The Man Who Only Seemed Dead

Hans Christian Andersen gave the world "The Ugly Duckling," "The Little Mermaid," and "The Emperor's New Clothes." His 156 fairy tales have been translated into more than 125 languages. He was the son of a shoemaker and a washerwoman, and he became the most famous writer in Europe.

He was also terrified of practically everything.

He arrived at railway stations hours early for fear of missing his train. He refused to eat pork because of parasites. He carried a coil of rope in his luggage at all times, in case his hotel caught fire and he needed to climb out a window.

But his deepest fear was being buried alive. Every night, wherever he was, Andersen placed a note on his bedside table that read: "I only seem dead." He did this for years — not during some passing crisis, but as routine, the way other people set an alarm clock. And as he lay dying at the home of friends in Copenhagen, he begged the woman caring for him to cut his veins after he appeared to have expired, just to be certain.

Shortly before the end, he consulted a composer about the music for his funeral. His only instruction was that the tempo should keep time with little steps, because most of the people walking behind him would be children.