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Positively Speaking: Blood rain
By Toby Moore
For Capital Region Independent Media
While I focus on the positive, I’m a fan of the Strange, Dark, and Mysterious.
Who doesn’t love a good mystery? I’m dedicating a series to some unsettling tales for this year’s spooky season. There’s no better way to start than with the chilling phenomenon of blood rains, documented by the legendary Charles Fort.
Fort once wrote, “There have been red rains that, in the Middle Ages, were called ‘rains of blood.’ Such rains terrified many persons and were so unsettling to large populations that science has sought to prove that ‘rains of blood’ do not exist.”
Scientists have documented red rains caused by sand and dust particles from the Sahara Desert. When strong winds sweep the desert, red sands mix with rain clouds, creating a reddish downpour. This phenomenon, known as “blood rain,” is fairly common and has been analyzed to show high iron oxide concentrations, giving it a rusty hue. But what Charles Fort documented is far stranger. We’re not talking about dusty rain, but actual blood-like rains—thicker, darker, and containing organic matter that defies simple explanations.
One of the most unsettling accounts of red rain comes from Fort’s research on an incident in France on Oct. 16 and 17, 1846. During this period, a vivid, crimson rain fell across several towns, staining the streets, rooftops and fields in a disturbing shade of red. Locals were terrified, describing it as if the sky itself were bleeding.
Scientific journals of the time, such as Comptes Rendus, noted that the rain was so vividly colored that it looked more like fresh blood than mud or dust.
Two separate chemical analyses were conducted to determine the nature of the strange rain. One scientist reported the presence of “blood-like corpuscles” in the samples, while another confirmed that up to 35% of the rain’s composition was made up of organic matter—substances usually associated with living organisms. This appeared to be no ordinary storm.
Despite these findings, it was dismissed it as a natural event, attributing it to dust swept up from the earth.
Was it really blood? If so, where did it come from? No birds or other animals were found dead in the area, and no other plausible sources of organic material were identified. And eerily, this wouldn’t be the last time such rains were reported in Europe, leaving a question mark that lingers to this day.
Take the terrifying incident on May 15, 1890, in Messignadi, Calabria, Italy. According to Professor Luigi Palazzo, head of the Italian Meteorological Bureau, something the color of fresh blood fell from the sky over this small town.
Naturally, the locals were horrified. Supposedly, this wasn’t just a light drizzle—it soaked their homes, fields, and streets in thick, crimson droplets. Samples were quickly collected and sent to the public health laboratories in Rome for analysis. The result? It was confirmed to be blood. Human? Animal? The scientists couldn’t say.
What could cause blood to fall from the sky?
As documented in Popular Science News, the official explanation was that a flock of migratory birds—quails or swallows—had been caught and torn apart by a violent windstorm high above the town.
But here’s where the story gets even stranger: Not a single feather was found. No bird remains were recovered, and no witness recalled seeing birds struggling in the sky. It was as if the blood had appeared in the clouds, only to rain down on the terrified townspeople.
This eerie event should have been a one-time occurrence, but Fort’s records show that blood rained again in the same town months later. Twice, in the same location—each time with no sign of birds, storms, or any logical explanation.
Could some unknown atmospheric phenomenon cause these bloody downpours, or are they evidence of something much darker?
Whatever the cause, the tale of the blood rains remains one of the most disturbing and unexplainable mysteries in Fort’s work. So, the next time you find yourself caught in a storm and notice something red in the raindrops—don’t assume it’s mud or dust. Look closer. You might be witnessing something that has terrified and baffled people for centuries: blood from the sky.
Toby Moore is a columnist, the star of Emmy-nominated “A Separate Peace,” and the CEO of Cubestream Inc.
RCS awards diplomas to Class of 2024
By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
RAVENA-COEYMANS-SELKIRK — The Class of 2024 walked the stage Thursday evening as they accepted their diplomas at commencement at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center.
The ceremony opened at 6 p.m. as faculty, staff and then the stars of the evening — the graduating seniors — filed into the convention center to the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance” as family and friends cheered them on.
RCS High School Principal Ryan Funck welcomed the graduates and the crowd.
“I often find myself in awe of the determination and resilience demonstrated by the students who pass through these hallways each day,” Funck said. “Each of you has faced a unique challenge, overcome obstacles and worked tirelessly to reach this point. And now you are here, poised to take the world and armed with knowledge, skills and a spirit of endless possibilities.”
Funck, who has led the school for the past two years, advised the graduates to take risks, pursue their dreams and always remember the potential that lies within each of them.
“The world is yours for the taking,” Funck said.
He then handed out medals to the top 10 students, ranked by grade point average, who sat in a place of honor on the stage.
This year’s top 10 students are: valedictorian Maxwell Deyoe, salutatorian Alivia Ortiz, Sienna Rinella, Chloe Canham, Carl-Hanee Coquillon, Nicole Kamp, Jack Reif, Nina Kozlowski, Jillian Hallisey and Roksolana Voronko.
District Superintendent Dr. Brian Bailey noted that the past couple of weeks the district has seen a number of celebrations as students at all levels moved up to the next grade, from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade, and now the graduating high schoolers.
The high school Jazz Ensemble and Chorus performed several songs, and then the valedictorian and salutatorian addressed the crowd.
Salutatorian Alivia Ortiz noted that graduating high school is a milestone that is accomplished after a path that differs for each student.
“I know it’s a cliche to say that everyone is different. Sure, but it’s also a fact that means a lot in the walk of life and in the journey of high school,” Ortiz told her fellow graduates. “If you look at the person next to you, chances are they have had to overcome at least one different obstacle than you in order to call themselves a graduate of RCS High School. We’ve all run the race, but differently.”
But no matter the path they took to get to graduation, they should be proud, she said, and should look to the future as an opportunity to learn who they are in life.
“Spend your time in this new race building a character that leaves a positive impact wherever you go,” Ortiz said.
Valedictorian Maxwell Deyoe told the graduates they should take the time to pause and appreciate the opportunities that lie before them.
“As Americans we are so unbelievably lucky and while many of us downplay it, we have been given this incredible opportunity to learn, to grow, to discover what we’re capable of,” Deyoe said. “The past four years have been more than a series of classes and exams, but a journey of self-discovery, a chance to build the foundations for our future.”
Each of the graduates walked across the stage as their name was called to accept their diplomas, handed out by Bailey and Board of Education President Michael Deyo.
As the new graduates returned to their seats, Deyo instructed them to move their cap tassles from right to left, signifying their graduation and symbolizing their move on to the next chapter in their lives.
