WHEN Angelie Ramdial was planning her Halloween party, Frankenstein had not been on her costume list.
However, she claims she ended up looking exactly like Mary Shelley’s monster after a horrific cooking accident scorched her to the bone.
Angelie, 30, from New York, was planning a Halloween party in her new home, but spent the holiday in hospital instead after the horrific accident.
Whilst cooking fried shrimps, a pot of oil exploded and poured all over her body, leaving her feeling like ‘Frankenstein.’
In a bid to cheer her up, Angelie’s boyfriend brought Halloween to her hospital bed instead.
Angelie says: “Halloween’s my favourite time of the year. I always loved spooky season.
“I was meant to be having an incredible costume party with my loved ones.
“Instead, I was left fighting for my life, with my body burned and scarred forever.”
In October last year, Angelie walked through the confectionary aisle, with her trolley bursting with sweets and candy baskets.
She also had a blow-up pumpkin gate entrance on order, an eerie cake and a red devil costume on the way too.
She sent e-vites out to her family and friends that read, ‘It’s the witching hour, we’re dying to party. 7pm. Haunted House.’
Angelie says: “As my friends and family all RSVP’d, I couldn’t contain my excitement.
“Halloween was around the corner and I was hosting the funnest party.
“Although it was spooky season, the party held a more special place in my heart.
“It was a chance for my loved ones to see my new home for the first time too.
“My cat, Zara, and I, had only been there for a few months. My dad had spent over a year building it from the ground up.”
The next week, Angelie, who worked from home as a software engineer, logged off for the day.
Her siblings were coming over for dinner and she wanted to try a new recipe.
Angelie says: “I watched a TikTok video of a man making shrimps in a deep fryer.
“I didn’t own one, so I decided to heat them up in a pan instead. I’d never done it before.
“I filled the pot with vegetable oil, put it onto the gas strove and placed a lid on it.
“But minutes later I heard a loud bang. The pot exploded.
“Confused, I opened it and enormous flames flew out. I was terrified as I’d never dealt with fire.
“I tried to put it out with water in the sink. The flames blew all the way up to the ceiling.
“I was stressing I’d burn the house done, after all the work my dad had put into it.
“My cat, Zara, was at my feet, worried.”
Angelie frantically tried to get the pot outside. But as she picked it up, her long, black hair caught fire.
She rushed out the kitchen, to the back door, leaning her head back away from the blaze.
Angeli says: “But trying to open the door, balance the pot, and with Zara by my feet, my face hit the flames.
I looked like Frankenstein. I burst into tears as I didn’t recognise myself
Angelie Ramdial
“Screaming, the pot of oil poured down my arms. Then, I slipped in the oil, collapsing onto the floor.
“There was too much adrenaline in me to feel anything. I threw the pot out onto the decking and luckily, it landed upside down, extinguishing it.”
The sizzling oil seeped through Angelie’s arms, scolding her to the bone.
Angelie called her boyfriend, Alfeez, 32, who rushed over before ringing an ambulance and fire services.
Angelie was blue-lighted to hospital where she learned she’d suffered second and third-degree burns on her arms and hands. As well as first degree burns on her face, neck, chest and back.
Angelie says: “By then the adrenaline wore off and I never knew such pain could exist.
“A team began doing debridement, where they had to scrape the dead skin off my arms.
“I was in agony, crying and screaming. I was also distraught thinking I’d ruined my body and my life.
“Doctors then informed me my skin wouldn’t generate on its own ever again.”
Days later, Angelie underwent surgery having skin grafts taken from her thighs. As nurses unravelled the bandages post-op, she was horrified.
Angelie says: “I saw different textures of skin, in patches with staples all over.
“I looked like Frankenstein. I burst into tears as I didn’t recognise myself.
“They weren’t my fingers or hands. I felt ugly and disgusting. I’d never realised how beautiful my body was before.”
The 8 fire safety checks you should do in your home every night
TO avoid a devastating fire in your home, there are some checks you should be conducting every night, according to Gov.uk.
- Close inside doors at night to stop a fire from spreading
- Turn off and unplug electrical appliances unless they are designed to be left on – like your freezer.
- Check your cooker is turned off
- Don’t run appliances such as washing machines, tumble dryers and dishwashers overnight
- Turn heaters off and put up fireguards
- Put candles and cigarettes out properly
- Make sure exits are kept clear
- Keep door and window keys where everyone can find them
The following week, Angelie had her second skin graft surgery. Whilst recovering in hospital, her boyfriend stayed by her side.
She says: “I couldn’t look down without crying. I felt so stupid.
“I was also doing physical therapy, learning how to bend my wrist again. It was horrendous and I was in bits.”
When Halloween came around, Angelie was still in hospital. She couldn’t even use her fingers to text everyone to cancel her party.
But the news of what happened had spread quickly.
Angelie says: “Whilst I was feeling down, thinking of the party I would’ve had that day, Alfeez showed up to my room.
“He said ‘Happy Halloween!’ smiling, with a Joker mask in his hand.
“Alfeez put bright orange knee-high bat socks on me. Then he decorated my hospital room with a skeleton playing guitar, a spooky ghost, witches signs and other Halloween trinkets.
“As he got me to wear the Joker mask, and took photos of me in it. I laughed and felt so much better.
“I remembered the Joker’s slogan: ‘Why so serious?’ Alfeez had an incredible way of showing me that everything was going to be okay.”
Walking back into my kitchen felt like re-watching a horror film
Angelie Ramdial
After a month, Angelie was discharged in November 2024. But as she returned home, she struggled.
She says: “Walking back into my kitchen felt like re-watching a horror film.
“For a while, I couldn’t cook, use the stove, or light a candle. I was traumatised.
“Shopkeepers would rudely ask me ‘What happened to you?’ I’d return home and go into a spiral. Alfeez always helped me out of it.
“I’d gone from being a software engineer, going on fun days out, fancy dinners and festivals with friends to staying at home, refusing to go out and avoiding mirrors.
“I was ashamed of my scars.”
But over the past year, Angelie has re-discovered her beauty again.
Angelie says: “I have now accepted my scars. They remind me I am a new person. I’m doing amazing and my burns don’t take my beauty away from me.
“Now this Halloween, I’m getting out all the décor I ordered last year and finally having the haunted house party I deserve.
“I won’t let that horrible nightmare ruin Halloween for me. I will have fun with my family and friends and enjoy it.
“I’ve since discovered I should’ve never put the lid on the pot of oil, causing it to explode.
“Putting water on it caused it to spread too. To anyone reading my story, be wary not to use water on any electrical fire.
“Instead, smother it with a cloth as it could save your life.”
