Buzz
On April 10, 1912, the RMS Titanic embarked on her inaugural journey from Southampton, with stops at Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown, Ireland, but never reached her final destination in New York, USA.
Sadly, the renowned ship struck an iceberg at 11:40 PM on April 14, causing her to sink into the North Atlantic Ocean by 2:20 AM on April 15, 1912. As a result, over 1,500 lives were lost, with only 705 survivors.
Although many believed the luxurious liner was “unsinkable,” a few individuals had disturbing premonitions about the impending disaster. Discover the 10 eerie predictions about the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
10. Morgan Robertson
Futility, a novel by Morgan Robertson, was penned 14 years before the RMS Titanic tragedy. Although a work of fiction, its storyline closely mirrors the real-life maritime disaster of 1912. The book follows the largest luxury liner of its time, called Titan, which meets its demise in the North Atlantic after colliding with an iceberg.
Morgan Robertson claimed he had no psychic abilities, stating the novel was inspired by his understanding of shipbuilding practices and the risks associated with modern ships. However, the similarities between the fictional and real ships are striking. Both were believed to be “virtually unsinkable,” both measured around 270 meters in length, could reach speeds of 20 knots, and had an insufficient number of lifeboats. Additionally, both ships sank approximately 400 nautical miles off the coast of Newfoundland on an April night.
9. Edith Corse Evans
Edith Corse Evans, a first-class passenger aboard the RMS Titanic, was returning to New York after visiting her cousins in Paris, France. She traveled with a group of sisters: Mrs. John Murray Brown, Mrs. E. D. Appleton, and Mrs. R. C. Cornell, who became friends with Colonel Archibald Gracie.
When the Titanic struck an iceberg, the men on board tried to calm the women, reassuring them that the ship was unsinkable. However, Edith confided in Colonel Gracie, revealing that a fortune teller had once warned her to “beware of water,” and she believed there was truth to the warning. Despite this, some accounts say Edith sacrificed her seat on a lifeboat for one of the sisters, as her friend had children waiting at home. Edith was one of four first-class women who perished in the disaster.
8. George and Edith Vanderbilt
George Washington Vanderbilt II, a distinguished member of the Vanderbilt family, was traveling aboard the RMS Titanic with his wife, Edith. The couple frequently journeyed around the globe to acquire antiques, Oriental rugs, tapestries, and art to furnish their home.
Although their footman, Edwin Charles Wheeler, had already loaded their possessions onto the Titanic two days earlier, the couple was warned by a relative about the risks of a maiden voyage, saying: “...so many things can go wrong on a maiden voyage.” As a result, the Vanderbilts decided to rebook on the Olympic, and Edwin, who had been entrusted with their belongings, tragically lost his life when the Titanic sank.
7. Esther Hart
The Hart family boarded the RMS Titanic as second-class passengers, intending to start a new life in Winnipeg, Canada. At the time of the voyage, Eva Hart was just seven years old. Though young, Eva's memories of the disaster remained vivid throughout her life. She believed that her mother, Esther's premonition, saved her life, as Esther was convinced that calling a ship unsinkable was “challenging God.” In fact, Esther was so anxious about what might happen that she would sleep during the day to stay alert at night. When she heard a jolt, the family was able to quickly make their escape. However, Eva’s father, Benjamin, refused to board a lifeboat to allow women and children to go first, and he gave his coat to his wife to keep the family warm.
6. Jonathan Shepherd
Jonathan Shepherd was a junior second assistant engineer aboard the RMS Titanic, and he reportedly harbored deep concerns about joining the ship on her maiden voyage. His worries were understandable, as he had previously been involved in a naval accident. In 1911, while serving aboard the RMS Olympic, he was part of the crew during a collision with the British warship HMS Hawke.
