Scary For Kids
Fan Death

Fan Death

Fan Death is an urban myth from South Korea about the belief that fans can kill. The myth is astonishingly popular in Korea and a lot of people believe it is true. Many Koreans will refuse to spend the night in a room with a fan.

Fan Death

In South Korea, there is a very strange urban myth about fans. An alarming amount of Korean people believe that fans can cause death. They think that if you leave an electric fan running overnight in a room with the doors and windows closed, you could die in your sleep.

Because of this, all fans sold in South Korea come with an automatic timer that turns the fan off after a certain number of minutes.

Some people believe that fans create a vacuum and suck oxygen out of the room, causing you to die from asphyxiation. Others believe that fans lower the temperture of the room, causing you to freeze to death or die from hypothermia.

Unfortunately, the truth is, fans cannot kill you. South Korea is the only country that believes in fan death. Scientists agree that fans cannot lower the temperature enough to kill you or displace enough oxygen to suffocate you. Sleeping in a room with a fan is perfectly safe.

Despite the fact that many Korean people are intelligent and well-educated, the weird belief still persists. Korean newspapers even sometimes carry stories about people who have been killed by fans. Look at this example from The Korea Herald in 2011:

“A man reportedly died on Monday morning after sleeping with an electric fan running. The 59 year-old victim, known only by his surname Min, was found dead with the fan directly facing him.”

There is a story about some American college kids who decided to play a joke on their Korean roommate. When they found out he believed in the fan death urban myth, they teased him by going to bed in an enclosed room with six electric fans running. He pleaded with them not to throw their lives away and slept all night in the hallway. In the morning, when he woke up and all of the Americans had survived the night, the Korean guy was suspicious. “I know you’re playing a practical joke on me,” he said. “You must have opened a window during the night!”

However, this is not unusual. Every country in the world has their weird beliefs.

In China they think that sitting on a warm toilet seat will give you hemorrhoids. British people believe that sitting on a cold surface causes hemorrhoids. In Peru, people think that standing too long in front of the fridge can cause cancer. In the Czech Republic, folks think drinking water after eating fruit causes stomach problems. In the Philippines, many mothers will stop their kids from wearing red clothing during a storm. They fear it could cause them to be struck by lightning.

Still, there is one thing you should keep in mind: If you go to South Korea and place a fan in a sealed room with someone, there may be a chance you could be charged with attempted murder! :P

scary for kids

44 comments

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  • I remember my mother telling me a similar story when I was younger, I freaked out and hated being around fans until I turned 16, even then I wouldn’t allow fans to be turned on while I was in a room by myself sleeping. Now that I turn 20 soon and have lived in New Zealand for nearly a year I have started to use fans in my room, yet I still get a little freaked out on some occasions. haha!

  • The unfortunately in the 3rd paragraph was for the people who believe that a fan can kill you. Lol…scaryforkids does NOT want us to die

  • @Livingtodielaughingtocry How does the “First” phrase effect you? He/she is not physically or emotionally hurting you. Get over it.

  • My ex was Korean and he insisted that we never slept with a fan on. I always did and faced it next to me so it could flow a cold breeze on my face. He pleaded for me not to do this because he believed it would kill me. I didn’t know about this rumor until I just read it so I guess now I kinda understand. I told my friends about this and they all planned to prank him behind his and my back. In the middle of the night we both woke up to a sweet cold breeze on our faces. He screamed while I was fine with it. It was a- dun dun dun! FAN!!! He was yelling and screaming at me that I was an attempted murderer. He woke all my neighbors up but because they were American and Mexican they simply didn’t care. And that’s why he’s my ex. :'(

  • LMFAO, I’M DEAD! 😂😂😂 These people actually believe in this stuff??? Oml xD

  • im crackin up! people actually believe standing in front of a damn fridge for too long can cause cancer?? lovin this

  • 10 ways a fan kill you:
    1. You have a huge fear of fans and it causes you to commit suicide
    2. Your fingers get stuck in the little propeller thingies and you die from blood loss
    3. Somebody throws a fan on your face
    4. You trip over a fan and smash your skull against the fan
    5. You somehow made the stupid decision to stick a fan in your mouth
    6. Scientists are wrong and they actually can kill you
    7. You and a fan are the only things left in the world, and you are forced to eat the fan
    8. Your dad shoves you with a fan
    9. You decided to have a staring contest with the fan, and then your eyes fall out
    10. The fan grew arms and legs and then ran around chasing you with a knife

  • Does SFK want us to like, DIE or something? I mean, did anyone notice when I said “unfortunately” in the 4th paragraph? Well, the thought of it is sure funny…LOL XD. I died laughing when I read that sentence. Anyway, I should be dead by now, because in the 13 years that I’ve been alive, I have slept with a fan on in the summer, and so has my family. Technically, my WHOLE family should be dead, cause we slept with da windows and doors closed…

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