A Psychic Premonition?
The Titanic Leaving Southampton
While the harrowing story of the Titanic may bring visions of a ghostly ship sailing the open seas with its spectral passengers that perished on April 14, 1912, the Titanic must not be confused with ghost ship stories of folklore, however, this tragic and compelling story of the Goliath ship is fascinating for its connection with the supernatural.
Or is it? Many believed that this "ship of dreams" was doomed from the start. Some told of visions, of the death of this mighty ship that came in the form of dreams, others in stories, and one in poetry. But are these stories fabrications, overactive imaginations, coincidence, or something that surpasses all understanding. Something that cannot be explained?
Are we left to ponder this question? Decide for yourself.
A Brief History
The Titanic's construction began at the Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast, Ireland in 1909. The company was owned by Lord Pirrie, a shipbuilder and friend of English born businessman, Bruce Ismay. Ismay was the managing director of the White Star Line. The designer and builder of the Titanic was Irish born businessman and shipbuilder, Thomas Andrews, who was one of the 1,500 souls who perished when the Titanic sank.
Thomas Andrew and Bruce Ismay
It took 3,000 workers over the years, to complete the job by 1911. It was said that at least 2 men were killed during construction of the ship, other tales of the Titanic tell of 16 or more deaths of during the construction of the ship.
Legend also tells of one worker who was trapped and sealed inside of the hull of the ship at Harland and Wolff shipyard, just before the Titanic was launched. Dull banging sounds were said to be heard coming from the hull at the time of the ship's departure, until its final moments on the Atlantic.
But is this fact or Fantasy?
Titanic During Construction at Harland and Wolff Shipyard
It cost 7.5 million dollars to build the Titanic, which is roughly around $400 million today. The passenger liner, along with her sister ship the Olympic were part of the White Star Line fleet. Some of the largest and most luxurious ocean liners to sail the seas.
She was near 66 tons, 882 ft, 9 inches long, 94 feet wide at her widest point (the hull reached a maximum breadth of 92.5 feet) and 175 feet tall from the keel to the top of her four funnels. (equivalent to a sixth of a mile long, 4 city blocks long, or 11 stories high). She could carry an estimated 3,547 passengers.
A-Deck Promenade Note: Arrow in this Photo is Pointing to the First Class Grand Staircase
Many thought the Titanic resembled a floating layered cake, with each layer representing the different levels of the ship. The first layer was first-class, which catered to the very rich, such as 47 year of Colonel John Jacob Astor, great grandson of a wealthy fur trader, also Benjamin Guggenheim, with ties to a mining company, American philanthropist, Molly (the unsinkable) Brown, and Isidor Straus and his wife Ida. Isidor was the owner of the world's largest department store of the day, Macy's.
Colonel John Jacob Astor, Isidor and Ida Straus, Benjamin Guggenheim, Molly Brown (The Unsinkable)
The second layer was second-class passengers, or middle-class, who were teachers, merchants and business professionals.
Second Class Staircase
The third layer consisted of steerage or third-class passengers, mostly Immigrants, families, and those hoping to find opportunity in America.
Third Class Cabin
And finally, the fourth layer of the cake. This bottom layer was made up of manual laborers who toiled away in grease and grime, in the hot boiler rooms, and engine rooms, located at the bowels of the ship.
Boiler Room
The Ship Of Dreams
While the Titanic was esthetically pleasing to the eye, she was also considered one of the fastest ships of her time. She could reach speeds up to 24 knots, very fast for a ship of that size. She was replete with only the finest that money could buy, and nothing was too good for those who could afford to sail on this grand ship. Even third-class passenger were treated to better quality food and amenities than other ships of the day. This ship, the Titanic, was a floating palace on the sea.
Ornate Wood-work Furnishings, Stained Glass, and Art of First-Class Smoking Room
Elaborate wood paneling, golden chandeliers, plush carpeting, stained-glass, grand furnishings and works of art welcomed first-class passengers to luxury on the sea. First-class staterooms included styles from Louis Quinze to Queen Anne. A gymnasium was located near first-class, near starboard, complete with an electric horse, rowing machine, and a stationary bike for the health conscious.
The Titanic's Gymnasium Located Near Starboard, First-Class
The ships cabins were equipped with electric heaters and lights, all the comforts one could ever dream of aboard a ship. The Titanic spared no expense on details. There were even electric elevators and separate barber shops for both first and second-class passengers.
Stateroom B-58 First-Class Cabin
Stateroom B-57 First-Class Cabin
There were private promenade decks for the affluent, Turkish baths for the men, an a la carte restaurant, Cafe Parisian, The Verandah Cafe, a lavish smoking room and a lounge for first-class passengers. There was even a reading and writing room which boasted of comfort and elegance.
