I have to add my two cents. I’ve played the game for 10+ years and never ascended, even when I still savescummed. But I still think I have the best death ever: A chaotic priest, killed by the ghost of Jesus, after converting an alter.
The “ghost” of Jesus?..
What is “Savescummed”?
“Savescummed” = making backup copies of the *.sav files in your nethack directory, so that you can replay characters after they’ve died. Many nethackers contend that this practice is either (a) a crutch which hampers your ability to become a better player over time, or (b) cheating, morally repugnant, and possibly fattening. It’s been the subject of many a spirited Usenet debate, with predictable results, i.e. none whatsoever.
Regarding ghosts: they’re a particular type of monster. If you play for long enough you’ll run into ghosts named after various members of the Dev. Team, as well as previous characters.
I think my personal best for a hilarious death is genociding myself. Whoops… forgot what race I was.
I never got any farther than the Gnomish Mines (or whatever) though. I often starve. Granted I only played the game for a few weeks before moving on…