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Oftentimes when a plague is about to break out in humans, it is preceded by rat falls (a.k.a. a large die-off in the infected rodent population).
When Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” was first published in Graham’s Lady’s and Gentleman’s Magazine in May of 1842, it was titled “The Mask of the Red Death: A Fantasy” and earned him $12 US.
The Plague of Justinian, which lasted from AD 541 to 544, is the first known outbreak of the bubonic plague in which the characteristic buboes (swollen glands) were present. It is believed to have killed one quarter of the population of Mediterranean Europe.
The logo used on the poster and box cover for 2002’s 28 Days Later is the actual international symbol for blood-borne biohazard.
The term “Black Death” was coined years after the end of the plague. During actual plague times, it was known as the “Great Mortality” and the “Big Sickness.”
Cabin Fever sound mixer John Neff survived a real-life bout of flesh-eating disease, and has claimed in interviews that based on his own experience, the film’s makeup effects are entirely accurate.
During the 1665-1666 Great Plague outbreak in London, “searchers” in the form of uneducated elderly women were employed to identify the afflicted so they could be quarantined in their homes, which were then marked with a red cross and the phrase, “Lord have mercy upon us.”
Best-selling authors as wide and varied as Stephen King, Tom Wolfe, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Chuck Palahniuk and Dan Simmons have all either quoted or made reference to Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” in their own fiction.
During the Black Death, thousands of Jews and other “outsiders” were tortured and put to death after being accused of poisoning water supplies and disseminating the pestilence.
In 2008, Plague! The Musical – a black comedy loosely based on the Great Plague of London – toured the UK fringe festival circuit and won an award for its sold-out performances.
While the definitive origins of saying “bless you” after someone sneezes are unknown, some ac- ademics believe that the practice started during the Black Death, when sneezing was seen as a sign of infection and impending death.
The real-life Ebola virus was used as the infection prototype for 28 Days Later’s blood-borne Rage virus.
The Tartars, who were invading Turkey during the time of the Black Death, used the pestilence to their strategic advantage while attacking the town of Caffa. They infected those defending the community by using trebuchets to launch dead, plague-ridden bodies over the town’s walls.
Compiled by MONICA S. KUEBLER Got a weird stat or morbid fact? Send it through to:
info@rue-morgue.com
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Mutilated Musicians
PLANET TERROR FERGIE’S DRAINED BRAIN
PELTS MEATLOAF MAKES HIMSELF A VEST
FREDDY VS. JASON KELLY ROWLAND MEETS JASON’S MACHETE
PROPHECY II GLENN DANZIG’S HEART ATTACKED
IDLE HANDS DEXTER HOLLAND HAS A LID LIFT
FEAST HENRY ROLLINS GETS RIPPED... APART
JAMES FISHER
zircocircus.com RM12
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