The Human Lightening Rod

This is Roy Sullivan. Roy had been a park ranger at Shenandoah National Park, and he holds the Guinness Record as being struck by lightening more times than anyone else in history. We are talking a whopping 7 recorded lightening strikes! Roy was known to carry water with him just in case he was hit and his hair caught fire – something which had happened to this particular man on more than one occasion.

Roy had first been struck as a child while helping his father work in the wheat field. Since that first time can’t be proven, Roy did not count it; the first recorded strike occurred in 1942.

Roy seems to have been a great man with very little fear. His seventh proven strike happened in June of 1977, while Roy had been fishing; his hair caught fire again. While walking towards his car, a bear decided to rob him of his fish! Roy hit the bear with a tree branch, something he claimed to have done approximately 22 times throughout his life.

As brave and fearless as the man seems, Roy’s life had not been without heartache. He’d noticed that people avoided him, afraid of being nearby when lightening struck; this really upset Roy, and he had cared deeply for those around him. Roy was known to leave crowded areas the moment it became cloudy; if he had been driving down the road and it began to rain, Roy would pull over and lay flat inside his vehicle until he saw clear skies again.

In 1983, a 71 year old Roy had his heart broken. He ended his own life, shot himself in the head while laying in bed beside his much younger wife. It’s said that she hadn’t even noticed that Roy was deceased for several hours.

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