The Truth Behind Walter Summerford: Struck by Lightning 4 Times or Just a Myth?

I recently stumbled upon a post on Quora that mentioned a man named Walter Summerford, who was supposedly struck by lightning three times during his life—and once more after he died when lightning allegedly struck his grave. Intrigued, I decided to dig a little deeper to see if this was a myth or fact.

After some research, I found no solid evidence to support the claim that he was struck by lightning four times. Even on Wikipedia, it states that these incidents are "alleged," which suggests there's a lack of confirmation. You can check it out here yourself: Walter Summerford - Wikipedia.

I also searched Google and found several blogs that tell his story in detail. According to them, the first time Walter was struck was in 1918 while he was stationed in Belgium during World War I. Then, in 1924, he was supposedly struck again while sitting under a tree. These stories add flair by saying that he was paralyzed from the hips down after the first strike but made a full recovery.

Amazingly, after the second strike, he was said to be paralyzed on the right side but—wait for it—he recovered again. Now, I’m not saying it’s impossible for someone to get struck by lightning multiple times and recover, but here’s where my skepticism comes in: there’s a serious lack of evidence.

The third time he was reportedly struck was in 1930 while walking in a park. This time, though, it’s said he was paralyzed from head to toe. After battling the effects for two years, he passed away in 1932.

But the story doesn’t stop there. After his death, his family buried him in Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver, and in 1936, lightning allegedly struck his grave. One thing that stands out here is that he was struck every six years. I mean, really… what are the odds?

I’m not denying that strange things happen—they certainly do. But where’s the proof? The blogs that share this story fail to provide any legitimate sources for their information. Here’s what’s missing:

1. Any recorded eyewitness accounts.
2. Hospital records or medical documentation.
3. Diary entries, family records, or newspaper clippings—basically, anything substantial.

If you think I’m being overly skeptical, tell me: what should my standards be for evaluating these kinds of stories? After all, the internet is full of folklore like this, and if we don’t ask for evidence, how do we know what’s true?

If you want to dive into this tale yourself, here are a couple of articles that discuss the story—though, as I said, they lack any real proof:

• Amazing World Reality
• Burials and Beyond

In the latter article, the author themselves admits they’re not sure whether the story is true. Plus, the image they use of a supposed lightning-damaged grave has a death year engraved as 1912—not even close to Summerford’s supposed death year.

To be honest, as much as I’m open to the possibility of strange coincidences, I just can’t swallow this one without some kind of hard evidence. Not even a single person seems to have heard this story from a family member or passed-down tale. If you come across anything more solid, let me know.

Interestingly, I did find another similar case on Wikipedia about a man named Roy Sullivan, who apparently survived being struck by lightning seven times! You can check it out here: Roy Sullivan - Wikipedia. I might look into this story more in the future, so stay tuned.

AI generated image.