Would you be able to sleep in a bed that someone had died in?

1. 76

   Seeker7posted 12 years ago

   Would you be able to sleep in a bed that someone had died in?
   
   I ask this question not to be morbid but due to a story I heard from a friend of mine. Her new daughter-in-law and husband stayed over night with people they knew while travelling back from abroad. But the daughter-in-law slept on the couch because a previous occupant of the house had died in the bed they had been given.
   
   Personally I find the idea a bit uncomfortable. I would always be thinking about how well the bed had been cleaned afterwards!!

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      BotanicalsCaliposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      yes! i will sleep

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2. 89

   innerspinposted 12 years ago

   The very same bed and mattress? Hmmm. I don't think I'd keep the bed in the house, though it's probably nice for the person who died to have been at home. So I guess that means I'd rather not knowingly sleep there.

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      Seeker7posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yes - it's the mattress bit that makes me a bit uncomfortable - especially not knowing what the poor soul died with. The family they stayed with were very clean so I'm sure they probably put the linen out or at least washed it - hopefully!!

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3. 84

   unvrsoposted 12 years ago

   If the person stayed on the bed for some weeks before he or she died, I would clean the bed first before using it myself, but if the person died from a very bad disease, I would better get rid of that bed and buy a new one to avoid infection.

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      Seeker7posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, If that had been me - for hygiene purposes - I think I would have bought a new bed.

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4. 0

   JThomp42posted 12 years ago

   Given the stigma attached to such a thing, I think most people would choose not to. Not because of the death. But, because of the emotions that runs through ones mind that someone has actually been lying in that bed after they have passed. How long, why, what killed them, can I catch it, etc.

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5. 61

   ReneeDC1979posted 12 years ago

   I have not encountered this, but I do not think I could sleep in the bed after someone has died in it.

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6. 71

   lburmasterposted 12 years ago

   I would replace all of the pillows, sheets, and comforter. But yes, I would sleep in the bed after cleaning it.

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7. 86

   Georgie Loweryposted 12 years ago

   My uncle died in my daddy's house and I spent about a week in his old room about a month after he died. It had been cleaned and the linens and pillows had been changed. I wasn't creeped out. I figured that, if any part of him were still there, he would never do anything to hurt me anyway.

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8. 75

   leakeemposted 12 years ago

   If I'm tired and with some people I guess I can sleep in one. If  I'd be alone in a house or even in a room . . . no. I'd rather sleep somewhere else. I wouldn't even try sleeping in a room where someone died.

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9. 94

   cat on a soapboxposted 12 years ago

   I really don't think that I would want to sleep there knowingly. However, in hospital and nursing home settings, I imagine this is a common practice. There would be no problem with the cleanliness if the linens were completely changed.

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      cat on a soapboxposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I would not insult my host by refusing to accept whatever she graciously offered to me.

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      Seeker7posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I agree - as uncomfortable as it makes me feel - about the hygiene issue only - I don't think I would have been rude to my host and would have just slept in the bed offered.

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      cat on a soapboxposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you, Seeker7. This is a very interesting question that one has to really stop and think about! Happy Holidays

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10. 61

    tirelesstravelerposted 12 years ago

    If I am tired and the bed is clean I don't care who died in it. The first time I visited my husbands grandmother in Chicago there were obituaries and pictures of all her dead sisters and brothers some in their coffins.  Between grandma and grandpa they had 36 siblings. The Irish can get pretty weird.  I wouldn't let my BF go back to base the first night.  I got used to it after getting to know his family a bit..

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11. 69

    connorjposted 12 years ago

    
    
    Yes I would as long as it was clean and void of any potential for infection; however, indeed it would be wise to say a prayer for the departed; I personally would read the Office of the Dead...

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12. 68

    safiq ali patelposted 12 years ago

    Well I had to laugh out loud when I read this question. Please don't get me wrong I am not insenstive to death. I just thought it was one of those questions that is very funny too. Full of superstition.
    
    I think I would rather not sleep in a bed that some has died in. But if I really had to I would sleep in that bed but would wish that a fresh mattress was put in.
    
    Apologies for my laughter. It is just one of those rare questions......

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       viveresperandoposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I giggled too and can understand the whole stigma about the concept and I wish I could say it would not bug m me.  But wow digging deep, let us just say if I ever was put in this situation I wish I could be the person that would not be freaked out.

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       Seeker7posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       No need to apologise!!! I'm not superstitious but I would worry that the bed hadn't been cleaned properly!!!

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13. 61

    violetheavenposted 12 years ago

    If its clean I would have no problem with it whatsoever.   Its just where their soul and spirit left their shell body.   Not a big deal.   I'm more concerned about the sanitation of doing so, because of sickness.  A body releases things after death that should only be handled with gloves and cleaning agents.

