Miskatonic University Department of History Lecture Series:  Blood Rain Presented by: Dr. Charles Gerard Stories about blood falling from the sky can be found in fiction and superstition going back to the dawn of recorded time. Homer wrote about Zeus bringing a rain of blood as a warning before a brutal battle. In 14th century Germany, a shower of blood was said to be a portent of the Black Death. More recently, in 1890, an article in Popular Science News reported that — in a small village tucked down in the toe of Italy’s boot – a thick red liquid had rained down from the sky. On March 3rd, 1876 near Olympia Springs, Kentucky, large chunks of red meat fell from the sky, over an area about the size of a football field. Some curious residents reportedly cooked and tasted the flesh. They said it reminded them of venison or mutton. One theory suggests that a group of vultures might have flown overhead after feasting on freshly dead horses. Then, one of the birds might have lost its lunch. That would set off a chain reaction. The vomit reflex is apparently very strong in buzzards. Author William Livingston Alden offered a different explanation of the Kentucky Meat Shower. He proposed that great belts of “cosmic meat” might be floating around in space like asteroid belts. For more information on this phenomenon, wander over to the Orne Library and look up “Kentucky Meat Shower” in the card catalog. –          Dr. Gerard]]>