# Would most women really scream when finding a dead body? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 20, 2013, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815 "2013-05-20T13:30:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dada2fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ccd318/32.png) [@dada2fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dada2fish)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/21 "2013-05-20T17:03:13Z")
Having found someone I was very closed to dead by suicide, I didn’t scream. It was more like a kick in the gut. Stunned silence then everything gets surreal. Then I clicked into auto pilot. It’s hard for your brain to process. I was quickly flipping through scenarios in my head to make was I was looking at not true. As I dialed 911, I was thinking, “This practical joke he’s pulling on me is about to backfire on him when the police/ ambulance get here.” I would think you might truly scream if the body is very obviously dead like in a gruesome or severely decomposed state. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/22 "2013-05-20T17:03:57Z")
I definitely scream as a startle response, most commonly at the sight of a mouse or rat, or if the lights go out suddenly. I think it would depend on the circumstances of the discovery. If there was some reason to suspect I might find a body, I probably wouldn’t scream. If I just stumbled over one completely unexpectedly, then I think I probably would. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/23 "2013-05-20T17:06:08Z")
I honestly can’t say if I would. Don’t know if I’ve ever shrieked, but I have definitely yelled (Like “aaah!” instead of “EEEEEE!”) I think I might just say “Oh holy shit!” ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/24 "2013-05-20T17:08:40Z")
I don’t know that I’ve ever screamed in fright or horror. If you dump a bucket of cold water over me, I’d probably yelp at the very least, but I don’t think I’d scream if I found a body. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/25 "2013-05-20T17:13:09Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > No, but they all stand on a chair and shout “Eek!” when they see a mouse. The nun who taught French in my high school climbed on the chair, from there to the desk, and ordered one of the students to get that rat out of her classroom (the same student who’d done things such as bring a captured viper to biology class the previous year, she didn’t just pick one at random) - but like I say, it was for a rat, not a mouse. I’ve seen mice while waiting for the train. My reaction was to think “huh, looks like a rabbit’s foot amulet with a tail… oh, it’s a mouse. Oh, ok. I didn’t know real mice looked like rabbit’s foot amulets… or maybe it’s rabbit’s foot amulets that look like mice…” No screaming was involved. I yelp when surprised, but even if and when I happened to have a handy hunk to cling to during some gory movie, I made complaining noises but no screaming. It’s actually pretty nice when a movie has someone yelp, or yelp and then start ranting at whomever startled them, rather than that siren scream which apparently is required learning at acting school - but only for the female contingent. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/26 "2013-05-20T17:19:57Z")
If I see a mouse in the house I say “awwwwww…” and try and catch it and put it outside. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/27 "2013-05-20T18:24:57Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Look, I “shriek briefly in surprise” when I drop a fork. (Which probably means that if my dog found a severed foot I wouldn’t make a sound, but you know how that sort of thing goes.) This. The other day I mildly electrocuted myself and I shrieked. I’m almost positive I would scream if I saw a dead body. I would probably stifle the scream as soon as possible, but it would definitely be noisy for a second there. I call B.S. on men not screaming. I’ve seen a lot of men scream in surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Inter\_Alia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@Inter\_Alia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inter_Alia)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/28 "2013-05-20T19:39:27Z")
When I was 18 (a prime age for girly shrieking and screaming), I found the bodies of my mom and her friend, who had both committed suicide. I was shocked, but I didn’t make a sound. The shock lasted until I called 911, and then it was mostly hysterical crying. I’d probably scream if I stumbled across a body in the woods or something, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/29 "2013-05-20T19:48:54Z")
Haven’t found a dead body yet, but I tend to inhale sharply when I’m scared or surprised, so I’d probably do that. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/30 "2013-05-20T20:27:39Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > This. The other day I mildly electrocuted myself and I shrieked. I’m almost positive I would scream if I saw a dead body. I would probably stifle the scream as soon as possible, but it would definitely be noisy for a second there. > > I call B.S. on men not screaming. I’ve seen a lot of men scream in surprise. In fact, I get it from my dad, who also shrieks when he drops something. My mother yells, boredly, “Stop screaming!” My husband yells, boredly, “Was that an important scream or not?” ETA - other occasions on which I have squeaked really loud: cockroaches or things that look like cockroaches, something touching the back of my neck, sometimes when I pick up a drink can and expect it to be full and it’s empty so my hand shoots up really fast, and a very strong gust of wind on a windy day on Grandfather Mountain. I have nerves of steel when I need to as long as you don’t mind all the screaming. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/31 "2013-05-20T20:36:17Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I don’t know that I’ve ever screamed in fright or horror. If you dump a bucket of cold water over me, I’d probably yelp at the very least, but I don’t think I’d scream if I found a body. I’m sure I screamed at some point when I was a little girl but not since then. When startled, like if somebody taps me on the shoulder when I’m deeply involved in a book, I shout. I doubt I’d say anything if I came across a corpse—unless it fell on me while I was reading, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_I\_Am](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@Sam\_I\_Am](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_I_Am)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/32 "2013-05-21T00:00:40Z")
