The thought of impalement probably conjures images of Vlad the Impaler or other medieval torturers. Yet impalement isn’t confined to history books or nightmares; it happens in the real world, and the following 10 gruesome stories prove just how brutal it can be.
Being pierced by rods, spikes, fences, or even a fish’s bill is a terrifying ordeal. Humans are fragile creatures, and there’s nothing stopping a person from becoming a literal human shish‑kebab. Brace yourself for the stomach‑turning reality of these incidents.
10 Phineas Gage
At 25, Phineas Gage worked as a railroad construction foreman in the United States. While preparing a new rail line, he used a tamping iron to drive explosives into a drilled hole in a rock. The iron scraped the rock’s side, sparking a blast that hurled the rod straight through Gage’s skull.
He lay unconscious for several minutes, then awoke able to speak coherently. Though he survived, his personality changed dramatically. Friends who once described him as personable and responsible now found him crass and unpleasant, insisting he was “no longer Gage.”
Assessing the depth of these changes is tricky because little is known about Gage’s pre‑accident demeanor, and scholars still debate how long the personality shift lasted.
The case of Phineas Gage has fascinated neuroscientists for decades, offering insight into brain function. He died twelve years later; his skull and the iron pipe that impaled him are displayed at Harvard Medical School’s Warren Anatomical Museum.
9 Unnamed Woman
In Bihar’s Saran district, a 17‑year‑old girl fell from a construction roof and landed on three iron rods attached to a cement pillar. All three rods pierced her lower torso and remained lodged for 10‑12 hours. Emergency crews had to cut the bars from the foundation while stabilizing her to prevent further movement.
She was then freed from the pillar and rushed to Ruban Patliputra Hospital, where surgeons spent five hours operating. Miraculously, the rods missed every major organ. She survived the operation and spent additional time recuperating in the hospital.
8 Li Jen
Li Jen, a 37‑year‑old builder in China, realized he’d locked himself out of his apartment. Rather than call a locksmith, he attempted to scale the building’s side toward his balcony. He slipped, falling roughly 15 meters (50 ft) and landing on a lamppost that pierced his shoulder, leaving him suspended in mid‑air.
Firefighters had to cut the lamppost and transport it along with Li Jen to the hospital. Removing the pole took three hours, yet it miraculously avoided all of his vital organs.
Doctors noted that the pole may have saved him from a more severe impact with the concrete. Li Jen was expected to make a full recovery.
7 Unnamed Man In Sweden
During the Pokémon Go craze, an unnamed man broke into Stockholm’s Olympic Stadium to capture a Pokémon. Distracted, he fell and was impaled through his thigh by a metal fence.
Police arrived and held him steady while medics administered a morphine injection, allowing them to safely lift him off the several‑meter‑high fence—a challenging task.
He was then transported to a local hospital. “We had to lift him off, and the medical team took over and drove him to hospital. It’s a few meters high. High enough that you have to climb anyway,” explained emergency control room officer Goran Norman.
6 Josh Hassan
When 12‑year‑old Josh Hassan leaned over a fence to retrieve his football, the fence’s spike pierced his chest. His mother heard his scream and, together with two bystanders, kept him steady so the spike wouldn’t cause further damage.
Firefighters cut the railing away from the rest of the fence, after which Josh was rushed to the hospital for surgery. Doctors informed the family that the spike missed his heart by less than eight centimeters (three inches).
“The spike went through my jacket and through me, and I was hanging. I looked down and saw the skin flapping. I shouted for my neighbor, and he came and held me up so the injury did not get worse,” Josh recalled. He spent two days in the hospital before being released and even kept the spike as a souvenir.
5 Stephen Schultz
While deep‑sea fishing in Panama with his family, Stephen Schultz battled a massive 270‑kilogram (600‑lb) marlin for 25 minutes. The fish leapt onto the boat and thrust its bill through Stephen’s left cheek and nasal cavity.
He later described the encounter: “[The fish] jumped once, facing away from the boat and turned around in midair; it was about five meters (15 ft) away; it went back into the water, made another jump toward the back of the boat and its bill struck me on the left side of the face and knocked me onto the ground.”
Stephen was taken to a hospital, escaping with only minor injuries and, surprisingly, no lasting scars. His sister captured the entire event on video, noting, “I wasn’t too sure what happens when you go deep‑sea fishing. I wasn’t sure if they were supposed to be that close. So I was like, I’ll get this on film. Then it was in the boat. Before I could react, it was already at us. So I just kept rolling.” After the impalement, the marlin slipped back into the sea.
4 Lucia Perez
Sixteen‑year‑old Lucia Perez finished school only to be abducted by a gang. She was drugged, raped, and brutally assaulted before being impaled. Her attackers washed her, redressed her, and abandoned her at a drug‑rehabilitation clinic, where she later died from her injuries.
The Argentine community mourned Lucia’s death, and her family was left devastated. A protest sit‑in formed, with women wearing black to denounce the country’s high femicide rate. Two men were arrested in connection with her murder and rape, while a third suspect, believed to have helped cover up the crime, was also detained.
3 Justin Firth
In Idaho, Justin Firth was installing a fence when a flash of light and a sudden pressure in his back revealed a spike protruding from his stomach—he had been impaled.
His coworkers screamed, called 911, and found that the paramedics lacked the proper tools to cut the spike, which was attached to a front‑loader. Using a torch, they severed the spike while applying industrial putty to protect Justin from burns.
He was air‑lifted to a hospital and spent three and a half hours in surgery. The spike missed his bladder, kidneys, and spine by only a few centimeters. The trauma doctor remarked, “It’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen because it was a potentially catastrophic injury that’s going to have a really great outcome.”
2 Margaret Reynolds
Margaret Reynolds, a 67‑year‑old Briton, was vacationing on a New Jersey beach when a sudden gust of wind sent an umbrella sailing into her ankle, impaling her.
By‑standers heard her scream, “My leg!” and used bolt cutters to free her, having to trim part of the umbrella. A friend held her hand throughout the ordeal.
She was taken to a hospital, underwent surgery to remove the umbrella fragment, and, according to authorities, recovered well.
1 Sean Rontrea
In Brooklyn, New York, 29‑year‑old Sean Rontrea fell five stories from his apartment, landing on a spiked fence that pierced his chest. The scene was gruesome, with copious blood spilling everywhere.
Dangling about a meter (three feet) above the ground, Sean shouted, “Get this thing out of me.” The rusty, blunt spike came dangerously close to his heart and other vital organs. “It’s not every day you see a guy impaled on a fence like he was suspended in space,” said paramedic William Ritter.
Paramedics used a portable saw to cut him down, supporting his weight with a garbage can to avoid further injury. He was rushed to a hospital with a 1.2‑meter (four‑foot) section of fence still attached. Surgeons then performed the delicate removal of the spike.
10 Gruesome Stories Overview
These ten harrowing accounts illustrate that impalement, while rare, can strike in the most unexpected places—whether from a construction mishap, a mischievous fish, or even an errant umbrella. Each story underscores the resilience of the human body and the quick thinking of first responders who turn potentially fatal moments into survivable ones.