Here are the rules for the 2009 Dead Club:

1. Each participant turns in a list of 25 famous people by midnight on December 31, 2008. Please include some alternates in case of late deaths, stiffs on your list, etc. You may submit your list late but if someone on your list dies before Ye Olde Cryptkeepers receive it, you don't get credit for that death. No whining.
   
   
2. Those on your list must be well known enough to get their obituary in a major newspaper, famous in their own right, and famous for something other than dying. They may have announced they have a fatal disease or be on Death Row, but must have been famous before this.
   
   That is, John Wayne Gacy was famous for killing a lot of people, not for being on Death Row, so he would be allowed. If you look up all the people on Texas' death row, that shows admirable initiative and research skill, but they won't count because they aren't famous for anything but being on death row (if that, given the number of people in that situation.)
   
   People who get an obit in a major paper because they are famous in that area (that is, some New York or New Jersey politician who isn't nationally known but will be in the New York Times) may be challenged at the discretion of the Cryptkeepers. Be prepared to argue your case if you list someone that falls into this. Better yet, don't include these people because they will only bring you grief. This is known as the Maxine Postal clause.
   
   NEW THIS YEAR! Oh all right, Eleanor Mondale is famous enough. I'm tired of arguing about it and really, it doesn't matter that much. But we still might argue with you about some of your choies. Be prepared.
   
   They must be human (no animals, companies, nations, etc). No fetuses (hard to score). If you list entries such as "singer from Smashing Pumpkins" Ye Olde Cryptkeepers will attempt to ascertain the name to the best of our ability. You take the risk that we get it wrong. If you have hard to read handwriting or bad spelling, I might mess it up, so please write me to clarify when you see it on the site.
   
   Should your list contain someone who's already dead, and Ye Olde Cryptkeepers notice it before December 31st, you will be given the opportunity to make substitutions. We'll probably even allow it after December 31st, given the glacial pace at which I, Lizzie, get the lists up on the site, but obviously you can't substitute with someone who died January 1st. Another good reason to provide alternates.
   
   You may submit more than one list, but names may appear on only one list. Each list will cost you $5.00.
   
   You may choose an amusing nom de morte for the purposes of the game. Otherwise, we'll list you under your first name.
   
   Your picks don't have to be unique, but you stand a better chance of winning if you alone get points.
   
   If Osama Bin Laden turns out to have died a couple of years ago we have decided that the books for that previous year are closed. No retroactive prize money collection and redistribution.
   
   
3. You can send your list(s) by email, normal mail, or deliver them by hand, preferably written on a stained cocktail napkin. Include a way to contact you (physical address or email). If you send your list by email, copy and paste it into the body of the message rather than attaching it in some format I may not be able to read.
   
   Lists may be submitted late, within reason, at the discretion of the Cryptkeepers. If someone on your list dies before we get it, you don't get the points.
   
   
4. Each participant pays us five dollars American, which goes into a pot. Cash or checks (checks preferred, made out to Pat Brundage.) Please email me at crowATwellDOTcom for the address. Surprisingly, we don't want to put it on the Internet.
   
   
5. As people die during the year you get points equal to 100 minus the person's age for each one you picked, and a point for each corpse. If they're over 100 you lose points (but you do get the corpse point). I know, some pools score it differently so you get points for people over 100, but we want to keep it simple enough that we don't screw up.
   
   
6. Ye Olde Cryptkeepers will list current standings and recent deaths on this web site, which is http://www.pokeintheeye.com/pool.html in case you haven't noticed.
   
   
7. The game ends January 1, 2009. At that time four prizes will be awarded:
   
   
   • A prize of $10 will go to the person whose list contains the first death of the year.
     
   • A prize of $10 will go to the person whose list, at the end of the year, contains the most corpses.
     
   • A prize of $10 will go to the person whose list, at the end of the year, contains the youngest person to die.
     
   • The person with the most total points wins the rest of the pot.
     Over the years people have asked if we could divide up the grand prize and give first, second, and third, so as to encourage those who come close. I'm all for it, but Pat Cryptkeeper is adamant that it be all or nothing. We mail the prizes out soon after January 1, that is, whenever we get around to it.
   
   
8. You can't kill anyone.

Please send emmail to crowATwellDOTcom saying you'd like to join, and how you encountered this site. I'll keep your address and send out a reminder around Thanksgiving. (Please remind me if I forget.) I'll tell you where to send the money when you contact me. Feel free to write with questions.

Start early on your list. Research, research, research. Avoid the last minute rush and keep yourself from kicking yourself because you know you thought of somebody great in July and forgot to write it down.


Last updated February 21, 2008. Labels by Warning Label Generator. Arnold picture from arnoldsays.

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