The 27 Club

"The 27 Club" is a group of famous people who have died at the age of 27. The causes of death can range from unknown to overdose and suicide. This phenomenon started on January 17, 1892, with the death of Alexandre Levy. He was a composer, pianist, and conductor, and his death was of unknown causes. Experts do say that younger people who are famous have a higher risk of dying young, but that does not limit the age of death to 27. The reason younger celebrities are at higher risk of dying young is that they are more likely to take part in risky behaviors (driving fast, smoking, drinking, and doing drugs). This group has been the subject of movies, magazines articles, novels, several exhibitions, and stage plays.

There are many theories as to why these celebrities are all dying at 27. Some of these theories are also brought up when celebrities die unexpectedly. One of the main theories is that the Illuminati is done with them, and just "got rid" of them. There is also a theory that they knew that they were going to die young so they sold their souls to the devil to get rich and famous in those years. One theory is that the celebrities on the list who were taking drugs built a tolerance to the drugs they were taking and their bodies couldn't handle it, so they died. A psychologist made a chart with the age stages of life. In the 21 to 39 age range, it's the intimacy VS isolation stage. So, in that stage of your life, you could be depressed and drinking or doing drugs because you don't think anyone could or will love you. The theory goes that the reason they die during this stage of life is that the mix of thinking they are not loved and the depression, alcohol, or drugs.

My thoughts are some of the theories makes sense. They have crazy lives so it makes sense that it would take a toll on their health or mental state. I think that it's mainly sad stuff that happens in life. I kind of believe the devil and illuminati theories, crazier things have happened.

So you may be wondering who is in the club. Be warned this is just some of the list, if you want a full list, go to Wikipedia. We already talked about Alexandre Levy. Then after Alexandre, it is ragtime musician Louis Chauvin who died on March 26, 1908, of neurosyphilitic sclerosis. Neurosyphilitic sclerosis is an infection of the brain or spinal cord, usually affecting people who have chronic, untreated syphilis.

The next name on the list of people in the club is Robert Johnson who died on August 16, 1938, from poisoning. Robert tends to be the one who's normally reported as the first member of the 27 Club; there's also a myth or a legend that says Robert sold his soul to the devil. The theory about Robert selling his soul to the devil has never been confirmed or denied as there were no known witnesses.

Some of the names that we may not know that well, but also died of natural causes include Nat Jaffe, Joe Henderson, Linda Jones, and Dave Alexander. Then there were those who died in car or plane crashes like Jesse Belvin and Wallace "Wally" Yohn. Then there were the drug overdoses including Rudy Lewis, Dickie Pride, and Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson. One of the other poisoning victims is Malcolm Hale, but the difference is that Malcolm died of carbon monoxide instead of strychnine. Malcolm died on October 30, 1968. He was the original member and lead guitarist of Spanky and Our Gang.

There were some that were murder victims like Arlester "Dyke" Christian. There's at least one or two who died of a freak accident like Roger Lee Durham. One person was electrocuted, Leslie Harvey. And sadly, suicide has been another common cause of death for people like Pete Ham.

The first one who I recognize what he's known for is Brian Jones and that's because he was a Rolling Stones founder, guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist. He died on July 3, 1969, of drowning. The medical examiner actually put the cause of death as death to be by misadventure. Now, one of the more famous members of this group is Jimmy Hendrix, another rock star who was known for his talent on the electric guitar. Jimmy died on September 18, 1970, of suffocation. Another one of the big names on the list is Janis Joplin. Janis was a very talented singer who died on October 4, 1970, of a possible heroin overdose. It was an overdose, they simply don't know if it was heroin. Lead singer of the Doors, Jim Morrison, was also on the list because he died on July 3, 1971, of heart failure in his bathtub. Some question if his heart failure was also caused by heroin. Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, who was a founding member, keyboardist, and singer of the Grateful Dead died of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage on March 8, 1973.

Reggie Lewis is on the list because he died of cardiac arrest on July 27, 1993. He was on the Boston Celtics. There was one that was one of the most well-known for my generation: Kurt Cobain who committed suicide on April 5, 1994. He was the lead singer of Nirvana, who pretty much created grunge music in the 90s. Pat Tillman was a football player and in the military and was killed on April 22, 2004, by friendly fire. Star Trek (the movie) star Anton Yelchin died on June 19, 2016, of accidental blunt traumatic asphyxia. One that was on the news was Aaron Hernandez who was on the New England Patriots until he murdered someone. He then committed suicide in jail on April 19, 2017. There was even one this year on January 19 it was rapper Fredo Santana who died of liver failure.

That's all of the information I can find on the 27 Club. I know it is sad but it's life, this is what happens.