Nostradamus Effect

This special looks for the parallels between the nightmarish daily headlines and the 2012 prophecies from Nostradamus and others. From the mystical realms of the Guatemalan jungles to the Hopi elders and Mayan shaman to respected thinkers of the modern age--Nostradamus doomsday warning will be cast in a frighteningly modern context.

It's a year that many have prophesied will bring a catastrophic end to life as we know it. Whatever is in store—a massive cosmic collision, a global environmental disaster, an Armageddon-like religious showdown, or a more subtle transformation—many believe that 2012 will mark a major shift in the history of our planet. But what is there to substantiate such fears? A detailed, historical investigation of this chilling prophecy is the mission of Nostradamus 2012, an exciting HISTORY special that casts the doomsday warning in a frighteningly modern context.

Was Leonardo Da Vinci, one of history's great philosophers, artists and engineers, a secret prophet? And did he envision world destruction of such biblical proportions that it haunted him until the end of his days? Clues hidden in Da Vinci's paintings, his re-discovered prophetic "riddles" and the events of his life now suggest that he, too, was influenced by the Nostradamus Effect.

Various cultures throughout history have pointed to December 21, 2012 as the end of the world, including the Mayans, Hopi Indians, Eastern Hindus and others, due to an astronomical alignment, which only occurs every 26,000 years.