The idea that lightning never strikes the same place twice is one of the oldest and most well-known superstitions about lightning. There is no reason that lightning would not be able to strike the same place twice; if there is a thunderstorm in a given area, then objects and places which are more prominent or conductive (and therefore minimize distance) are more likely to be struck. For instance, lightning strikes the Empire State Building in New York City about 100 times per year.

And by the way, lightning does frequently strike again in the same place in real life. Do not think you are safe standing near the location of a previous strike! This is merely an English saying, not a truth.

I remember its being used by a soldier to explain why he was wearing a steel helmet which had already been half-smashed by a shell.

Most people assume that lightning strikes in only one place. In this research, we've documented that lightning definitely strikes more than one place about a third of the time," Krider said. "If you want to quantify the chances of being struck by lightning, they are about 45 percent higher than the number of flashes because, on average, there are about 1.45 strike points per CG flash.