Cafe Parisian
The Verandah Cafe
First-Class Lounge
The Reading and Writing Room
But most famous of all was the Grand Staircase. The glass domed work of art allowed in sunlight, which fell on the burnished oak paneled walls and ornate designs on the wood and railings, while bronze cherubs stood at the foot of the stairs, holding a lamp. On the Grand Staircase's wall hung a clock depicting Honor and Glory crowning time. The ship was also carrying priceless paintings, jewels, cars, furnishings, and prized possessions of the wealthy, in storage.
The Domed Ceiling of the Grand Staircase
One of the Cherubs At The Foot of The Stairs
The Grand Staircase With Its Clock and Famous Figures Symbolizing Honor and Glory Crowning Time
Originally, while construction was under way, Harland and Wolff suggested that Titanic be equipped with 40 lifeboats. But White Star Lines decided the new lifeboat cranes were not esthetically pleasing to the eye and decided to use only 20 lifeboats, enough for only half of the passengers on board. But what was there to worry about? The Titanic was thought to be unsinkable.
So while some passengers of the Titanic basked in the comforts of luxury, others had their minds set on new beginnings or opportunity in America. But those dreams would soon turn into their worst nightmares, as the ship of dreams set about on her collision course with disaster.
And fate loomed large, like a dark shadow waiting to seize what would soon be forever lost, to silence the voices of the confident young and old for all eternity, while souls surrendered to the deep, taking with them, those hopes and dreams that would never be. Where they lie at the bottomless blue fathoms of the icy deep on a cold April night so long ago.
First Sign of Bad Luck?
The Titanic was launched at the Belfast shipyard on May 31, 1911, she completed her trials on April 1, 1912. On April 3, the Titanic arrived at Southampton. On April 10, 1912, she had her first near run-in with disaster. While leaving the dock, she nearly collided with the American Liner, New York. It seems this could have been an omen, or first sign of bad luck for the ill-fated ocean liner. The Titanic managed to pull away and set off on her maiden voyage.
Near Collision Upon Departure April 10, 1912
Titanic leaving moments after the near collision with the New York. The Oceanic can also be seen
next to the New York. April 10, 1912
April 14, 1912, the fifth morning of her maiden voyage, while the Titanic steamed across the icy Atlantic ocean on her way to New York, messages of ice warnings began to come in to the wireless room. At 9 a.m., one came in from the liner Corona, warning of icebergs, growlers, and ice fields in the area. There had also been other warnings sent from other ships to the Titanic. Jack Philips and his junior Harold Bride kept busy with traffic issues and private messages. When Bride had a moment, he took the message to the bridge.
Marconi Operators Harold Bride and Jack Philips
The morning progressed normally on other parts of the ship. Passengers were enjoying their morning tea and biscuits, and the crisp April morning air. Couples strolled along the promenade decks, others were getting ready for Sunday services, which were being held at 10:30 a.m. in the first class dining saloon. Captain Edward J. Smith held the services.
Captain Edward J. Smith
At 62, Smith was set to retire after taking the Titanic on its maiden voyage. He had a long impeccable career with White Star Lines, and felt this last job with the Titanic was a fitting end to his livelihood as a sea captain. Through the day, more warnings of ice fields came in. It seemed that the captain was not too worried at that time.
One story has Bruce Ismay urging the captain to make record time to New York. At one point he is said to be holding a stop watch and clocking the time of the Titanic. Despite the ice warnings, Captain Smith steamed full speed ahead into unpredictable waters.
The Finger Of God Strikes At Midnight
By 9:40 p.m., most of the passengers had settled down in their warm cabins to sleep. The temperature had dropped to nearly freezing. The night was clear, but the moon was nowhere in sight. Back in the wireless room, Jack Philips was overwhelmed with messages coming in, so when the SS Californian sent another warning of icebergs ahead, Philips responded with "Shut up, shut up, I'm busy. I am working Cape Race." Words he would no doubt later regret only a few hours later.
At 11:40 p.m. High above the ships deck, Frederick Fleet, and Reginald Lee stood shivering in the crows nest. Each stared out into the blackness dead ahead for danger. They were not equipped with binoculars so they were at a disadvantage. As the minutes passed, the men talked among themselves, wondering who would be the first to get into a warm bunk. A few moments later, something large and opaque suddenly loomed out of the darkness, dead ahead of the ship.
Illustration of the Titanic Striking the Iceberg
Fleet quickly rang the warning bell and called the bridge. When asked what he saw, he told them "iceberg right ahead." The ship was ordered to cut her engines and turn the wheel hard-a-starboard. Still, the iceberg moved closer and closer to the ship. Then moments later, disaster struck. The Titanic smashed alongside the iceberg.
