Let’s just rip the bandage off: death. There, we said it. Still here? Good.
Talking about death is usually treated like saying you’re mentioning your internet crush to your parents, met with gasps, disapproval and a guaranteed way to kill a dinner vibe. But here’s the truth, no one wants to post on Instagram: death isn’t a glitch in the system; it is the system. And planning for what comes after isn’t morbid, it is a powerful act of self-expression.
Wills, for example, are more than paperwork. They’re like posthumous plot twists, starting from love letters to pranks to peace offerings, or just beautifully bizarre declarations from beyond.
Let’s take a joyride through some of the strangest, sweetest, and most spectacular wills ever penned. Because if we’re all going to go someday, we might as well make our exit memorable.
Luis Carlos de Noronha Cabral da Camara – Strangers in the Will
In 2007, residents of Lisbon received some crazy news: a wealthy loner named Luis Carlos de Noronha Cabral da Camara had left his fortune to them. The childless Portuguese aristocrat had no close family or friends, so two decades earlier, he took a phone book and randomly selected 70 names as his beneficiaries. When Luis Carlos passed away, those 70 unsuspecting strangers, from pensioners to ordinary folks, got letters saying they’d inherited part of his estate. Many thought it was a prank. One 70-year-old woman said, “I thought it was some kind of cruel joke… I’d never heard of the man.”
It turned out to be true. Luis Carlos owned a 12-room Lisbon apartment, a country house, luxury vehicles, and healthy bank accounts. By splitting it 70 ways, each stranger received only a few thousand euros, but the real gift was the story itself.
Why did he do it? According to a friend, Luis despised the state and wanted “to create confusion by leaving his things to strangers”, ensuring nothing went to the government. His dark sense of humour and perhaps loneliness led to a will that reads like a social experiment, turning an otherwise sad life into a posthumous legend of random generosity.
Brajesh and Shabista Srivastava – All for Love… and a Monkey
While some leave wealth to strangers, an Indian couple decided to leave theirs to the closest creature in their hearts, their pet monkey. Brajesh and Shabista Srivastava, a childless husband and wife from Uttar Pradesh, have publicly declared that their sole heir will be their adopted pet monkey, Chunmun. Having been ostracised by both their Hindu and Muslim families for an interfaith marriage, the couple found unexpected joy and prosperity after rescuing an orphaned macaque over a decade ago. They credit Chunmun with bringing them luck and consider him their son in all but name.
In their will, the Srivastavas set up a trust fund to ensure Chunmun is cared for if he outlives them. At age 10, the monkey could live many more years (macaques can live up to 40), so they’ve arranged for their home and assets to fund his upkeep and a charitable foundation for other monkeys in need. “People might say we are mad… but we know how valuable Chunmun is to us,” Mrs. Srivastava told the press, acknowledging the unusual choice. Their story, mixing humour with heartfelt devotion, resonated worldwide. In a country where pets can’t legally inherit property, the couple’s creative estate planning also highlights how far some will go to care for their beloved animals.
John Bowman – The Mansion of Eternal Meals
The late 19th-century tale of John Bowman of Vermont sounds like a gothic novel come to life. Bowman was a wealthy socialite who outlived his wife and daughters, and he became convinced that after his own death, his family would somehow be reunited in spirit. So when he died in 1891, his will funded an eerie and touching memorial to this hope. He left $50,000 (an enormous sum at the time) to maintain his sprawling mansion, not as a museum, but as if his family might return any night. His servants were kept on payroll with one solemn duty: prepare a daily hot meal in the dining room, just in case John Bowman, his wife, and daughters came back hungry from beyond.
For decades after Bowman’s death, his house staff dutifully laid out dinner every evening in the empty mansion. Fresh linens were set, beds made, and lights kept on at night. This surreal ritual continued until the trust fund finally ran out in the 1950s. By then, Bowman’s mansion had earned a reputation as the “house of eternal dinner”, a bittersweet touch. His unusual last request, born of grief-stricken faith or perhaps madness, stands out because it wasn’t about who gets the money or property, but about keeping hope alive (literally) after death. While no ghostly family ever did materialise for supper, John Bowman’s sorrowful final wish ensured that his love for his family was remembered each day at dusk, in the form of place settings and phantom feasts.
Hunter S. Thompson – Going Out with a Bang
When Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson died in 2005, he exited the world in a style only he could have dreamed up. Thompson, famed for his wild adventures and love of explosives, made it known that his last wish was to have his cremated ashes shot out of a cannon – essentially, to go out with a literal bang. And he had an acolyte willing to make it happen: actor Johnny Depp, a close friend, spent a reported $3 million to fulfil Thompson’s explosive farewell.
In a spectacular memorial ceremony at Thompson’s Colorado ranch, a 153-foot tower was constructed (shaped like a two-thumbed fist holding a peyote button – Thompson’s logo). From its top, fireworks launched Thompson’s ashes into the sky in a kaleidoscope of colour. Friends gathered, a star-studded crowd including John Kerry, Jack Nicholson, and Bill Murray, cheering as the cannon fired Thompson into the stratosphere. His widow Anita explained simply, “He loved explosions.” Indeed, the fireworks farewell was a perfect embodiment of Thompson’s rebel spirit and dark humour. It was noisy, funny and oddly sentimental, a send-off celebrating a life on the edge. In death, as in life, Hunter S. Thompson wrote his own rules, leaving the rest of us with a parting image of ashes bursting like a shooting star, and a reminder that final wishes can be as unforgettable as the people who make them.
What story do you want to leave behind?
These stories might sound weird, monkeys inheriting fortunes, ashes shot into the sky, strangers suddenly becoming heirs, but they all have one thing in common: intention. Every single one of these people used their final act to say something loud and clear about who they were, what they loved, or what they stood for.
Because a will isn’t just paperwork. It’s your last message to the world. It’s your chance to be remembered how you want, not just as a list of assets or a name on a headstone. Whether it’s love, rebellion, humour, or pure chaos, your legacy is yours to design.
So don’t shy away from it. Shape it. Own it. And when your time comes, leave in a way they’ll still be talking about long after you’re gone.