Lincoln's Dreams

It was the last morning of President Lincoln's life. He planned an evening at Ford's Theater for that night. Lincoln invited General Grant and his wife, but they declined. Following that, thirteen other people declined as well. Finally Major Rathbone and his fiancée, Clara Harris agreed to join the Lincolns.

At the cabinet meeting that day, the president said that he had two peculiar dreams. One of the dreams was: "I'm in a boat, and I drift and I drift. Gentlemen, something extraordinary is going to happen and very soon." After that, Lincoln told the cabinet his other dream. His dream woke him in a cold sweat. He explained: "I heard subdued sobs, as if a number of people were weeping. I left my bed and wandered downstairs. I went from room to room until I arrived at the East Room, which I entered. There before me was a corpse wrapped in funeral vestments. Around it were stationed soldiers who acted as guards. 'Who is dead in the White House?' I demanded of one of the soldiers. 'The President,' was his answer. 'He was killed by an assassin.'"

And so that night, President Lincoln was shot. He died the next morning. What is kind of funny is that he once said, "Most people regard dreams as foolish." You wonder what history would be like if Lincoln would of paid attention to his dreams.

Like this story? It was adapted from SHOCKING SECRETS OF AMERICAN HISTORY, 115 Surprising and Amusing Tales. Get the book for more Shocking Stories!

The Prophet's Presidential Curse

The prophet and his brother Tecumseh, were Indian leaders that created many problems for the United States government in the area North of the Ohio River. This constant irritation made the government send General William Henry Harrison to appease the Indian brothers and their people. He accomplished this at the battle of Tippicanoe but not before the prophet placed a curse on Harrison.

Of course no one thought anything of this but, they would soon remember once Harrison was elected president in 1840. In March of 1841, president Harrison died because he caught pneumonia while he gave his inaugural speech in a pouring rain. Many people thought it might have something to do with the curse put on him by the prophet. This theory gained even more steam when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated because interestingly enough, both presidents were elected in a year that ended in a zero. Then when James A. Garfield was elected in 1880 and was shot, people gave even more credit to the curse.

Could it have been the curse at work here? Would each president elected in a year that ended in zero die in office? It seems that every twenty years the prophet's curse comes true! William McKinley was elected in 1900 and died in office. Warren Harding was elected in 1920 and died in office. Franklin Roosevelt was elected in 1940 and died in office. John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960 died and he died in office. So when Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980 and was shot many people believed he would die but, he came through. As a result, many people believe the curse was ended by him surviving. Pretty weird right?

Like this story? It was adapted from SHOCKING SECRETS OF AMERICAN HISTORY, 115 Surprising and Amusing Tales. Get the book for more Shocking Stories!

Books For a Bell

It all began at the end of the American Revolution when a problem arose that divided the citizens of Wrentham. The problems grew so much some of the citizens left and started their own town which they called New Wrentham. The traditional New England way of building towns was to first build the cultural and governmental buildings in the middle of every town. This would include churches, banks, and so on. Anyway, after they built the church they noticed that it was missing the bell in the steeple. Why make such a big fuss? Well first of all, the bell could summon the citizens for a mass at the church, but also it was needed to let the people know of any type of an emergency.

So what did the leaders of the town do? They decided to rename the town after Benjamin Franklin. They hoped this would get Dr. Franklin's attention. Then they wrote a letter to him telling him what they did. Though, this did not impress Dr. Franklin, he later wrote back suggesting that "sense is better than sound," and suggested a better way of helping the town. Instead of a bell, he gave them books and suggested that they should start a library. The people of the new town followed what he said. So 200 years later, they have one of the oldest public libraries in the United States!

Like this story? It was adapted from SHOCKING SECRETS OF AMERICAN HISTORY, 115 Surprising and Amusing Tales. Get the book for more Shocking Stories!