Tennessee 'Armageddon House' Built To Stand Through Doomsday (VIDEO)
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A stone house in Alcoa, Tenn., was built for a predicted Armageddon that came and went. Now, with some saying Saturday will bring the end of the world, the home's owner isn't worried.
William Andrew Nicholson started building the so-called Armageddon House in 1938 in preparation for the end of the world, which he though would occur 30 years later in 1969, according to the current owner Dean Fontaine.
"[Nicholson] interpreted the Bible to say that 1969 would be Armageddon," Fontaine said. Nicholson believed that he "and 144,000 righteous people would survive and go on living for 1,000 years," Fontaine added.
Nicholson built the house -- also known as Millennium Manor -- by hand with stone. But his predictions weren't exactly rock solid: He died in 1965 and -- it should be noted -- the world did not end in 1969 (although fans of the original "Star Trek" series, which was canceled that year, may have felt it did).
Fontaine bought the house in 1995 and has been working on preserving it and the lore surrounding it ever since.
"There are lots of ghost stories," he said. "Supposedly, he buried his wife between the walls, but there's no evidence," said Fontaine, a firefighter.
There have been some changes along the way. The dungeon, which was originally intended as a bomb shelter, is now a bedroom.
Nicholson's predicted end of the world didn't come to pass, but the great thing about the Armageddon is that it is always predicted on someone's calendar.
The next one, supposedly set for Saturday, May 21, comes courtesy of radio evangelist Harold Camping, 89, who made the bold prediction and exudes the same confidence Joe Namath exhibited when he predicted a Super Bowl win for the New York Jets in, eerily enough, 1969.
"There is just no reason in the world, no possibility that it will not happen," Camping said.
Many people might be busy on Saturday with their last-day-on-Earth shopping, but Camping doesn't have big plans for the big day.
"The Bible says the end-times will come to those who are occupied, so I will just continue working and doing the job," he told AOL Weird News earlier this year.
Fontaine is feeling safe, which isn't entirely surprising considering he lives in a house designed to withstand every type of hellfire and brimstone. In fact, he's planning on throwing a party.
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First Posted: 05/19/11 10:50 AM ET Updated: 11/16/11 05:50 AM ET