# Nightmare fuel: teen dies in chimney **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 2, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285 "2015-10-02T18:34:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/1 "2015-10-02T18:34:18Z")
Something like this comes around every few years and I try not to read the stories, because it’s 100-proof nightmare fuel for me. [Teen missing seven years found near his home, jammed in chimney.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/skeleton-in-chimney-solves-7-year-old-mystery-creates-another_560d60cde4b07681270108ad) The details are hair-straightening. It seems more often that would-be burglars and robbers get stuck in restaurant exhaust stacks - they climb down the nice big chimney part, discover it goes nowhere bigger than six-inch ducts, can’t climb out of the greasy well, and between trying not to be caught and kitchen fumes… die there. Sometimes not to be found for a long, long time. Eeeeeeee… ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/2 "2015-10-02T18:37:59Z")
Not exactly nightmare fuel for me, because I have no plans to ever crawl down a damn chimney. Still, an interesting situation. Edgar Allen Poe would run with it. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/3 "2015-10-02T18:41:32Z")
Yes, seems like a burglary gone bad. Theres no other reason anyone would climb down a chimney and attempt entry into someone elses home. I agree he may have just been curious and didn’t plan to take anything. > **[Skeleton In Chimney Solves 7-Year-Old Mystery, Creates Another](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/skeleton-in-chimney-solves-7-year-old-mystery-creates-another_n_560d60cde4b07681270108ad)** > > "The situation doesn't make any sense at all." > [@](#): > > “The situation doesn’t make any sense at all,” Maddux’s older sister, Kate Maddux, told The Huffington Post. “We were really expecting him to be anywhere in the world and he was actually very close.” > > Joshua Maddux was 18 years old on May 8, 2008, the day he was last seen at his parent’s Woodland Park home. > > “He told me he was going for a walk,” Kate Maddux said. “Josh was an avid nature lover and loved to go for hikes.” > [@](#): > > But why Joshua Maddux’s remains were found in the chimney remains a bit of a mystery. > > “It doesn’t make sense,” Kate Maddux told HuffPost. “The only thing we can figure is he was being an 18-year-old kid, checking out a cabin – it had already been abandoned for a long time – and a horrible accident happened.” ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/4 "2015-10-02T18:41:58Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Not exactly nightmare fuel for me, because I have no plans to ever crawl down a damn chimney. Me either, but the idea of being buried alive, possibly within feet of would-be rescuers, and stuck in an awkward position… just \*shiver. \* I don’t know why that last bothers me so much. Not much difference between sitting/standing comfortably and being jammed in, I guess, but it creeps me out. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/5 "2015-10-02T18:45:08Z")
What got me was the cabin owner’s statement that they occasionally went by to check in on the cabin and it smelled bad. Eeeeek. I imagine so. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/6 "2015-10-02T18:50:58Z")
Chimneys often trap birds and rodents. They can be unpleasant to clean. Don’t expect to find a 18 year old kid’s skeleton in there. Never understood why the Santa Clause story includes climbing down a chimney. Thats given a lot of people the wrong idea. Chimneys just aren’t that big. Even in houses with several fireplaces. There might be a big chimney but its divided into multiple flues. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/7 "2015-10-02T18:55:58Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Me either, but the idea of being buried alive, possibly within feet of would-be rescuers, and stuck in an awkward position… just \*shiver. > \* I recommend you do not google “John Jones Nutty Putty Cave” ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/8 "2015-10-02T19:16:09Z")
[“…and that’s how I found out there was no Santa Claus.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueVPUsyrT0s) ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/9 "2015-10-02T19:22:46Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Yes, seems like a burglary gone bad. Theres no other reason anyone would climb down a chimney and attempt entry into someone elses home. I agree he may have just been curious and didn’t plan to take anything. > [Skeleton In Chimney Solves 7-Year-Old Mystery, Creates Another | HuffPost Latest News](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/skeleton-in-chimney-solves-7-year-old-mystery-creates-another_560d60cde4b07681270108ad) Not [always](http://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/24/nyregion/cornell-campus-shaken-by-death-in-a-chimney.html) ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/10 "2015-10-02T22:12:26Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > [“…and that’s how I found out there was no Santa Claus.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueVPUsyrT0s) This scene was probably the first time I recognized a scene as being dumb and all wrong for the movie, as I watched the movie. Really- we’re watching a movie about real live gremlins and they trot out this lengthy, plot irrelevant tear-jerker? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/11 "2015-10-02T22:34:02Z")
The childhood photo of Joshua Maddux in the article is interesting. With him just a small figure peering out from behind stuff it seems faintly prophetic. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/12 "2015-10-02T22:47:07Z")
Ehh, I’ve died in lots of worse places. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/13 "2015-10-02T23:06:22Z")
> [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](#): > > Really- we’re watching a movie about real live gremlins and they trot out this lengthy, plot irrelevant tear-jerker? Which they lampshaded the crap out of in the sequel. Loved that. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/14 "2015-10-03T01:39:08Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > … It seems more often that would-be burglars and robbers get stuck in restaurant exhaust stacks - they climb down the nice big chimney part, discover it goes nowhere bigger than six-inch ducts, can’t climb out of the greasy well, and between trying not to be caught and kitchen fumes… die there. Sometimes not to be found for a long, long time. > > Eeeeeeee… And as the body is slowly cooked by the heat rising up the chimney, the fat renders out and drips down the flue, mingling with the burger grease, and eventually some of it drips down onto the cooking food below. Folks have eaten corpse-flavored burgers. Sleep tight. :eek: You’re welcome. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/15 "2015-10-03T01:45:10Z")
You might also enjoy some of these. All fictional of course (until some psycho finds the thread. Yaay Google): [Your "One sentence scary story" submissions. - Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=770515) ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/16 "2015-10-04T01:38:45Z")
Jesus Christ, that kid disappeared at 18, and his older brother committed suicide, also at 18. Poor damn family. All my jokes will remain unwritten. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/17 "2015-10-04T16:23:47Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > And as the body is slowly cooked by the heat rising up the chimney, the fat renders out and drips down the flue, mingling with the burger grease, and eventually some of it drips down onto the cooking food below. > > Folks have eaten corpse-flavored burgers. > > Sleep tight. :eek: You’re welcome. 😃 Nah, none of that bothers me much. (And ALL burgers are corpse-flavored, y’know.) It’s the EA Poe, buried-alive, trapped (with freedom in sight), jammed into an uncomfortable position stuff that creeps me. Floyd Collins stuff. Skeletons found in dry wells and chimneys. People non-fatally trapped under cars. Eeeee. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/18 "2015-10-05T23:12:13Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Nah, none of that bothers me much. "Little old ladies getting hit on the head for their welfare checks, teachers getting thrown out of forth floor windows 'cause they don’t give “A’s”- No, that doesn’t bother me… But you know what does bother me? Do you know what makes me sick to my stomach? It’s watching _you_, stuffing your face with those damn hotdogs! Nobody, I mean _NOBODY_ puts ketchup on a hotdog!" _-“Dirty” Harry Callahan_ ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/19 "2015-10-06T01:59:36Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I don’t know why that last bothers me so much… I do…because it’s a fucking nightmare from Hell! I read about something similar about 15 years ago; whenever I think about it it gives me shivers! It’s still difficult for me to go under the crawl space of my house after reading about it. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightmare-fuel-teen-dies-in-chimney/733285/20 "2015-10-06T02:01:00Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Not exactly nightmare fuel for me, because I have no plans to ever crawl down a damn chimney. Not to be a total jerk about it, but, it kind of amuses me. (How I reconcile that with my above post, I have no idea.)