Disclaimer: This article is based on actual news from the real world – honestly! However, it has been sprinkled with a healthy dose of satire.
You never know when your time is going to be up. You could be the healthiest person ever, but if you don’t see that bus coming when stepping into the road, none of that matters. And smoking might eventually kill you, but if you pass out in bed with a lit cigarette, it might not take anywhere near as long. However, if you see the Grim Reaper and it’s not Halloween, it’s a pretty sure sign that you’ll be shuffling off this mortal coil soon. That is, unless you’re in Wales and happen to see it standing on the roof of the hospital you’re at. In that case, it’s just some dude who got arrested for cosplaying as the harbinger of death.
26-year-old Leon Gillespie is nothing if not one of the potentially most disturbing trolls ever. Donning the signature hooded black robe and a blade in place of a scythe, Gillespie climbed up to the roof of the Ysbyty Glan Clwyd Hospital to stand there and stare at hospital patients and staff back in June. Perhaps the most noteworthy thing about this is that he wasn’t promoting anything. This wasn’t a rollout for a gambling site, a new hot sauce, or a horror film. Nope, just a weird guy doing weird stuff and likely freaking out a lot of sick people who likely thought he was coming to usher them into the underworld.
If you see this guy at your hospital, you might want to get a second opinion. (Submitted/North Wales Pioneer)
And while some may have thought the Grim Reaper was coming for them, cops actually came for him instead during the incident, which lasted for 50 minutes. Four police cars and a fire service vehicle were dispatched after he refused to leave. Gillespie was charged with causing a nuisance or disturbance without reasonable excuse on NHS premises. He pled guilty, since there’s really not much you can say to defend yourself when dressed as a personification of death while standing on a hospital roof other than “boo,” “you’re next,” or “look at me, I’m as high as my deductible.”
Gillespie was given a £200 fine, but it turns out that in addition to Reaping, he was also a common thief, admitting to stealing cat food and litter from a pet store and food and drink from a Sainsbury’s in March and May, respectively. Maybe all of this was to make a point that times are grim out there. However, from a hospital roof with a scythe might not have been the most tactful way to make said point.
To read Drew Curtis’ Odd Take on this story, click here.
This story is based on fully factual news, but if we got it wrong, blame these guys, we’re just here to make it funny.