Weeks after the tragic event, Jonathan’s father was interviewed by the Northern Daily Telegraph and revealed that his son had been “down in the dumps” before the voyage. When asked, “What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of death?” Jonathan replied, “No, I’m not afraid of death, but I don’t want to go.” His father also shared, “My lad didn’t want to go on Titanic, he would have preferred to stay on the Olympic.”
On the night of the disaster, Jonathan assisted the engineers in rigging pumps in boiler room number five. Unfortunately, he slipped on a raised access plate and broke his leg. Despite the help of lead fireman Frederick Barrett and engineer Herbert Harvey, who tried to assist Jonathan to the pump room, the bulkhead was breached and he tragically drowned in the rising waters.
5. Henry Wilde
Henry Wilde was not initially assigned to serve on the RMS Titanic, as he was originally the Chief Officer aboard the RMS Olympic, Titanic’s sister ship. However, he was instructed to stay in Southampton and await orders to join the luxury liner for her maiden voyage. Wilde did have some reservations about the ship, though, and sent a letter to his sister during the stop at Queenstown, Ireland, expressing his unease: “I still don’t like this ship… I have a queer feeling about it.”
When the Titanic struck an iceberg at 11:40 PM on April 14, 1912, Wilde is said to have worked relentlessly to load the lifeboats. He also reportedly used a gun to stop stockers from taking control of a lifeboat, which allowed women and children to escape the sinking vessel. He was last seen attempting to free collapsible lifeboats A and B from the officers' quarters' roof. Wilde perished in the disaster, and, if found, his body was never identified.
4. Alex Mackenzie
Although Alex Mackenzie boarded the RMS Titanic at Southampton before the ship departed, he heard a voice warning him that he would lose his life if he stayed aboard. The 24-year-old was walking along the gangway when he first heard the voice urging him to avoid the ship. Looking around and seeing no one, he shrugged it off and continued walking, only to hear the same warning a second and then a third time, each time growing more insistent. At that point, he decided to abandon the journey and return to his hometown of Glasgow, Scotland.
The young Scot had received either a second or third class ticket from his grandparents. Although his family was displeased with his decision to waste the costly ticket, they were soon relieved when the news of the disaster broke.
3. William T. Stead
William T. Stead, an English newspaper editor, was traveling aboard the RMS Titanic to attend a conference at Carnegie Hall in New York, at the invitation of President William Howard Taft. Despite being a first-class passenger, Stead had eerily predicted the ship’s demise years earlier. In 1886, he penned a short story titled “How the Atlantic Mail Steamer Went Down,” which depicted a transatlantic liner sinking with 916 passengers aboard. The story also portrayed a chilling scene of people drowning due to a shortage of lifeboats—an image Stead feared could one day come true.
2. Edith Rosenbaum
Edith Rosenbaum, also known as Edith Russell, was a 33-year-old first-class passenger on the RMS Titanic, returning from Paris where she had reported on fashion at the Easter Sunday Races. While she did acknowledge the ship as “the most wonderful boat you could think of,” she also sent a letter to her secretary from Queenstown, expressing unease: “I’m going to take my very much needed rest on this trip, but I cannot get over my feeling of depression and premonition of trouble. How I wish it were over!”
After the ship collided with an iceberg, Edith escaped in Lifeboat 11, bringing along a small toy pig. The pig’s music reportedly brought comfort to the passengers aboard. She was rescued four hours later, and despite surviving this disaster, Edith went on to lead a life filled with adventure, surviving tornadoes, car accidents, and another shipwreck.
1. John Coffey
At 23 years old, John Coffey boarded the RMS Titanic in Southampton, having signed up to work as a stoker or fireman in the boiler room, earning a salary of £5 per month. Though initially scheduled to complete a return trip across the Atlantic, Coffey decided to leave the ship when it stopped in Queenstown, Ireland, his hometown.
Weeks later, Coffey revealed that he had left the doomed ship due to a strange feeling of foreboding about the voyage. Despite this decision, he continued his career at sea and joined the RMS Mauretania just a few months after Titanic’s tragic sinking.
