The fear of lightning, one of the most common phobias, sends roughly ten percent of folks sprinting for cover when a storm rolls in. While many dread a bolt from the sky, the actual odds are surprisingly low – about a one‑in‑3,000 chance of being struck over a lifetime and roughly one‑in‑700,000 in any given year.[1] Still, certain factors – like living in lightning‑rich regions of the Southeast or simply spending a lot of time outdoors – can bump those numbers up. For most of us, the statistics are reassuring, unless you happen to share the bizarre luck of the ten people who made history by getting zapped more than once.
10 people who – Jim Lamey: Twice In His House
Even the safest advice – stay indoors during a thunderstorm – didn’t keep Jim Lamey completely out of harm’s way. In 2009, while taking a shower at his Pennsylvania home, a bolt slammed into the house, traveled through the water pipes, and gave Jim a jolt that threw him out of the tub. His son, nearby, pulled him to safety just in time to prevent a drowning.
Six years later, Jim suffered a second strike, this time while washing dishes. The lightning surged through the sink, knocked him unconscious, and he awoke later seated in a chair with a painful stomach, bewildered about how he got there. Both incidents left him with burn scars but no lasting injuries.
Alexander Mandon: Four Times In Six Months
Alexander Mandon’s lightning saga began while he served in the Colombian army, where he was struck three separate times. After his discharge, fate wasn’t done with him – a fourth bolt hit him in 2013. The most peculiar part of his story is the “cure” prescribed by his town doctor: bury him with his head protruding from the ground for two hours so the earth could absorb the lingering electricity.
Unfortunately, the doctor mixed up the instructions, having Alexander lie down instead of stay upright while underground. The odd remedy sparked more headlines than the strikes themselves, and one can only hope he got a refund for the mishap.
Bob Edwards: Three Times, Twice On The Same Road
Bob Edwards of North Carolina endured three lightning blows, two of which occurred on the exact same stretch of road. The third incident unfolded in 2012 when he left a restaurant and headed to his truck. The strike knocked him down, and he had to crawl back to the eatery, where a little girl spotted him and alerted her father for help.
Bob describes the sensation as a hammer smashing his chest. Afterward, he wrestled with ringing ears, blurred vision, and a metallic taste. The earlier strike on that road in 1997 required three revivals, and a 2009 hit in South Carolina added to his tally. Though he escaped lasting physical harm, he now copes with PTSD that has strained his career and relationships.
Bill Cowern: Twice
Physics Girl’s father, Bill Cowern, first felt lightning’s wrath at age twelve. While swimming in a lake with friends, a bolt struck the far side of the water, sending a tingling charge through the surface. He and his pals fled the water, but on his way home through a pine stand, a nearby tree was hit, knocking Bill unconscious for about an hour and a half.
Decades later, a storm forced Bill indoors to work in his garage. Another lightning‑hit tree sent a surge through the ground, jolting him as he bent over. The muscle spasm forced his body to straighten, but once again he escaped permanent damage.
Walter Summerford: Three Times In Life, Once In Death
Walter Summerford’s lightning legend began in 1918 when, as a British major serving in World War I, a bolt knocked him off his horse. After the war he moved to Vancouver, where a 1924 fishing trip ended with a nearby tree struck, sending electricity through the ground into his body. In 1930, a stroll through a park resulted in his third strike, leaving him paralyzed.
Two years later, Walter passed away and was buried. Yet the stormy drama continued: four years after his interment, lightning cracked his gravestone, marking a post‑mortem fourth strike.
Casey Wagner: Twice In A Split Second
Texas rodeo clown Casey Wagner was enjoying the annual “Rednecks with Paychecks” shindig in Saint Jo when a storm rolled overhead. Seeking shelter with friends, he stood near a tree when lightning struck – not once, but twice, within a heartbeat. He likened the sound to two shotguns firing back‑to‑back.
The rapid double‑zap was a stark reminder to avoid trees during thunderstorms. Fortunately, Casey walked away with his life intact.
Michael Cannon: Three Times
Alabama native Michael Cannon has endured three lightning encounters. At sixteen, he and his dad were erecting a fence when a bolt struck the structure about half a mile away, traveled down the fence, and hit Michael – a sight he describes as literally watching a ball of electricity descend.
The second strike occurred while he was working beneath a truck, with the charge traveling through damp ground to reach him. The third happened in a friend’s barn, where he was examining an old car; the bolt fried his hands, singed the hair off his knuckles, and rendered him unconscious.
Beth Peterson: Twice
Army specialist turned author Beth Peterson chronicled her harrowing experience in Life After Lightning. Her first strike came in July 1992 at Fort Benning, Georgia, when a bolt hit her head‑on while she was walking outdoors. She claims the encounter led to a near‑death experience where a divine voice offered her a choice between staying in heaven or returning to Earth with pain, but the chance to help others.
Exactly a year later, she was struck again while still in Georgia. The second bolt caused severe injuries: all ten of her toes were amputated, she now battles debilitating headaches, and she suffers panic attacks whenever storms loom.
Roy Sullivan: Seven Times
Roy Sullivan holds the Guinness World Record for the most lightning strikes survived – seven in total. As a park ranger in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park, his job kept him outdoors, increasing his exposure. One spectacular strike even set his hair ablaze.
After the third bolt, Roy grew convinced the clouds were chasing him, prompting a frantic run that still ended with a strike. Though he survived all seven, he tragically died in 1983 from a self‑inflicted gunshot wound, unrelated to his lightning history and reportedly spurred by unrequited love.
Melvyn Roberts: 11 Times
South Carolina’s Melvyn Roberts made headlines when he reported six lightning strikes by 2011 and five more by 2015, totaling eleven. His encounters ranged from sitting on a porch to being jolted twice while riding a lawnmower. His wife now stays well clear during storms, joking that “someone has to call for emergency.”
Roberts’ medical dossier is stacked high, and he’s become something of a local celebrity among physicians. He describes the sensation as being cooked from the inside out. The repeated assaults have left him with lingering headaches, speech difficulties, nerve damage, and memory loss, even affecting recollection of his children’s early years.
Kevin Klatman, a stand‑up comedian, writer, and host of the popular podcast I Hate the Internet, has featured Roberts in his shows.