We all have those days when nothing seems to go right. Maybe your Wi-Fi cuts out, or you spill coffee on your favorite shirt. But let’s be honest—those inconveniences don’t even scratch the surface of what it truly means to live through a tough time. Throughout history, there have been periods so brutal and so gut-wrenching that surviving them was nothing short of a miracle. From devastating plagues to merciless wars, people have endured some truly dark chapters.
I found myself spiraling down a rabbit hole of history, wondering what it would’ve been like to survive these grim times. The more I dug, the more I realized how fortunate we are today. Sure, we face our own challenges, but the sheer scale of misery during some periods of history makes modern problems look like a walk in the park. Imagine surviving a pandemic without modern medicine or living through a war where your town is flattened in a day.
Of course, this list isn’t exhaustive, and not everyone in these times suffered equally—what was a nightmare for one region might have been a time of prosperity for another. But looking back at these 15 moments in history, it’s clear that some eras were just flat-out terrible times to be alive.
1. The Black Death (1347-1351)
The Black Death wasn’t just any plague. Oh no, this was a catastrophe on a scale that’s hard to fathom. An estimated 75 to 200 million people perished, their lives swept away by a mysterious disease that no one really understood. You could watch your neighbors fall ill and die in days, and then you’d be next! Streets were filled with the dead, and fear of contagion gripped entire cities.
Surviving the plague meant surviving isolation, fear, and societal collapse. People turned on each other, searching for scapegoats to blame. In a world without modern medicine, your best bet was to flee, but even then, the plague seemed to find everyone. If you made it out alive, it felt less like luck and more like a miracle.
2. The Great Famine (1315-1317)
Before the Black Death, Europe faced another calamity: the Great Famine. Imagine watching your crops fail year after year because of relentless rain and then realizing there’s nothing left to eat. People starved, animals died, and entire villages were abandoned. It wasn’t just hunger that killed people. It was the despair that came with the loss of hope.
In desperation, people ate things they would never normally have thought to try, like tree bark and weeds. The famine shattered the social fabric of communities as well. People turned to crime, violence, and cannibalism in the worst cases, as the struggle for survival overshadowed any sense of morality.
3. World War I (1914-1918)
In hindsight, the phrase “the war to end all wars” is almost laughable. World War I was a bloodbath that left millions dead and entire empires in ruins. The trenches became the symbol of the war, and life in them was beyond horrific. Mud, rats, gas attacks, and the constant threat of being blown to bits were all part of the daily life of soldiers.
And it wasn’t much better for civilians. Cities were bombed, economies collapsed, and the aftershocks of the war rippled far beyond the battlefield. When peace finally came, after 16 million lives were lost, the world was left to pick up the pieces of a truly devastating conflict.
4. The Year 536 AD
If you think you’ve had a bad year, spare a thought for those living in 536 AD. A massive volcanic eruption in Iceland blocked out the sun, plunging the world into the “volcanic winter.” Crops failed, famine spread, and the sun barely peeked through the thick cloud of ash for over a year.
People in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East had no idea what was happening. All they knew was that life had become a nightmare. It felt like the world was ending, and in many ways, it was. Crops couldn’t grow, and survival became a matter of sheer will.
5. The Holocaust (1941-1945)
It’s difficult to put into words the horrors of the Holocaust. Six million Jews were systematically murdered, along with millions of others, including Romani people, disabled individuals, and political dissidents. Entire families were wiped out in an industrialized system of death that left a scar on humanity.
For those living through it, every day was a struggle for survival. If you weren’t rounded up and sent to a concentration camp, you lived in constant fear that it could happen at any moment. The atrocities committed during the Holocaust are among the darkest in human history, and the trauma endured by survivors is unimaginable.
6. The Spanish Flu Pandemic (1918-1919)
Just as the world was recovering from the devastation of World War I, the Spanish Flu swept in like a nightmare. This pandemic infected a third of the world’s population and killed an estimated 50 million people, far more than the war itself. Hospitals were overwhelmed, and there was little medical understanding of how to treat the illness.
Entire families were wiped out, and communities crumbled as the flu spread rapidly. Unlike today, there were no vaccines, proper treatments, or real global coordination to fight the disease. It was a period of absolute fear as death crept into every corner of society.
7. The Irish Potato Famine (1845-1852)
The Irish Potato Famine was a social and political catastrophe. A blight wiped out the potato crops, the main food source for millions of Irish people. But what made it worse was the lack of aid from the British government. As people starved, ships of food left Ireland for England, deepening the misery.
Over a million people died, and another million emigrated, fleeing the devastation in search of a better life. The famine left a deep scar on Ireland’s history and culture, and its effects are still felt today.
8. The Fall of the Roman Empire (476 AD)
When the Western Roman Empire fell, the world lost one of its greatest pillars of stability. The once-mighty empire crumbled under the weight of invasions, economic collapse, and internal decay. For the people living through it, the collapse felt like the end of the world. Without Rome’s infrastructure, law, and protection, chaos took over.
Barbarian invasions, famine, and disease were rampant. The fall of Rome marked the beginning of what we now call the Dark Ages, a time of fear, uncertainty, and hardship that would last for centuries.
9. The Cambodian Genocide (1975-1979)
When Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, the country was thrown into one of the worst genocides of the 20th century. Nearly two million people were killed through forced labor, starvation, and execution. Intellectuals, ethnic minorities, and anyone perceived as a threat to the regime were targeted in a brutal attempt to create a utopian agrarian society.
