Over time, many of these suggestions were ruled out–astronomical records determined there was no eclipse at that time, and historical records excluded a thunderstorm. Hypotheses included a solar eclipse, thunderstorm, volcanic eruption, fire, an atmosphere charged with reflecting layers of vapours, sunlight obscured by a great mountain, or meteor strike. In the decades and centuries following the mysterious event, many theories were put forward to explain the darkness that descended over New England that fateful day, now over 230 years ago. ( Sudhamshu Hebbar / Flickr ) The Cause of Darkness The people of New England believed that Judgment Day was upon them and this was bolstered by the fact that the moon glowed red.
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At the time, the inhabitants of New England were deeply religious Protestants who believed that natural events were signs of God’s intentions.Ī full red moon. Witness accounts report people walking down the streets shouting that the day had come. The stars of the sky fell to Earth…” (Revelation 6:12-13), caused people to believe that Judgement Day had arrived. In the absence of information and explanation, people turned to their religious teachings.īiblical phrases such as: “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come” (Joel 2:31) and “The sun became black… and the whole moon became as blood. There were no telegraphs or radios back then and thus no way of knowing what was going on and what was causing the darkness. The confusion and fear over this strange phenomena was exacerbated by the lack of communications.
Men prayed, and women wept all ears grew sharp To hear the doom-blast of the trumpet shatter The black sky.Īrtist’s depiction of mid-morning conditions during the Dark Day of (from ‘Our First History,’ by Richard Devens, 1876). Twas on a May-day of the far old year Seventeen hundred eighty, that there fell Over the bloom and sweet life of the spring, Over the fresh earth, and the heaven of noon, A horror of great darkness. The poet John Greenleaf Whittier wrote of this memorable day in “The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier” (1873): Eventually, even the moon and stars were fully obscured by the blackness. Numerous eye-witness accounts recorded in diaries, poems, and books describe the panic that ensued as daylight dwindled and darkness persisted well into the evening. The event became known as “New England’s Dark Day.”
The moon shined an eerie blood-red as darkness engulfed towns and cities from Maine to New Jersey, spreading fear and chaos in its wake. The sky turned black as night, flowers began folding their petals, and fowls returned to their coops to roost. on May 19, 1780, the people of New England thought that Judgment Day was upon them.
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