The Deadly Secret Behind the 1978 ‘Assassin Umbrella’ That Silenced a Man Forever

Ever wonder if opening an umbrella indoors could be more than just bad luck? Well, hold onto your hats—because it turns out, one umbrella was downright deadly. Back in 1978 London, a Bulgarian man named Georgi Markov met a grim fate not by rain or shine, but through a sinister KGB-inspired trick hidden inside a seemingly innocent brolly. Imagine a plot ripped straight from a James Bond flick: a poison-tipped umbrella that fires a tiny, lethal pellet with a sly burst of compressed air—silent, swift, and smooth as a spy’s escape. I mean, who knew umbrellas could pack such a punch? This jaw-dropping method, recently brought to life in a gripping simulation, leaves you marveling at human ingenuity—or maybe just questioning whether you should ever trust anyone carrying an umbrella on a sunny day. Intrigued? LEARN MORE

A jaw-dropping simulation has explained exactly how the deadly ‘Assassin Umbrella’ truly works.

I must first emphasise not to ever try this at home, but it is fascinating to see in video format the way in which this murder weapon functions, after it was used on a Bulgarian man living in London all the way back in 1978.

It’s often said that it is bad luck to open an umbrella indoors, but the particular brolly proved deadly thanks to a hidden method, which is thought to have previously been used by the KGB.

In a story thst wouldn’t look out of place in one of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, Georgi Markov was murdered nearly 40 years ago after he was stabbed with a poison-tipped umbrella.

An inquiry into the 49-year-old’s shock death soon became a murder investigation, as the dissident writer alleged that he had been stabbed with an umbrella by a stranger in central London.

Who knows what this umbrella could have hidden in it (Getty Stock)

Markov, who worked for the BBC and broadcasted a radio show to his then-communist home country of Bulgaria, died on 11 September 1978 from septicaemia, a form of blood poisoning, just four days after his run-in with the stranger’s umbrella.

Doctors later discovered a pellet inside his leg which was found to discover the poison ricin. The pin-head sized pellet was injected into his leg through the umbrella and would spread poison throughout his body when activated, something which led to a slow and painful death.

Now, a simulation from the ever-reliable Zack D Films has re-enacted the strange but effective murder method.

During the video, he says: “They jabbed the umbrella tip into the victim’s leg from behind and a hidden trigger inside the shaft released a burst of compressed air. This fired a tiny metal pellet just under the skin, which contained a deadly poison.

“After it entered their bloodstream, the victim’s cells began to shut down, causing their organs to fail and the assassin disappeared with the killer umbrella leaving the person to die.”

Back in 2008, officers from Scotland Yard twice visited Bulgaria in attempts to bring Markov’s murderers to justice but nearly four decades on from his death, and his case remains sadly unsolved.

While you won’t often see as many people carrying umbrellas as they did in the 80s, this is a good lesson to be wary of anyone who does, especially if it’s a sunny day.