, Lynn. I’ve often wondered why people choose some famous spot or landmark for ending their lives. Maybe they needed to make that one last impact in their lives? I’ve never been able to fathom that.

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        1. There was a jumper in our apartment last year. A 20 year old guy jumped from the 13th floor and made a horrible mess on the ground. I can’t even imagine what sort of impact it’d be when someone leaps from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. Most news reports say that the witnesses heard something like an explosion.

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  18. When I’ve ever been in my darkest moments, the thought of jumping off a public landmark has never crossed my mind and I’ve never come up with a plan as such. However, it seems like a bit of work to me.
    Your story is quite intriguing and could use a bit of an explanation at the end or perhaps a bit of editing to clarify things a little.
    They sound like they’ve formed their own exclusive club and want to keep it to themselves, just like many other clubs.
    Best wishes,
    Rowena

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    1. Thanks, Rowena. I was intrigued by the suicide of Evelyn McHale (one of the names mentioned here) when I read about it a long time ago. She jumped from the 86th floor and landed on a limousine below. The amazing fact was her body was more or less intact and hers’ came to be known as ‘the most beautiful suicide.’

      I got the idea of my story while thinking how Evelyn might not be interested in welcoming further members to their little clique.

      BTW, thanks for sharing your personal thoughts Rowena. I’m glad you have moved far away from those dark thoughts.

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    1. Tempting as it might sound, I don’t think anyone with a sane mind would want to become a member of that group. (BTW, getting entry is really tough, I hear :D) Thanks for the comment, Courtney.

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  20. Actually, in doing my research, I was surprised (though I don’t know why) that the Empire State Building has historically been such a suicide magnet. Guess I’ve always been focused on the Golden Gate Bridge.

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      1. Certain places and objects are associated with Suicide, both for their reputation, and the fact that you can jump off of them (most of the time) to your death.

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        1. Thought there would be. I found out my Dad, who is afraid of heights, wouldn’t go to the top and my mum had to go by herself. He says that 12 floors is his limit.

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    2. Someone crazy or disturbed enough to make a splatter on the street wouldn’t be too bothered with fences, I think. I’m sure the security would have been ramped up in recent years but still people seem to be trying. There was an attempt made as recent as 2013. The guy escaped though as he fell only one floor down.

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    1. We can’t fathom that, Anita. Why someone decides to end their lives and in many cases in violent and gruesome fashion…We can only speculate about their mindset and other such things, but we’ll never know. Thanks for the comment.

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    1. Thanks, CE. There are approximately 34 recorded suicides from the Empire State Building. 33 is just something I came up with to have one pending application to the club.

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