Writer predicted the Titanic would sink 14 years before it happened

A novel published 14 years before the Titanic disaster seemingly predicted its fate with some scarily accurate comparisons.

Futility: The Wreck of the Titan by Morgan Robertson was released in 1898 and follows the story of a fictional Titan, described as one of the largest ships that was "unsinkable". The measurements were almost identical between the ship and the Titanic, with the Titanic measuring just 25 metres longer.

To make matters more creepy, the fictional Titan hit an iceberg while sailing across the northern Atlantic Ocean in April and carried just over the minimum requirement for lifeboats.

As we know, the real Titanic disaster occurred on 15 April 1912 and also carried just 20 lifeboats, as they believed if an accident were to happen, another ship would help move people to safety.

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The author went on to be labelled a psychic for the remainder of his life. Paul Heyer, Titanic scholar and professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, told AP News: "Everybody ran to him and said, 'Oh my god, you're psychic.'

"'No,' he said, 'I know what I'm writing about, that's all.' "

That said, his knowledge of ships stemmed from Robertson's upbringing – not only as the son of a ship captain but as an experienced seaman.

While the eeire crossovers left many spooked, is it possible the author predicted the Titanic sinking? According to Heyer, it's unlikely.

"He was someone who wrote about maritime affairs," Heyer said. "He was an experienced seaman, and he saw ships as getting very large and the possible danger that one of these behemoths would hit an iceberg."

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