Living through the Khmer Rouge meant living in constant fear. Families were torn apart, cities were emptied, and people were forced into harsh labor camps where death was a constant companion. Cambodia is still grappling with the aftermath of this horrific period.
10. The Rwandan Genocide (1994)
In 1994, Rwanda became the site of one of the fastest and most brutal genocides in history. In just 100 days, an estimated 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, were slaughtered by Hutu extremists. It was a dark period of horror, where neighbors turned on each other, and entire families were wiped out. The violence was incomprehensible, and it seemed to erupt out of nowhere.
For Rwandans, surviving those three months was a matter of dumb luck. The streets were filled with fear and bloodshed, and those who weren’t killed lived with the constant terror of being next. In the aftermath, Rwanda was left with deep scars, and the country is still struggling to heal, even today.
11. The Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864)
The Taiping Rebellion is one of those historical events that doesn’t get talked about enough, considering the absolute devastation it caused. Led by a man who claimed to be the younger brother of Jesus Christ, the rebellion tore China apart, resulting in an estimated 20 to 30 million deaths. The country was ravaged by famine, disease, and violence on an almost unimaginable scale.
The chaos lasted over a decade, with entire regions left in ruin. The rebellion went beyond being just another war. This was a period of social collapse in which civilians were often caught in the middle, with no way to escape the carnage. For the people who lived through it, the Taiping Rebellion felt like the end of the world.
12. Stalin’s Purges (1936-1938)
Living in Stalin’s Soviet Union was like playing a game of Russian roulette, except the game was completely rigged, and the odds were always against you. During the Great Purge, Joseph Stalin unleashed a reign of terror that saw millions of people executed, imprisoned, or exiled. Paranoia was rampant, and anyone could be accused of being an enemy of the state.
The purges created an atmosphere of constant fear. Neighbors turned on each other, and people disappeared overnight. Living through this period meant never knowing if you’d be next, as the government turned against its own citizens with brutal efficiency.
13. The An Lushan Rebellion (755-763)
China’s An Lushan Rebellion was another civil war that resulted in mass death and destruction. This rebellion against the Tang Dynasty caused the deaths of anywhere between 13 and 36 million people—an unfathomable number by any measure. The rebellion devastated the population, caused widespread famine, and left large parts of the country in ruins.
For those who lived through it, survival was a constant uncertainty. Civilians were often caught in the crossfire as armies clashed and resources ran out. After nearly a decade of violence, the once-mighty Tang Dynasty was left weakened, and Chinese society would take years to recover.
14. The Congo Free State (1885-1908)
The Congo Free State, under King Leopold II of Belgium, was one of the most horrific examples of colonial exploitation in history. The region was essentially turned into a massive forced labor camp, where millions of Congolese were subjected to brutal conditions in the quest for rubber and other resources. An estimated 10 million people died from overwork, disease, and outright murder during Leopold’s reign of terror.
For those living in the Congo during this time, life was a constant struggle for survival. People had their hands cut off as punishment for not meeting rubber quotas, families were ripped apart, and entire communities were destroyed by forced slavery. The Congo Free State stands as a grim reminder of the horrors of unchecked colonialism.
15. The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648)
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to live through a seemingly endless war, look no further than the Thirty Years’ War. This European conflict dragged on for, well, 30 years, and it left Central Europe in shambles. Entire towns were wiped out, famine was rampant, and disease swept through the population. An estimated 8 million people died during this brutal period.
For civilians, it wasn’t just about surviving the battlefield and the raiding—they had to endure the breakdown of society itself. Armies would pillage their way through towns, leaving nothing but destruction in their wake. Food was scarce, and even when the war finally ended, the damage was so extensive that it took generations to rebuild.
20 Terrifying Facts About Life in the Medieval Times
Picture this: a world without modern medicine, where even a minor infection could be a death sentence. Imagine cities overflowing with filth, where rats and disease ran rampant. And let’s not forget those brutal punishments that make a horror movie seem tame. The Medieval period, often romanticized in movies, was a harsh and often terrifying time to be alive.
20 Terrifying Facts About Life in the Medieval Times
12 Terrifying Realities for People Living During the Roman Era
The Roman Empire was one of the largest in history, stretching territories into Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. While Rome is at the top of the list of successful empires, it also has the distinction of being quite a terrifying era due to many of the behaviors and events that took place. It was marred by severe brutality and the forceful use of the military on its citizens.
12 Terrifying Realities for People Living During the Roman Era
13 Times in History When Life Was Terrifying
While we might think of the current times as uniquely chaotic, humans have always had a knack for finding themselves in epically disastrous situations. Let’s journey back through time to explore the downright terrifying and appalling eras when being alive was, to put it mildly, NOT for the faint of heart.
13 Times in History When Life Was Terrifying
With an honors degree in financial engineering, Omega Ukama deeply understands finance. Before pursuing journalism, he honed his skills at a private equity firm, giving him invaluable real-world experience. This combination of financial literacy and journalistic flair allows him to translate complex financial matters into clear and concise insights for his readers.
With an honors degree in financial engineering, Omega Ukama deeply understands finance. Before pursuing journalism, he honed his skills at a private equity firm, giving him invaluable real-world experience. This combination of financial literacy and journalistic flair allows him to translate complex financial matters into clear and concise insights for his readers.