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14. 72

    catgypsyposted 12 years ago

    Only if it was someone I knew and loved. Also only if the bed was not soiled in any way, obviously. I still take naps in the bed my mother passed away in and it makes me feel close to her.

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15. 84

    ESPeck1919posted 12 years ago

    I haven't really thought about this before, but if I knew someone had died in the bed, I'm not sure how comfortable I would be at all.
    
    Cleanliness is an issue of course (death isn't neat and tidy), but on a spiritual level I'd want to make sure the sucker was smudged and any lingering energy was gone.

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       Seeker7posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       LOL!!! What a fabulous answer!!! I hadn't thought about 'smudging' a corpse but I guess for some folks it wouldn't be a bad idea!!

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16. 52

    Hallowmystposted 12 years ago

    Fascinating question. Some people are concerned about illness. There was a recent news article about a child in Colorado who contracted bubonic plague when she tried to bury a dead squirrel. But it is my understanding that the squirrel was infected with bubonic plague when it was alive. There is certainly some risk of being infected with disease from having contact with something dead. I would think that once the dead thing (person/animal) was removed, bacteria, etc. would be unable to survive without a host. Some other people are concerned about the supernatural. In sum, I think that hospitals and other facilities in the healthcare industry would an incredible hardship if it were a common fear to lay in a bed where someone may have expired!

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17. 69

    Alastar Packerposted 12 years ago

    I find it uncomfortable too but have done so several times. A friends home and hotel bed. As a matter of fact those of us who sleep a lot in different motels or inns have probably done so unawares. Perhaps some people are more sensitive to picking up the latent energies or emotions - particularly if it was a difficult passing.

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       Seeker7posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Hi Alastar, that's interesting about hotels and inns and I'll need to ask Shirley (my friend) if her daughter-in-law has ever thought about this aspect of going on holiday? They holiday a lot and stay in some very old places!!

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18. 66

    ruthclark3posted 12 years ago

    I would not give a thought to who slept where if I were not aware of previous experience (i.e. hospital beds, hotel beds,) but my personal story is just this:  I knew and loved the person very much and when she, my mother, died, I had no choice but to sleep in her bed, in her home, for the duration of the planning, funeral, and burial. 
    
    It hit me as I walked into her house that night that there was no place to sleep except in her bed, a rolled up, old-fashioned hospital bed.  Any other choice would have put one of my children there. I chose not to do that.  Without a thought, I chose Mama's bed for myself.  My father, broken with grief, had a bed on the other side of the room.  My brother helped him to shower, get his pjs on, and into bed. 
    
    After getting the kids bedded down and consoled as much as possible, I was the last one to bed.  Using the nightlight, I climbed into Mama's bed, which had been thoughtfully cleaned by a friend or relative, I never found out who, I lay down in the spot where Mama had slept for years before going into the hospital for the final three weeks of her life in a coma.
    
    I don't know what I expected, or how I would feel, but I never expected to feel the sense of peace that came over me, warming me.  It was as though I was once again engulfed in the love that only mothers can give to their children.  She wasn't really gone except in body.  Her spirit lives on and I know this because she wrapped me in love one last time. 
    
    We believe there is life after death and I believe that if ever I doubted,and I did at times, sleeping in Mama's bed has given me new hope.
    
    She passed away in 1980 and that memory is as fresh today as when it happened.  Perhaps more so.  I was given more than a sense of peace; I was given insight about helping others through the grief process.  When to be there, when to talk, when to just be a friend, but always knowing by some instinct how to sense the grief process in another.  A priceless gift. 
    
    My dad told me later that he felt Mama in the room that night and it brought such comfort and peace. I just hugged him and told him I felt exactly the same.  My dad died fifteen months later. 
    
    We all deal with hard situations in our own way, but one thing I know is that I don't know how I'll deal with any situation until it presents itself.
    
    Great question.  Thanks.

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19. 60

    Californialawposted 12 years ago

    ....never, ever ever. I'd couch it as well! Or find a hotel... :x

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20. 54

    ryanjhoeposted 12 years ago

    I will not be able to sleep in a bed that someone had died in. I often have sleep paralysis, I'm easily imagining scariest things and try to avoid any horrible things as possible.

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    1. 76

       Seeker7posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I think many people do feel the same way so your not alone in this and it's understandable.

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21. 61

    gios the martianposted 12 years ago

    It is very uncomfortable if the thought goes through your mind.  I would rather sleep on the couch or floor.

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22. 0

    ChleotheWitchposted 12 years ago

    Knowing this, I would not be able to sleep in that bed. It holds the energy of that person that has passed. It is like if they left their trace on it, I would feel uncomfortable with the idea.

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23. 84

    Mrs Jil Manningposted 11 years ago

    I found out when I was a teenager that I was sleeping in the bed my grandmother died in shortly before I was born. I didn't mind at all and it made me feel closer to her.  One of my lovers slept in a bed his dad had died in, and although he felt a bit uncomfortable about that I didn't at all!

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