Fan Death
Many South Koreans were long taught that sleeping in a closed room with an electric fan running could kill you.
What was reported
Fan death is a belief, widespread in South Korea for decades, that leaving an electric fan on overnight in a closed room can kill the sleeper, by chilling the body, using up the oxygen or creating a vacuum. News reports blamed deaths on fans, and many fans sold in Korea came with timers that switch them off.
Government agencies once included warnings about it in summer safety advice.
Explanations offered
There's no scientific evidence that fans cause death; deaths blamed on them are explained by heat, alcohol, heart conditions and other causes. Some suggest the belief spread in the 1970s, perhaps encouraged to save electricity. It has faded among younger people, but still crops up.
- When
- Widespread from the 1970s
- Where
- Seoul, South Korea
- Witnesses
- Generations of South Koreans
- Status
- Urban legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.