Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Coronavirus: Dean Koontz novel from 1981 predicted outbreak, internet sleuths claim

‘The Eyes of Darkness’ features a conversation about a pandemic that hits a bit too close to home in 2020

Adam White
Friday 28 February 2020 10:32 GMT
Comments
Jimmy Kimmel pummels Mike Pence on coronavirus

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A 1981 novel by horror writer Dean Koontz predicted the coronavirus outbreak, it has been claimed.

Buried in the book The Eyes of Darkness, which revolves around a grieving mother investigating the mysterious circumstances of her son’s death, is a peculiar reference to a killer virus known as “Wuhan-400”, the name of the city where the coronavirus originated.

The excerpt features a character discussing biological warfare, calling the virus “the perfect weapon”.

“A Chinese scientist … defected to the United States, carrying a diskette record of China’s most important and dangerous new biological weapon in a decade,” the character says.

“They call the stuff ‘Wuhan-400’ because it was developed at their RDNA labs outside the city of Wuhan.”

“Wuhan-400 is the perfect weapon,” he says.

Spotted by author Nick Hinton, the extract has since gone viral, launching a number of bizarre conspiracy theories as to the origins of the coronavirus.

“That’s creepy af”, one Twitter user wrote.

Another wrote: “That’s crazy. He probably didn’t have a clue when he was writing it.”

Koontz, a prolific US novelist best known for works including Demon Seed and Odd Thomas, has yet to respond to the discovery.

The disease, meanwhile, continues to spread around the world. More than 2,800 people have been killed by the virus worldwide, leading to concerns about a pandemic.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in