Sometimes, the world just aligns up in astonishing ways, not always for the best of outcomes. Coincidences are just just unexplained glitches in the matrix, but ones that have caused quite a furore over the years. I mean, it’s honestly quite befuddling how some of these creepy coincidences came to be.
1. Many of the cast and crew of The Omen died under mysterious circumstances, like plane crashes and being cut in half.
This 1976 movie wasn’t just disturbing in reel life, it also had real death associated with it. Special effects consultant John Richardson got into a crash while working on his next film, his girlfriend and assistant, Liz Moore, was cut in half during the accident, similar to the death of a character in the film. The son of actor Gregory Peck shot himself in the head after Peck accepted the role. Also, Screenwriter David Seltzer and executive producer Mace Neufeld were both on planes that were struck by lightening on separate occasions.
2. Edgar Allan Poe predicted that a cabin boy would be eaten by his ship’s crew 46 years before it happened.
Poe, the poster-boy for the macabre, has a book called The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, in which four sailors whose ship sinks are forced to eat a cabin boy named Richard Parker. 46 years later, a boat actually sank in real life, and the crew members who were rescued were forced to eat a cabin boy named – wait for it – Richard Parker in order to survive.
3. The Jim twins, who were separated at birth, yet lived almost exactly the same lives.
In 1979, Jim Lewis met Jim Springer at the ages of 39 – they were identical twins separated at birth and raised by different families, yet lived very similar lives despite being apart. Both named their sons James. Both men married women named Linda, and later both got divorced and married women named Betty. They vacationed at the same beach in Florida. They both became police officers, and each of them had a dog named Toy. What the what?
4. Joseph Figlock, who accidentally came under 2 separate babies falling to their deaths, saving their lives
In 1937, Joseph Figlock was sweeping a street in Detroit when a baby fell from a 4th floor window, injuring his neck and shoulders. Luckily, the baby survived. A year later, a different 2-year-old baby fell from another window, and yet again landed on Figlock, who was sweeping an alley. This guy was basically a walking baby mattress.
5. Mark Twain predicted his own death.
The famous author was born in 1835, when Halley’s Comet was passing the earth, an event that only occurs around once every 76 years. In 1909, Twain predicted he would die when it came next, saying, “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it.” He died on the day of its appearance in 1910.
6. At least 6 people were killed in the Philippines between 2000 and 2010 while singing ‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra.
Karaoke is big in the Philippines, but the audience can be pretty prickly apparently. For example, a security guard shot a man for singing Sinatra’s My Way badly in 2007 at a bar, and there have been other similar incidents, in the country, all involving the same song. It’s gotten so bad, bars have banned the song from being played.
7. A Nebraska church exploded, but all the members were running late for different reasons.
In 1950, a church in Nebraska exploded, just 5 minutes after choir practice was scheduled to start. However, every single choir member was running late for a different reason, ranging from car trouble to waking up late. This was very lucky for them, as the entire building had collapsed and they would not have stood a chance.
8. A painting that predicted Hitler’s reign of terror.
In 1889, Franz von Stuck painted the German pagan god Wotan leading a procession of the dead. This was the same year that Hitler was born, and the being in it actually looks a lot like Hitler as well. Also, this was one of Hitler’s favourite paintings.Many considered it a foreshadowing of the evil to come.
9. A pair of identical twins died within 2 hours of each other on the same road while riding bikes.
A man riding his bicycle in Raahe, Finland in 2002 was hit by a lorry and tragically lost his life. 2 Hours later, his identical twin was cycling down the same road when he was also hit by a lorry and killed. As the family did not know about the first brother’s death yet, this made the entire event even more stupefying.
10. The Dutch cyclist who narrowly avoided two plane disasters.
You hear about people who missed a flight once just to learn that it crashed. Well Dutch cyclist Maarten de Jonge experienced that twice! He was supposed to be on board the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, but decided to take a flight that left an hour earlier. He was also supposed to fly on Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which was shot down over Ukraine in 2014, but changed to a different flight as it was cheaper.
The world is a confusing place!