A great shudder went through the ship. Many surviving passengers would later recall that moment. One passenger recalled, it was like the finger of God running down the side of the ship. At first, nobody took the crash seriously, after all, the Titanic was unsinkable.
Lifeboat # 13 is Lowered Too Close to Lifeboat # 15
By 12:30 a.m., the first lifeboats began to be lowered. It was clear that the Titanic had sustained much damage and would inevitably sink. Since there were only 20 lifeboats, that meant that there was only enough boats for 1,178 passengers. Jack Philips and Harold Bride began sending out distress signals, desperate to get help for the sinking ship.
The SS Californian was close by and saw the lights of the Titanic in the distance, but the wireless was shut down for the night and the ship had stopped because of the ice. Unfortunately, the operator for the Californian had warned Jack Philips of the icebergs, then gone to sleep for the night. If Philips had taken this warning more seriously, could the ship have survived?
Titanic Sinking Museum Greenwich Painting by W. Pearson
All was chaos on board as passengers scrambled to the lifeboats. People were pushing, fighting, crying, all trying to make it to safety before the ship went down. One story that went down in history is that of the Titanic's seven-piece band, led by Wallace Hartley, who had assembled his band in the first-class lounge in order to calm the passengers.
The Wallace Hartley Band
Many passengers recall the song "Nearer my God to Thee" and "Autumn" being some of the songs played, including Harold Bride, who survived. Later the band was said to have moved on to the forward half of the boat deck where they continued to play until the last few minutes before the ship sank. None of the band members survived.
Survivors Rowing Away From the Sinking Titanic
In all, most first-class women and children were placed on the lifeboats and survived. Men were ordered to stay on the ship. 86% of second class women survived, while less than half of third-class made it to the boats. Then there were no more boats and it was every man for himself. By 2:10 a.m. the stern rose out of the water, exposing the huge propellers.
The Titanic Slipping Under The Icy Atlantic
One funnel collapsed and killed several people on the bridge and in the water. By now, people were jumping into the icy water and swimming for their lives. The suction of the ship took many back under the water. The lights suddenly went out and the stress on the hull caused the ship to break in two. By 2:20 a.m., the stern righted itself, rose vertically in the air, and quietly slipped under the icy waters of the Atlantic.
The next morning, the Carpathia picked up the survivors and took them to New York. Of the 2,223 souls on board the Titanic, 1, 517 passengers died that night, only 706 survived. The vast majority of deaths were caused by hypothermia from the freezing water.
Photo of an Iceberg taken on April 15, 1912. A red smear at the
base of the Iceberg was believed to be paint from the Titanic
And this is where the story of the unsinkable Titanic ends. Or does it?
April 15, 1912 Titanic Makes the Headlines the Following Day in New York
Psychic Premonition or Coincidence?
Some fourteen years before the ill-fated ocean liner sank, was there a premonition of the events that would tell the future of the Titanic? Some believe so. In 1898, Morgan Robertson wrote the book called "Futility" or "Wreck of the Titan." The story told of a doomed ocean liner called The Titan, which struck an iceberg in April, on her maiden voyage and sank in the North Atlantic.
Did Morgan Robertson have psychic abilities or did he simply write a fictional story that was purely coincidental? He later claimed he was psychic and had an astral partner who guided him as he wrote the book. Roberston had written other stories of the sea as well, after spending his early years at sea. Many would scoff at his claims, but were his claims in fact true?
You Be The Judge
The New York Herald Front Page 1912
Similarities of the Titanic and the Titan
Morgan Robertson
The Titan did not have enough lifeboats for all the passengers on board; only 24.
The Titanic did not have enough lifeboats for all passengers; only 20.
The size of the ships were also similar. Robertson's Titan was 800 ft. long, and 70,000 tons.
The Titanic was 882.9 ft. long, and 66,000 tons.
The Titan's speed: 25 knots
The Titanic's speed: 24 knots.
Passengers on board the Titan: 2,000
Passengers on board the Titanic: 2,223
Part of Titan damaged: Starboard
Part of Titanic damaged: Starboard
Flag of registry: Titan: British
Flag of registry: Titanic: British
Both ships were unsinkable.
The Titan had three propellers and two masts
The Titanic had three propellers and two masts
The Titan was launched in April.
The Titanic launched in April from Southampton, England on her maiden voyage in April 1912.
Both struck an iceberg while moving too fast.
The Titan hit the iceberg at 25 knots.
The Titanic hit the iceberg at 23 knots.
The Titan sank, more than half of her 2500 passengers drowning. Their voices screaming for help.
The Titanic sank, and more than half of her 2,223 passengers died screaming for help.
Where the stories vary is the survival rate of both ships.
The Titan only has 13 survivors.
The Titanic had 705 survivors.
