8. Edgar Allan Poe Predicted The Death Of A Real Person (Through A Fictional Story)
The Narrative Of Arthur Gordon Pym Of Nantucket was the first and only complete novel written by Edgar Allan Poe, who is most famous for his gruesome short stories and poetry, including The Tell-Tale Heart and The Raven. In The Narrative Of Arthur Pym, a man named Richard Parker is on board a ship when it capsizes, destroying much of the remaining food supply and thrusting starvation upon Parker and his three remaining crew members. Parker suggests that they draw straws in order to decide who among them should be killed and eaten by the other three for survival. Unfortunately for Parker, he draws the shortest straw and is subsequently eaten by his ravenous crew mates. This story was paralleled in real-life in 1884, when a ship sailing from England to Australia capsized. Once again there were four survivors, and once again one was named Richard Parker, a teenage cabin boy who was killed and eaten by his crew. This story (and Poe's own story) inspired author Yann Martel to pay homage to the tragedy in his novel Life Of Pi, which features its own stranded protagonist, and a tiger named Richard Parker.
