Top 10 Creepiest Coincidences in History

Top 10 Creepiest Coincidences in History

Life is full of chance encounters, but these bizarre events will make you wonder whether something else was at work. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top10 Creepiest Coincidences in History.

For this list, we are looking at the weirdest chance encounters in history, or events that have been chalked up to coincidence but seem to eerie to be true. Some of these events are confirmed; some may merely be stories that circulate like a game of broken telephone, but all of them are creepy.

#10: Karma Kills

Many relationships end on a sour note, but they rarely result in the deaths of 3 people. Legend has it that in the late 19th century, Henry Ziegland broke up with his girlfriend, who killed herself as a result. Her brother hunted Ziegland down and shot him, committing suicide immediately after. Ziegland was not killed by the shot, however: the bullet barely missed him and came to rest in a nearby tree. Years later, Ziegland attempted to blow up the tree, only to have the blast propel the bullet into his head, killing him.

#9: The King’s Double

For protection, many kings use body doubles. Apparently, King Umberto I of Italy came upon his own double by accident. While eating dinner at a small restaurant, Umberto noticed that the restaurant owner was nearly identical in looks to himself. But they soon discovered more similarities: they were both born in the same town on the same day in the same year, they both married a woman named Margherita, and the owner had opened his restaurant on the same day as Umberto was crowned King. Wait, it gets weirder: the day after the pair met, on July 29th, 1900, the owner was killed in an accidental shooting – the same day that Umberto was assassinated.

#8: Two Finnish Brothers

They say that twins have an incredibly strong bond and often know what the other is thinking, feeling or doing. These two Finnish brothers took that bond to a whole other level in 2002, when both died on the same road in separate accidents within hours of each other. The first brother died when he was hit by a truck while riding his bike. The second brother died two hours later under the exact same circumstances, about 1.5 kilometres from the spot where his brother had been killed earlier.

#7: The Mysterious Monk

Frustrated with life and depressed, painter Joseph Aigner attempted to commit suicide on multiple occasions – once when he was 18, once when he was 22 – but, according to Ripley’s Believe It or Not, he was each time stopped by the same Capuchin monk. When he was 30, Aigner was sentenced to death for his political activities, but was again saved by the monk, who intervened on his behalf. Eventually, Aigner was successful, and killed himself with a pistol when he was 68-years-old. The funeral ceremony was conducted by – you guessed it – the exact same Capuchin monk, whose name Aigner had never even learned.

#6: Twin Boys

What is it with twins and strange coincidences? Jim Springer and Jim Lewis were identical twins who were separated at birth and adopted by different families. Both families named their boy James, but the similarities don’t stop there. Both married women with the name Linda. Each also had a son named James Alan, and both were involved in law enforcement. Both brothers divorced their wives and remarried to women named Betty, and both owned dogs named Toy. At least they both haven’t been killed on the same day…yet.

#5: The Cannibalized Boy

One of the greatest authors of the 19th century, Edgar Allan Poe, wrote a book titled “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket.” The book depicted four shipwreck survivors who eventually killed and ate a boy named Richard Parker. Several years after the publication of Poe’s story, a yacht called the Mignonette sank and left four survivors stranded at sea. The three older survivors eventually killed and ate the cabin boy – whose name was Richard Parker.

#4: Thomas Jefferson & John Adams

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were two of the most important players in the founding of the United States. Both played a large role in the creation and signing of the Declaration of Independence, which was eventually approved on July 4th, 1776. Although their relationship deteriorated over the years, they eventually reconciled, and oddly, died on the exact same day. That day? July 4th, 1826, exactly 50 years after the signing of the Declaration.

#3: 27 Club

The 27 Club refers to a group of famous people – mainly musicians – who have died at the age of 27. It started in the late 1960s when Rolling Stone Brian Jones, Doors’ frontman Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix all died at this age. Two and a half decades later, Kurt Cobain committed suicide at 27, and recently, Amy Winehouse overdosed and died at the age of 27. Winehouse actually stated years earlier that she was worried about dying at 27. All in all, the club has claimed over 40 musicians since the start of the 20th century.

#2: Mark Twain & Halley’s Comet

Mark Twain was born on November 30th, 1835 – just two weeks after Halley’s Comet was visible on Earth. Twain, who was the author of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” seemed to strongly associate with this celestial event. In fact, he famously declared: I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don’t go out with Halley’s Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: ‘Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.’ He died on April 21st, 1910 – one day after the comet had returned.

Before we unveil our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- Unlucky Taxi
o In 1975, a man was killed while riding a moped in Bermuda when he was hit by a taxi;
o One year later, that man’s brother was riding that same moped and was hit by a taxi and killed;
o It was the same taxi driver who’d killed his brother, who was carrying the same passenger at both times.

- Falling Baby
o Joseph Figlock lived in Detroit in the 1930s;
o One day, while walking down the street, a baby fell out of a window and onto him;
o Neither was harmed;
o One year later, while walking in the same spot, that same baby again fell onto Figlock.
o Again, neither was harmed.

- The Unlucky Major Summerford
o Struck by lightning three times;
o After his death, lightning struck and shattered his tombstone.

- JFK & Abraham Lincoln
o Elected 100 years apart;
o Both succeeded by Southerners named Johnson, born 100 years apart;
o Both assassins were born 100 years apart;
o Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin was cornered in a warehouse; Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin was captured in a theater;
o Lincoln was shot in Ford’s theater; Kennedy was shot in a Ford Lincoln;
o Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln; Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy.

- John Wilkes Booth’s Brother Saves Abraham Lincoln’s Son
o Robert Todd Lincoln was waiting for a train on a crowded platform, and fell onto the track;
o Before he was harmed, Lincoln was saved by a man he recognized as Edwin Booth;
o Booth was a famous actor, and brother of John Wilkes Booth who – within a couple of years – would assassinate Abraham Lincoln.

#1: The Titan & the Titanic

In 1898, Morgan Robertson published a novella entitled “Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan.” The plot revolved around the HMS Titan, a British luxury liner that hit an iceberg and sank while crossing the northern Atlantic. Of course, in 1912, the Titanic sank in a similar fashion, and that’s where things get bizarre. Both ships were considered unsinkable, both hit an iceberg in the month of April approximately 400 miles from Newfoundland, both were approximately 800 feet long, and both resulted in the deaths of over 2,000 people. The lack of lifejackets and lifeboats was also a serious problem for both ships – tragically so for the real life Titanic.

Do you agree with our list? What do you think is the creepiest coincidence in history? For more bizarre Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.