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

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.