The Titan crashes on a clear night
The Titanic crashes on a clear moonless night.
Other Premonitions of Disaster
Celia Thaxter, a poet, wrote the chilling poem called "A Tryst." Many believed it foretold of the disaster as well.
Celia Thaxter (1836-1894)
A TRYST
From out the desolation of the North
An iceberg took it away,
From its detaining comrades breaking forth,
And traveling night and day.
At whose command? Who bade it sail the deep
With that resistless force?
Who made the dread appointment it must keep?
Who traced its awful course?
To the warm airs that stir in the sweet South,
A good ship spread her sails;
Stately she passed beyond the harbor's mouth,
Chased by the favoring gales;
And on her ample decks a happy crowd
Bade the fair land good-by;
Clear shone the day, with not a single cloud
In all the peaceful sky.
Brave men, sweet women, little children bright
For all these she made room,
And with her freight of beauty and delight
She went to meet her doom.
Storms buffeted the iceberg, spray was swept
Across its loftiest height;
Guided alike by storm and calm, it kept
Its fatal path aright.
Then warmer waves gnawed at its crumbling base,
As if in piteous plea;
The ardent sun sent slow tears down its face
Soft flowing to the sea.
Dawn kissed it with her tender rose tints. Eve
Bathed it in violet,
The wistful color o'er it seemed to grieve
With a divine regret.
Whether Day clad its clefts in rainbows dim
And shadowy as a dream,
Or Night through lonely spaces saw it swim
White in the moonlight's gleam,
Ever Death rode upon its solemn heights,
Ever his watch he kept;
Cold at its heart through changing days and nights
Its changeless purpose slept.
And where afar a smiling coast it passed,
Straightway the air grew chill;
Dwellers thereon perceived a bitter blast,
A vague report of ill.
Like some imperial creature, moving slow,
Meanwhile, with matchless grace,
The stately ship, unconscious of her foe,
Drew near the trysting place.
For still the prosperous breezes followed her,
And half the voyage was o'er;
In many a breast glad thoughts began to stir
Of lands that lay before.
And human hearts with longing love were dumb,
That soon should cease to beat,
Thrilled with the hope of meetings soon to come,
And lost in memories sweet.
Was not the weltering waste of water wide
Enough for both to sail?
What drew the two together o'er the tide,
Fair ship and iceberg pale?
There came a night with neither moon nor star,
Clouds draped the sky in black;
With fluttering canvas reefed at every spar,
And weird fire in her track,
The ship swept on; a wild wind gathering fast
Drove her at utmost speed.
Bravely she bent before the fitful blast
That shook her like a reed.
0 helmsman, turn thy wheel! Will no surmise
Cleave through the midnight drear?
No warning of the horrible surprise
Reach thine unconscious ear?
She rushed upon her ruin. Not a flash
Broke up the waiting dark;
Dully through wind and sea one awful crash
Sounded, with none to mark.
Scarcely her crew had time to clutch despair.
So swift the work was done:
Ere their pale lips could frame a speechless prayer,
They perished, every one!
More Premonitions
A journalist by the name William Thomas Stead wrote about an ocean liners sinking at sea. Stead was involved in spiritualism and was a renowned "automatic writer."
William Thomas Stead
He could pick up a pen, and through means of telepathy, be guided from spirits. Stead wrote the story, "From the Old World to the New." The story told of the sinking of a ship in the North Atlantic after striking an iceberg. Stead died on April 14, 1912, on the way to New York, he was on board the "Titanic."
One famous story is that of a young bride who is set to go on her honeymoon. For a whole week before they were to board the Titanic, she had nightmares of the ship in trouble. She kept telling her husband to cancel the trip. But at the last minute, he convinced her that it was only a dream, and they boarded the ship. Her husband was one of the many men who went down with the ship that night. Had they listened to her dreams, perhaps they could have avoided disaster.
In April, 1912, Popular Magazine's May issue printed a story written by Mayn Clew Garnett. It told of an ill-fated Liner the "Admiral" that struck an iceberg at speeds of 22.5 knots, nearly the same speed as the Titanic. The "Admiral" sank in 15 minutes, most of the passengers perished. There was not enough lifeboats.
There were said to be others who had premonitions of disaster and at the last minute canceled plans to board the Titanic, but like so many stories, they cannot be validated.
If one believes in the existence of psychic ability, automatic writing, or seeing into the future, then one could consider these stories as perfect examples of that ability at work.
The Doomed ocean liner at the bottom of the Atlantic
I would like to recall all of those who lost their lives on April 14, 1912, with respect. They will never be forgotten.
May their souls rest in peace.
In Memory
Copyright ©Sylvia Zimmer 2009
Related Videos
Sources
Titanic
A Night to Remember
Robert Ballard's Titanic
Various
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