Over the last six months, our lives became reminiscent of the plots from science fiction books. A deadly virus is wreaking havoc across the globe. Earlier, streets wore a deserted look, people hid behind masks. Washing, sanitizing, social distancing were the only weapons we could wield against it. Life appeared to have taken a leaf out of a thriller…with things getting stranger each passing day! As the fear of the virus gripped the world, readers turned to books on pandemics to make sense of the new normal. Many books written on pandemics began trending. Some of these books even accurately predicted the coronavirus pandemic and came into the spotlight.
Dean Kootnz turns soothsayer
In a 1981 crime-thriller novel titled “The Eyes of the Darkness”, suspense author Dean Koontz wrote about a virus called Wuhan-400, which the capability to wipe out an entire city or country. The bizarre coincidence sent waves of shocks across the globe and people began to draw parallels between the fictional and the real scenarios. People were quick to share the excerpt from the book online, which seemingly predicted the coronavirus almost 40 years ago.
Predictions and prophecies
Another book, Twitter users claimed, predicted the highly infectious coronavirus in the year 2008. It was a book titled “End of Days: Predictions and Prophecies about the End of the World” by author Sylvia Browne, who claimed to be a medium with psychic abilities.
Based on true events?
In 2011, a film about a deadly virus released in the theatres. It did not receive much attention at the box office and quietly faded from the screens. Nine years later, “Contagion” became one of the most searched and downloaded films. The reason? Its plot is eerily similar to the current coronavirus outbreak. The film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, is about a fictional virus outbreak that starts in Hong Kong. The virus called MEV-1 kills most people affected with it. The film seems all too familiar in the current scenario, as it also shows the impact of misinformation and myths that can be easily spread through technology.
Picture Credit : Google