I tend to shriek as a startle reaction, but facing death so far seems more inclined to trigger vomiting or dry heaving. Which is interesting, because I don’t vomit with things like gallstones or ruptured cysts. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/33 "2013-05-21T00:08:46Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I call B.S. on men not screaming. I’ve seen a lot of men scream in surprise. I don’t know about men in general, but I can’t remember having ever screamed (I can’t swear that I never did, and I’m excluding childhood). I’ve a very hard time picturing myself screaming, in fact, except from pain. I guess sheer terror would do the trick too. I always tend to think that you can’t know how you would react in such and such situation without having experienced it yourself, but in this case the very concept seems weird to me. Deafening silence seems to me to be my most likely reaction. When I think of it, I don’t remember having heard many people scream, be them men or women except for “fun screams” (like in a roller coaster, for instance) and in fortunately very rare instances, people being assaulted. And thinking of it again, I’ve been assaulted twice and dead silence was in fact my reaction. ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/34 "2013-05-21T00:11:13Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I don’t know that I’ve ever screamed in fright or horror. If you dump a bucket of cold water over me, I’d probably yelp at the very least, but I don’t think I’d scream if I found a body. Ditto. I don’t climb on chairs for mice either. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/35 "2013-05-21T01:29:24Z")
A random corpse somewhere? Probably, but it would be more like, “HOLY SHIT, WHAT THE FUCK!” If it were a loved one, I honestly do not know how I would react. Mice, it’s more of a startled thing. The only thing that _really_ gets me screaming hysterically are snakes. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/36 "2013-05-21T02:56:50Z")
OK. Catching a woman off guard, I get. But the other day I was watching this movie, and it was pissing me right the hell off. The girl is running from the bad guy. She finds a hiding spot inside a cabinet (or some such) the guy eventually catches up to her location but still has no idea where she is. All she has to do is NOT scream. Of course, she couldn’t help herself, and she wound up screaming anyway letting the bad guy know where she was. The bad guy wound up killing her real good. :smack: I wonder, in THAT situation, could a woman control herself? (Typically) ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/37 "2013-05-21T05:25:53Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > I’m female, and I don’t scream. I don’t think I’ve really screamed since I was a little kid- maybe while messing around drunk as a teenager, but never as a genuine response to being scared or startled. Even in situations when people have deliberately tried to get a rise out of me (eg, co-workers putting a model snake on a conveyor belt, while I was working in a park house in Australia), I don’t remember ever making any noise bar possibly a slight intake of breath. > > My normal startle reflex is to freeze for a fraction of a second. Possibly it’s partially because I’ve worked with animals a fair bit and making a loud noise when startled by an animal is rarely a good plan; but even when I was little, I didn’t scream on roller coasters like most of my friends did. Pretty much this, except for the working WITH animals thing. Though I’ve worked around wildlife and have had a few run ins with bears, moose, etc. My reactions were as **Filbert** describes. Probably a bit too much on the “freeze” side of things than the panic and scream side of things really. I guess that’s my natural fear reaction. Even if it fell on me, (as mentioned up thread) I’d be more likely to be all “what the???” then “euuw, ick” than to scream. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/38 "2013-05-21T05:53:09Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > A random corpse somewhere? Probably, but it would be more like, “HOLY SHIT, WHAT THE FUCK!” If it were a loved one, I honestly do not know how I would react. I think it would vary a lot with who it was, if it was a loved one. Grandma who’s 99 and a half? Oh hell. Well, better me than some other relatives. My brother who’s 8 years younger than me and as far as we know in perfectly fine health? OH HELL BLOODY FUCK! ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/39 "2013-05-21T06:02:15Z")
When my wife found a dead body, she just stopped walking and said “I think that’s a dead body.” It was in China, and it was a child who had apparently been struck by a car several hours earlier. Hundreds of other people (men and women) had already walked past it and paid it little attention. Probably not an uncommon occurrence in that remote part of China. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815/40 "2013-05-21T08:09:31Z")
Been there, done that, unfortunately, and I didn’t scream. I think my reaction was to freeze for about a second, then say, “Oh my God, I think she’s dead.” The corpse was lying peacefully in bed. Screaming didn’t really occur to me. If I’d opened a bathroom door and it had fallen out at me, yeah, I probably would have at least yelped. It’s more about the surprise than the death. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-most-women-really-scream-when-finding-a-dead-body/658815.md?page=3)