Gallows humor is a type of humor people use when they know they’re trapped in a hopeless situation, one in which no one survives. For example, say your character, or any beloved character in general, is in a dire situation. The villain is winning, and they’re just about ready to destroy everything the heroes have ever loved. In these times, the character would simply chuckle to themselves, say a witty, yet philosophical remark about life, then lie down and die.

Gallows humor is something that’s common in everyday life. While we might think of it as a bit inappropriate, we often use humor every day to make the tragedy seem a bit more manageable. For instance, in medical school, a lot of the students have to dissect corpses in order to find out how to treat the human body. As such, the teachers would try to make a joke out of it, to help lower the tension the students are feeling. Still, as writers, we should know there’s a time when gallows humor is appropriate and when it’s not.

When It’s Appropriate
When your character is trying to make death seem lighter, or when they’re endeavoring to make themselves feel better about their own demise, it’s a good way to help both them and the reader get a good laugh out of it. For example, in Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Ford attempts to play on the fact that there might be a switch that could save their lives. When this is later proven to be untrue, Ford simply says that they were going to die after all. In Suzanne Collins’s Catching Fire, Katniss thought about how she kept consoling everyone when they were about to die. However, when others started doing the same thing to her, she found it quite annoying. Would she rather die in peace, with no one mourning for her? Who knows? But it’s these examples that help remove the tension from the book, and help both the characters and the readers cope with the thought of death.

When It Isn’t Appropriate
When your character knows that there’s a way out and they choose not to take it. When your character decides to die just to satisfy their egos. Literally any annoying character that decides to hog all the attention for themselves, and when an opportunity presents itself for them to back out, they do. When there’s a sorrowful moment, and when some jerk cracks a joke about how stupid said deceased character was. Because only the ones who are about to die can make jokes about their own mortality. Making fun of anyone else’s, on the other hand, is just cruel and unnecessary.

When done correctly, gallows humor can be a welcome relief in an otherwise dark story. It can shed light on a topic that’s otherwise incredibly macabre, and can help those who are already mourning for their characters. However, this can be reduced to little more than salt on the wound when it’s seen as insensitive and crude. As such, when you're having your character make fun of their own death, remember to be appropriate, and to show courtesy to other characters when they ask for it.