Bloody Rain: The Mysterious Shower of Blood in Chatham County, NC

Chatham County, North Carolina:

"Fall of Blood," A singular shower of some red liquid, supposed to be blood, which fell in Chatham on February 25th, 1884, was mentioned in some of the States papers, but little notice was taken of it. Nearly a week after the fall, Dr. Sidney Atwater brought a small specimen of sand soaked with this liquid to the University, to be examined. It was looked upon rather as a joke and no analysis was made for some time. When it was taken up several days afterwards there seemed to be sufficient interest attaching to it to warrant paying a visit to the locality where the matter fell. Meantime nearly three weeks has elaspsed, and several heavy rains had fallen, so that when the place was reached (A small negro-cabin in New Hope Township, about a quarter of a mile from the Raleigh and Pittsboro Road) no vestings of the matter could be found on the ground, and only one or two marks of drops on the fence. The woman who saw it fall was, however, examined and inquiries were made of the neighbors who visited the spot soon after. The fall came from a cloudless sky, when the wind was so slight as to be most imperceptible.

The position of the drops seen on the fence indicated a very slight wind from the south or southwest, across some ploughed land. The woman was standing on this ploughed land, near the fence, along with some small pine bushes. She noticed something falling between her and the ground, saw it leave a red splash on the sand, heard a pattering like rain around her, looked up, but it was all over and she could see nothing. She was a good deal frightened and affected, taking it as a portent of death or evil of some kind. Mr. S. A. Holleman visited the spot the next morning, and has kindly given me the following facts observed: The space covered was about 50 by 70ft, and nearly in a rectangular form. The drops were of sizes varying from that of a small pea to that of man;s finger and averaged about one to the square foot. Smaller drops were instantly obsorbed, larger ones, with those on the wood, coagulated. Some fell in the bushes and coagulated upon the limbs. Dr. Robinson, living near, collected some of the freshly fallen material and made certain simple tests which satisfied him that it was blood. He even stated it has the smell of blood............This leaves little or no reasonable doubt then that the samples examined has blood upon the,. The question arises, were they carefully taken; had no animal ever bled on the same ground; had pigs never been slaughtered in that quarter of the field? As to theories accounting for so singular a material falling from a cloudless sky, I ave no plausible ones to offer. It may have been some bird of prey passing over, carrying a bleeding animal, but a good deal of blood must have fallen to cover so large a space. If a hoax has been perpetrated on the people of that neighborhood it has certainly been very cleverly done and an object seems lacking. On the possibility that it id not a joke, I have deemed this strange matter worthy of being placed on record. Oher similar observations hereafter may corroborate it and combined observations may give rise to te proper explanation. -Chemical Laboratory, U.N.C."

Photo byMike KotschonUnsplash

Feruary 25, 1884, one Mrs. Kit Lasater, "Noted for truthfulness," was making her way down a path near her home in the New Hope Township of Chatham County, North Carolina, when she started hearing what she thought was hard rain. Glasing around she learned it wasn't only a clear sky, without a cloud, but that it wasn't water falling, but blood. A pure shower of blood falling on earth from, nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

Suprisingly, none of the blood had fallen on Mrs. Kit, but it did drench the ground and trees around her. When the neighbors heard her story, they came running in to see this supposed blood filled yard. They later did interviews confirming what they saw and that blood did stand in her yard covering the grass and trees.

Samples were collected and sent to Dr. F. P. Venable, a professor with UNC, for further evaluations. By mid-April he adressed the topic with Mitchell Scientific Society. In every test except one, the conclusion was always the same, blood. Venable could offer no explanations on to where they blood came from, what type it was, and or how it appeared from the sky. The subject was suggesting that, "the subject is quite puzzling and offers temping field for theorists blessed with vivid imaginations."

Similar cases of "Blood Showers" have been reported for centuries, such as in Kerala, India in 1957, 2001, and 2012. Sri Lanka, from November 15, 2012 up until December 27, 2012 where the Eastern and North Central provinces of Sri Lanka experienced blood rain.

Over the years we have learned that blood rain is a rare weather event where the rain contains a high concentration of red dust or particles. It's typically only seen a few times a year in Europe, and even less frequently in the United States and Canada.