Whittling Away: Ice skating

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.