Imagine being struck by lightning once. It's a terrifying thought. Now, picture enduring this experience not once, but seven times, and surviving each ordeal.
This was the extraordinary reality for Roy Sullivan, a park ranger in Virginia's Shenandoah National Park. Between 1942 and 1977, Sullivan faced lightning strikes with an uncanny frequency, earning him the nickname "Human Lightning Rod."
Roy Sullivan’s backstory
Roy Cleveland Sullivan was born on February 7, 1912, in Greene County, Virginia.
In 1936, he began his career as a park ranger in Shenandoah National Park, a position that would intertwine his fate with nature's most electrifying phenomenon.
Over the next four decades, Sullivan would become infamous for an unusual reason: he was struck by lightning seven times and lived to tell the tale.
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The first strike
In April 1942, Sullivan's first documented lightning strike occurred while he was seeking shelter in a newly constructed fire lookout tower. The tower, lacking a lightning rod, was struck multiple times, setting it ablaze.
As Sullivan fled the burning structure, lightning struck him, leaving a burn along his right leg and a hole in his shoe.
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Subsequent strikes
The years that followed saw Sullivan facing lightning with an almost predestined regularity:
July 1969: While driving his truck, lightning entered through the open window, knocking him unconscious and causing severe burns.
July 1970: In his front yard, a lightning bolt struck a nearby transformer, arcing to his left shoulder and searing it.
Spring 1972: At a ranger station, lightning set his hair aflame, prompting him to extinguish it with a wet towel.
August 1973: Attempting to outrun an approaching storm, Sullivan was struck after exiting his truck, with the bolt traveling down his left arm and leg.
June 1976: While inspecting a campground, he felt a storm pursuing him; despite his efforts to escape, he was struck, resulting in burns and a hair fire.
June 1977: Fishing alone, lightning hit him, burning his chest and stomach. Remarkably, he then fought off a bear attempting to steal his catch, all while his hair burned. Crazy.
The aftermath
Surviving these strikes left Sullivan physically scarred and emotionally burdened.
Some people speculated that Sullivan had a special connection to the weather or that his position as a ranger made him more likely to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Others believed he had simply become a "human lightning rod." Sullivan himself, however, never bought into any of these theories. He was just living his life, doing his job, and somehow, always managing to survive the odds.
But with each lightning strike, Sullivan's life would change a little more. People began to avoid him, fearing the possibility of being struck themselves.
This isolation saddened Sullivan, and on September 28, 1983, at 71, Sullivan died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
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