Have you ever had a feeling something bad was about to happen? Sometimes, that feeling is more than just anxiety; it’s a premonition. In Season 2 of Grey’s Anatomy, Meredith Grey wakes up with a chilling feeling that she might die that day. While she survives the day, her premonition foreshadows the bomb squad leader’s death. These real-life stories echo that unsettling sense of impending doom, validated by tragic events.
10. “Anyone perched above the crowd with a rifle could do it.”
On the morning of November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy, in Fort Worth, remarked to his wife Jackie and aide Ken O’Donnell, “anyone perched above the crowd with a rifle could do it.” It was a fleeting thought that turned into a horrifying reality later that day.[1]
As his motorcade slowly moved through Dealey Plaza at 12:30 pm, a bullet struck him in the upper back, followed by two more, one tearing through his skull. JFK was pronounced dead at Parkland Memorial Hospital at 1:00 pm. Irish President Eamon de Valera also noted during a 1966 interview that he had thought JFK would be an easy target during a visit in Ireland in June 1963.
9. “My mother came for me.”
In 1936, Mary Hudgins Evans had a disturbing dream where her deceased mother told her, “I’m coming for you.” The next morning, Mary told her husband that he would have to raise their only child.[2]
Mary worked at Wright’s Ice Cream Parlor in Gainesville. Just after 8 am, a series of deadly tornadoes struck the South. Minutes before the tornadoes hit, Mary called her husband to say goodbye. Mary Hudgins Evans died with over 200 others, and 1,600 were injured.
8. “I told him we shouldn’t go there.”
Christine Delcros and her fiancé Xavier Thomas were strolling along London Bridge on June 3, 2017. Christine felt increasingly terrified, and implored Xavier to go elsewhere.[3]
Xavier insisted on continuing their walk. Moments later, a van struck them from behind, flinging Xavier over the bridge into the Thames. His body was recovered three days later. Christine survived, but eight people died in the terrorist attack.
7. “A feeling grew upon me.”
Edward and Pamelia Bowen planned to travel to London in May 1915 for business. As their departure day approached, Edward felt uneasy. He told his wife he felt like “something was going to happen to the Lusitania.”[4]
They canceled their trip, narrowly avoiding being among the 1,198 casualties when a German U-boat torpedoed the Lusitania on May 7, 1915.
6. “Keiko, today you shouldn’t go to school.”
On August 6, 1945, Keiko Ogura’s father told her, “Keiko, today you shouldn’t go to school. Something might happen.”[5]
At 8:15 am, Keiko was near her home when a flash turned the world white. She fainted and awoke to darkness, realizing the sky was filled with soot and debris. The atomic bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima, killing 80,000 people instantly and destroying 90% of the city. Keiko’s father saved her life by following his intuition.
5. “We’re jinxed.”
On September 11, 2000, Monica and Michael Iken’s wedding was interrupted by a loud jet. Michael told Monica, “we’re jinxed.”[6]
On September 9, 2001, Michael felt uneasy at their Boston airport hotel, insisting they leave. Two days later, Michael was at work on the 84th floor of the South Tower and died in the 9/11 attacks. Unbeknownst to them, the hijackers had been in the same hotel, planning their attack.
4. “I feel like there’s something bad ahead, but I don’t know what.”
Carol Karanja sent a WhatsApp message to her younger sister a week before boarding Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10, 2019. It read: “My heart isn’t really excited. I feel like there’s something bad ahead, but I don’t know what.”[7]
Minutes after takeoff, Flight 302 crashed, killing all 157 people onboard, including Carol, her mother, and her children. Her family in Kenya learned that three generations had been wiped out in the crash.
3. “London is safer.”
During WWII, Mona Miller and her children evacuated from London to Babbacombe in Devon. Despite the perceived safety, Mona felt they were in the wrong place. For four months, she felt they needed to return to London, even though it was being bombed.[8]
They returned to London in 1942. A few days later, a letter arrived from Devon stating that the day after they left, three bombs destroyed their house and killed neighbors.
2. “I’ll haunt him forever.”
After 16-year-old Shana Fisher rejected Dimitrios Pagourtizis’ advances, he continued to harass her. Shana told her mother that Pagourtizis was going to kill her, and she would “haunt him forever.”[9]
A week later, Pagourtizis opened fire in Santa Fe High School, killing 10, including Shana. He was apprehended and sent to a mental health facility.
1. “I just had a premonition that I would never see her again.”
Teacher Christa McAuliffe was selected to be the first teacher in space. A few months before her departure, fellow teacher Mark Hampton felt a chill and said, “I just had a premonition that I would never see her again.”[10]
On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch, killing all seven crew members, including Christa. The shuttle had no escape system, and the impact was unsurvivable.
These unsettling premonitions serve as eerie reminders of the fragility of life and the mysterious ways in which some people seem to sense impending tragedy. Whether dismissed as coincidence or attributed to a sixth sense, these stories leave us pondering the unknown forces that shape our destinies.
What do you think? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. Have you ever had a premonition? Let’s discuss!
