diff --git a/doc/fixes36.2 b/doc/fixes36.2
index 4e3edb5a3..78fba893f 100644
--- a/doc/fixes36.2
+++ b/doc/fixes36.2
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-$NHDT-Branch: NetHack-3.6.2-beta01 $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.283 $ $NHDT-Date: 1553644725 2019/03/26 23:58:45 $
+$NHDT-Branch: NetHack-3.6.2-beta01 $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.284 $ $NHDT-Date: 1553652951 2019/03/27 02:15:51 $
 
 This fixes36.2 file is here to capture information about updates in the 3.6.x
 lineage following the release of 3.6.1 in April 2018. Please note, however,
@@ -467,6 +467,8 @@ having an artifact wish be refused ("for a moment you feel <artifact> in
 using 'O' to set status hilites for any status condition (Blind, &c) and
 	specifying more than one attribute (Bold, Inverse, &c) it would only
 	retain one of the chosen attributes
+when u.uhp==-1 became a flag to suppress status updating, if game ended when
+	hero died with exactly -1 HP, status would be blank during disclosure
 tty: turn off an optimization that is the suspected cause of Windows reported
 	partial status lines following level changes
 tty: ensure that current status fields are always copied to prior status
diff --git a/src/end.c b/src/end.c
index e2090bcdf..e52145755 100644
--- a/src/end.c
+++ b/src/end.c
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-/* NetHack 3.6	end.c	$NHDT-Date: 1549921169 2019/02/11 21:39:29 $  $NHDT-Branch: NetHack-3.6.2-beta01 $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.163 $ */
+/* NetHack 3.6	end.c	$NHDT-Date: 1553652951 2019/03/27 02:15:51 $  $NHDT-Branch: NetHack-3.6.2-beta01 $:$NHDT-Revision: 1.166 $ */
 /* Copyright (c) Stichting Mathematisch Centrum, Amsterdam, 1985. */
 /*-Copyright (c) Robert Patrick Rankin, 2012. */
 /* NetHack may be freely redistributed.  See license for details. */
@@ -1086,10 +1086,11 @@ int how;
     if (how < PANICKED) {
         u.umortality++;
         /* in case caller hasn't already done this */
-        if (u.uhp > 0 || (Upolyd && u.mh > 0)) {
-            /* for deaths not triggered by loss of hit points, force
-               current HP to zero (0 HP when turning into green slime
-               is iffy but we don't have much choice--that is fatal) */
+        if (u.uhp != 0 || (Upolyd && u.mh != 0)) {
+            /* force HP to zero in case it is still positive (some
+               deaths aren't triggered by loss of hit points), or
+               negative (-1 is used as a flag in some circumstances
+               which don't apply when actually dying due to HP loss) */
             u.uhp = u.mh = 0;
             context.botl = 1;
         }