10 Celebrities Who Actually Predicted Their Own Death

10 Celebrities Who Actually Predicted Their Own Deaths

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the 10 Celebrities Who Actually Predicted Their Own Deaths.

For this list, we’ll be looking at famous celebrities from any background who made allusions, whether intentionally or not, as to how they would eventually die.

Which of these stories do you find the most fascinating? The most creepy? Let us know in the comments below!

#10: Buddy Holly

This pioneer of rock and roll was taken far too early, having died in a plane crash at just 22. At the time, Holly was in the midst of his Winter Dance Party tour. Shortly before the tour began, both Holly and his wife, María Elena Santiago, experienced eerily prophetic dreams on the same night. Holly dreamed that he was sitting in a plane, while Santiago dreamed of a fireball descending from the sky and crashing into a field. On The Day the Music Died, Holly was inside a small aircraft when it crashed into a cornfield outside Mason City, Iowa.

#9: Mark Twain

This writer was one of the most genius men of his time - so genius, in fact, that he was able to successfully predict his own demise. Twain was born on November 30, 1835, just missing Halley’s Comet. For those unaware, Halley’s Comet passes by Earth every 75 years. This is important! In 1909, Twain stated, “I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it.” His prediction couldn’t have been more accurate. Twain died at 74 on April 21, 1910 - just one day after Halley’s Comet made its scheduled fly-by of Earth.

#8: Mikey Welsh

A prominent bass guitarist, Mikey Welsh played for numerous bands, including Weezer. He performed bass duties on their self-titled “Green Album,” but soon left the band owing to severe mental health problems. Following a brief resurgence, he permanently retired from music and began a career in art. On September 26, 2011, Welsh wrote a rather creepy tweet. It read, “dreamt i died in chicago next weekend (heart attack in my sleep). need to write my will today.” Less than two weeks later, Welsh died from a heart attack brought on by a heroin overdose. He was in Chicago.

#7: Frank Pastore

Hailing from Alhambra, California, Frank Pastore was a professional baseball pitcher who played in the MLB from 1979 to 1986. All but one of those seasons were with the Cincinnati Reds. Pastore suffered a bad arm injury in 1984 and became a born-again Christian, and in 2004, he started a Christian talk show called “The Frank Pastore Show.” During the episode of November 19, 2012, Pastore said that he could easily die from someone hitting his motorcycle on the 210 Freeway. That very same day, Pastore was riding on the 210 when he was struck by a Hyundai Sonata. He remained in the hospital for about a month and eventually died from his injuries.

#6: Arnold Schoenberg

An Austrian composer, Arnold Schoenberg is renowned as one of the 20th century’s greatest musical minds. He was a genius, but he also suffered from a debilitating fear of the number 13. This is a genuine phobia, and it bears the name triskaidekaphobia. When Schoenberg turned 76, he was made aware that the numbers 7 and 6 equaled 13. He spent the rest of the year in a state of horrific anxiety and agony. Then July 13 came around, and the anxiety reached a breaking point. Schoenberg spent the whole day in bed and died just fifteen minutes before midnight. In some ways, this was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Schoenberg made himself so sick and anxious that he essentially stressed himself to death.

#5: James Dean

This ruggedly handsome actor became famous both for his looks and his acting. Throughout the mid-’50s, Dean became a cultural symbol of rebelliousness and starred in classics like “East of Eden” and “Rebel Without a Cause.” It was around this time that he also developed an interest in auto racing. While filming “Giant,” Dean was approached for a TV featurette and was asked to give some advice to teenage drivers. He then said the ironic words, “Take it easy driving, the life you might save might be mine.” On September 30, 1955, Dean was traveling down Route 466 in a Porsche when he collided into Donald Turnupseed’s Ford. Turnupseed received minor injuries, but Dean suffered a broken neck and died instantly.

#4: Pete Maravich

Known nationally as Pistol Pete, basketball player Pete Maravich is one of the all-time greats. He enjoyed a decade-long career, playing for three teams between 1970 and 1980. In 1974, Maravich was giving an interview when he said, “I don't want to play 10 years [in the NBA] and then die of a heart attack when I'm 40.” Unfortunately, both statements eventually came true. He did play 10 years in the NBA, and he did die of a heart attack at the age of 40. Maravich was born without a left coronary artery, and he was not aware of this rare defect. On January 5, 1988, he collapsed and died while playing a game of pickup basketball in Pasadena.

#3: Bob Marley

One of the greatest musical minds of the 20th century, Bob Marley helped popularize reggae in the west and has sold more than 75 million records. However, Marley lived through some difficult times, and on December 3, 1976, he was nearly killed in an assassination attempt. Perhaps because of the recent turbulence, Marley reportedly told his closest friends and associates that he didn’t expect to live beyond 36. In July of 1977, Marley was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive and exceedingly rare form of skin cancer. He died in May of 1981 at the age of 36.

#2: Tupac Shakur

One of the greatest rap artists of all time, Tupac Shakur was a prominent voice in West Coast hip hop. Aside from releasing hit singles like “California Love,” he also earned critical praise for his socially conscious lyrics. In one collaboration with Richie Rich, Tupac rapped, “I’ve been shot and murdered, can’t tell you how it happened word for word.” On the night of September 7, 1996, Tupac was shot on the Vegas Strip and died six days later. Both halves of the lyric came true. Tupac was shot and killed, and for a long time, no one knew exactly how it happened. It wasn’t until 2002 that an investigative journalist for the Los Angeles Times fingered Crip member Orlando Anderson for the crime.

#1: Diana, Princess of Wales

August 31, 1997 will remain in infamy. On that night, Princess Diana’s car was rushing through Paris’s Pont de l'Alma tunnel when it collided into a pillar at high speeds. Diana survived the initial crash but died of her injuries about four hours later. The crash was blamed on the car’s driver, who had a high blood alcohol content. But in 2003, a note written by Diana herself was released to the public. In it, she writes, “My husband is planning an accident in my car. Brake failure and serious head injury in order to make the path clear for him to marry Tiggy.” The note was in turn given to her butler, and Diana was killed in the accident a couple of years later.