Historic New Madrid Quakes Reportedly Caused 3 Days of Darkness

If you've lived in Missouri long enough, you no doubt have heard stories about the extraordinary events that happened during the time when the historic New Madrid earthquakes occurred in the early 1800's. You can now add 3 days of darkness to that list according to newly-revealed eyewitness accounts.

Hidden in the Heartland just shared an interesting video about what many reported experiencing when the mammoth New Madrid quakes of 1811 and 1812 occurred.

Here are some of what the eyewitnesses said about the aftermath of those historic Missouri earthquakes:

"A dense black cloud of vapor overshadowed the land" - Godfrey Le Sueur

"The air would be clear at first, but in five minutes it would become very black. Darkness returned after each successive shock" - New Madrid resident

"A vapor seemed to impregnate the atmosphere, had a disagreeable smell, and produce difficulty of respiration" - New Madrid resident

A resident in Kentucky reported the following after a massive quake on January 23, 1812:

"I saw a sudden and strange darkness rising from the western horizon and heard what I imagined to be the distant rumblings of a violent tornado". - John James Audobon

There was another anecdote shared from what a resident of southern Missouri noted as the historic earthquakes occurred. "The sun, moon and stars were concealed by a mist and fog was dropped like a heavy dew".  Many of these accounts from the numerous earthquakes that scientists now believe registered up to 8.1 in magnitude included mentions of dreadful darkness. That added to the terror of trying to figure out what the earth had just done and how they would recover moving forward.