HISTORY REVISITS THE MOST CHLLING PROPHECIES ABOUT A WORLD IN PERIL

Nostradamus Effect - 12-Part Series on HISTORY� to premiere September 9, 9pm ET/PT

Are the prophecies of Nostradamus, and other prophets, accurate and inevitable? Or can we escape the horrific fate he has predicted?

Book of Revelation, Mayan "long count" calendar, Dead Sea "War Scroll" and others also offer bleak forecasts for our generation

NEW YORK, AUGUST 26, 2009 � The end is near. At least that's what the doomsday predictions from Nostradamus, the Book of Revelation, the Mayan "long count" calendar and others would have us believe. Many unsettling forecasts of global destruction even pinpoint the year: 2012. How worried should we be? If these prophecies are accurate and inevitable, is there any way to avoid or at least postpone them from coming true? In Nostradamus Effect, a timely new 12-episode series, History� examines various end-of-days prophecies that loom large in the 21st century. Nostradamus Effect premieres Wednesday, September 9, at 9pm ET.

Michel de Nostradamus was a 16th-century French physician and astrologer whose very name is synonymous with apocalyptic visions of the near and distant future. His ominous writings, in the form of 1,000 four-line quatrains, appear to have accurately anticipated numerous natural disasters, plagues and wars. Many experts dismiss Nostradamus as a 16th-century huckster with an unjustly inflated reputation, but others contend that his track record of "hits" is too impressive to ignore. He has been credited with predicting the reign of Napoleon, the rise of Hitler, both World Wars and the Apollo moon landings. Nostradamus also told of the coming of not just one -- but three -- antichrists who would plague mankind. If Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler were his first two antichrists, as many researchers believe, should we be on the lookout for the arrival of the third, most bloodthirsty global villain of them all?

Nostradamus Effect also looks at chilling predictions from other cultures, centuries ago, and connects the dots with current global events. Does the Mayan long count calendar, which ends on December 21, 2012, really mean they believed that this specific day would mark the end of the world? Are the Rapture and a seven-year Apocalypse, as foretold in the Bible's Book of Revelation, destined to occur during our lifetime? Does the architectural design of the Great Pyramids of Egypt contain coded warnings of imminent doom for our generation? Does the so-called War Scroll, one of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947, accurately describe an apocalyptic war that is already in the making? Nostradamus Effect examines these and other end-of-time predictions, separating the prophecies that appear to be inspired visions from those that are merely crackpot conspiracy theory.

Executive Producer for History is Marlene Braga. Nostradamus Effect is produced for History by Workaholic Productions. Executive Producers for Workaholic Productions are Matthew P. Hickey and Luke Ellis.

HISTORY� and HISTORY HD� are the leading destinations for revealing, award-winning original non-fiction series and event-driven specials that connect history with viewers in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. Programming covers a diverse variety of historical genres ranging from military history to contemporary history, technology to natural history, as well as science, archaeology and pop culture. Among the network's program offerings are hit series such as How The Earth Was Made, Ax Men, Battle 360, The Universe, and Ice Road Truckers, as well as acclaimed specials including 102 Minutes That Changed America, King, Life After People, 1968 with Tom Brokaw, Nostradamus: 2012 and Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed. HISTORY has earned four Peabody Awards, four Primetime Emmy� Awards, 12 News & Documentary Emmy� Awards and received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's Save Our History� campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. Take a Veteran to School Day is the network's latest initiative connecting America's schools and communities with veterans from all wars. The HISTORY web site, located at www.history.com, is the definitive historical online source that delivers entertaining and informative content featuring broadband video, interactive timelines, maps, games, podcasts and more. Press Only: for more information and photography please visit us on the web at www.-historychannelpress.com.

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THE NOSTRADAMUS EFFECT

Episode Descriptions

1.) Episode #101: "The Third Antichrist?"

History's most acclaimed prophet, Michel de Nostradame, saw the arrival of three antichrists who would plague mankind. The first two appear to have been Napoleon and Hitler. If indeed he does exist, who is the third Antichrist?

2.) Episode #102: "Da Vinci's Armageddon"

Was Leonardo Da Vinci, one of history's great philosophers, artists and engineers, a prophet? Clues hidden in his master paintings suggest he had visions of ecological disasters that will ravage the earth.

3.) Episode #103: "Extinction 2012!"

The Mayan "long count" astronomical calendar has an expiration date of December 21, 2012. Is this when the Maya believed the world would meet its cataclysmic end? Is it mere coincidence that other cultures also point to this date as the beginning of the end?

4.) Episode #104: "Son of Nostradamus"

Was the eldest son of Nostradamus also a prophet? The "Lost Book" of haunting predictions once thought to be the creation of Nostradamus is perhaps the work of Cesar Nostradamus.

5.) Episode #105: "Hitler's Blood Oath"

Was Adolph Hitler, history's most notorious madman, also a prophet? What role did the occult play in his attempt to build an Aryan master race?

6.) Episode #106: "The Apocalypse Code"

Sir Isaac Newton, one of the greatest scientific geniuses in history, was also a man secretly obsessed with alchemy and Biblical prophecy, who calculated 2060 as the final days of Earth.

7.) Episode #107: "Satan's Army"

After the birth of Christ, John the Apostle received a vision of Satan's final war against god. What concerns many experts today is that several key events predating this apocalyptic war have already come true.

8.) Episode #108: "Secrets of the Seventh Seal"

The Book of Revelation describes mankind's violent end of days � a seven-year period of unparalleled death and destruction. When might this apocalypse occur? And who will survive God's wrath?

9.) Episode #109: "Doomsday Hieroglyphs"

A new look at the design of the Great Pyramids of Egypt reveals shocking architectural prophecies that portend a violent end of the world. Did the Egyptians believe a rogue comet will strike in 2012?

10.) Episode #110: "The Rapture"

Many believers claim that all of the events that presage the Rapture have already happened. How is this possible? Might this mean that the Rapture is almost upon us? If so, we are now on the threshold of an Apocalypse?

10.) Episode #111: "Fatima's Lost Prophecy"

In 1917, three young shepherd children from a small town in Portugal reported being visited by the Virgin Mary. Was the divine message they received a warning of nuclear annihilation?

12.) Episode #112: "Armageddon Battle Plan"

In 1947, ancient scrolls were discovered in desert caves near the Dead Sea. One of the texts, now called the War Scroll, spells out in chilling detail a future apocalyptic war that will end the world.