Nearly seventy years before Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, we find "Death on the rail" in Mrs. Grundy, 1865.

John Leech sketched this for a tale about a clown who had to crack jokes in a circus while his wife was in her dying agonies after fatally missing her footing on a leap from a standing position on horseback; the rip in the hoop is meant to suggest the initial letter I of the story.  From Cornhill magazine, 1864.

An illustration from a 1903 issue of Punch magazine.

"The Serpent Cigarette": an illustration from an 1882 issue of Punch magazine.

"So it's 2 pm and you've got the dreaded 2 o'clock feeling." —The Grave Radio

This illustration of the dreaded 2 o'clock feeling is from Cartoons magazine, 1916.

An illustration from a 1903 issue of Saturday Evening Post.

Dedicated to the Master of Masks, Jeff McBride.

An illustration from a 1908 issue of Life magazine.

"I looked in":  an illustration from a 1905 issue of The Windsor magazine.

We stumbled upon this bookplate in an old* magazine volume from the Harvard College Library.  Any writer who has been under a deadline might relate to the symbolism.
*1855

"The Substance and the Shadow":  an illustration from a 1901 issue of Life magazine.

An illustration from a 1907 issue of Harper's magazine.  The caption reads: "The two of them looked at each other with much interest."

An illustration from an 1896 issue of Scribner's magazine.  The caption reads: "They meet under death's shadow."

An illustration from an 1890 issue of Illustrated American magazine.

An illustration from an 1853 issue of Graham's magazine.

An illustration from a 1905 issue of Pall Mall magazine.  The caption simply reads: "Science."

Back in 18th century London, an ad in the Old Bailey periodical promised a spectacular show for "lovers of curiosities" by the "Moving Skeleton."  "According to the elaborate illustrated notice, the skeleton turned an hourglass, jabbed a dart and groaned '3 times most surprisingly' to alarm the viewers, concluding its performance by smoking a pipe.  An advisory notice was included: the show was too frightening to be seen by 'Persons with Child, Children, or others, whose Courage cannot be depended on.'" —Matthew Seccombe, Harvard Law De Jure newsletter.