The Hunger

The Midnight Article "The Hunger: Mass Hysteria Or Unknown Condition" was written by Fernando Iglesias Meléndez and posted to r/NoSleep.

The text of the Article was as follows:

THE HUNGER: MASS HYSTERIA OR UNKNOWN CONDITION?

After a bizarre series of events that spanned only a few days, government officials and healthcare professionals are struggling to treat the residents of a small town in upstate New York. At their request, the name of the town is being withheld from all publications.

It started slowly. A few strange reports started trickling into the social media accounts of many of the town’s residents. Some were presented as cute: “my little guy was so hungry he got into the pantry and ate half of his new cereal box,” wrote one young mother. Others were presented as comedic: “if I eat another burger I’m gonna end up like that purple brat from Willy Wonka” wrote one girl. Lastly, on that first day, some people were writing in concern: “my baby won’t stop drinking milk. Four bottles and still crying like he’s hungry. What should I do?”

It seemed that, slowly, everyone in town was coming down with a monstrous case of hunger. Delivery orders skyrocketed. Supermarkets became crowded. With each passing hour, it seemed that nobody was immune to the sudden onset of paradoxical hunger. And it was getting worse.

People stuck at home ate through their entire bounties. Some even ate raw spices and garbage. Whatever was at hand, they tried to swallow, anything to quell that bottomless, nagging, painful feeling in their stomachs.

The town’s residents hardly slept that first few nights, choosing instead to continue eating anything they could get their hands on.

Soon, concepts such as self-restraint and societal norms seemed to crumble away. Restaurant staff left customers unattended and raided the kitchen and even the freezer, eating food and ingredients raw. Local businesses that served no food were abandoned, and those that did serve it were overrun. People could scarcely make it out the front door, sitting on the sidewalks with their bounty and eating through it on the spot.

The town’s only hospital was filled to the brim. The lucky few who were able to get a doctor to themselves were put through a gauntlet of medical tests. Every possible avenue was pursued, from parasites such as tapeworms to neurological conditions, to psychological breakdowns…and they all came back lacking evidence. The town’s water supply was tested for anything out of the ordinary, with nothing to show for it.

It wasn't long before violence erupted. Food was running out, and anything, even dog food, even the dumpsters behind butcher shops…even pet store cages, were now viable options.

People were trading blows over scraps on the street. Soon, fists and blunt objects weren’t enough. It was long before someone pulled a knife or a firearm. But knives and firearms were to be expected, to some extent. What wasn’t expected, what was downright unspeakable, was when people started using their teeth. It was less than a week before it happened and once it did, it was as if a line was crossed. One person did it, so it became an option for everyone else. Bundles of discarded, bloodied clothing became a common sight.

The residents were soon joined by several out-of-towners: concerned family members and friends, law enforcement agencies, medical experts. Most of these people were never seen again, and those that were had already joined in.

Through it all, a few social media accounts remained active. Most of them were incoherent or entirely mute, simply liking anything related to food, and soon just liking anything that showed a person or a pet.

One account, however, contained just enough coherent writing to quote in this publication. “Everr(y)thing (yo)u Eat has a soul,” the anonymous user wrote. “(Yo)U consume it when (yo)u eat it (.) We can Eat much more now Eat something (and) take it into ourselves (.) We can eat life itself if we keep going. Some are eating the groun(d) and becomming this place (.) If the sun came dow(n) we could eat it too.”

Reports from the town have since gone dark. Local law enforcement agencies have established a barricade around the area, effectively cutting the town off from the rest of the world. There have been sightings of the military as well, with some rumors even stating that gunshots and explosions have been heard.

It’s troubling, then, that there has been a trend of social media posts of uncontrollable hunger from surrounding towns in the area. Government officials have stated that there’s nothing to worry about, “these posts are part of a social media frenzy. A sick joke,” said a representative whose name has since been pulled, “the people in (the town) are being treated and there’s absolutely no danger of other towns succumbing to the same condition.

Description:

"The Hunger" is an unknown Oddity that affected the residents of an unnamed town in upstate New York. It was a vital part of the cataclysmic event caused by The Perfect Being.

Effects on the Body:

The Hunger is a seemingly insatiable form of hunger that is powerful enough to override both physiological and psychological limitations of the human body.

Sufferers of The Hunger will begin experiencing an overwhelming desire for food. At first, they will think nothing of it. They will begin to attempt to satiate this hunger responsibly, eating snacks or leftovers. However, as the hours drag on, they will begin to realize that this Hunger isn't going away. In fact, it appears to be getting stronger.

An affected individual will soon forgo all pretenses and begin to focus purely on consuming as much food as possible. The Hunger is painful, as most hunger pains are, but is much more extreme than any that the sufferers have felt before. Soon, the food in a sufferer's home will no longer be enough, and they will have to venture out into the world to buy more.

The Hunger appears to be more than a psychological condition. If this paradoxical Hunger were simply part of a manic state, then a sufferer would soon reach a point where their body would be unable to consume more food. Indeed, the human stomach has its limits. If enough food is consumed in a short enough amount of time, the stomach and digestive system will be unable to process it correctly. A blockage will occur, one which will worsen if more and more food is shoved into the stomach. If enough food is consumed, this blockage will become so large that it will rupture the intestines (if a person does not perform a bowel movement) or the stomach itself. A rupture in these organs is incredibly dangerous and nearly always fatal, as the stomach's contents are extremely acidic and any food material entering the abdominal cavity will soon cause a severe infection. However, it appears sufferers of The Hunger will not experience any of these blockages or ruptures. The horrifying, and unexplained, reality appears to be that a person inflicted with The Hunger is able to consume an infinite amount of food and suffer no internal damage of any kind.

The Hunger is also so strong and so capable of nullifying harmful effects on the body that a sufferer will no longer need to sleep or perform bowel movements. Instead, they are capable of eating nonstop, without collapsing from exhaustion or having to stop to expel digested food.

Effects on the Mind:

Much like its effects on the human body, The Hunger is able to warp and alter a person's psychology so that eating becomes the very purpose of their existence. At first, an affected individual will still be in control of their mind. They will attempt to satiate their increasing cravings with discretion. They will still adhere to societal norms and still care about how they appear to others. It is likely that they will eat in private, so as not to concern their family members and significant others (if they themselves are not yet affected).

At this point, The Hunger might still be thought of as a comical or simply strange occurrence. It is likely that that a sufferer (or someone who lives with one) will believe that there is no reason for concern. They will believe that The Hunger is related to another condition, such as hormonal changes, growing pains, or side effects from medications.

Eventually, however, The Hunger will become so strong (and so widespread) that the affected location will begin to descend into mass hysteria. The town's population will soon become entirely affected, and all societal norms and human decency will be dropped in favor of attempting to satiate the insatiable cravings.

It is not known exactly what people inflicted with The Hunger think of the fact that they no longer need to sleep or go to the bathroom. It is likely, however, that The Hunger is so strong that satiating the craving soon becomes the sole thought thought that a Hungry individual is capable of having.

Violence will soon become a common occurrence, as Hungry individuals will attack each other over scraps of food. As food becomes scarce, this violence will turn into something much more horrifying. Hungry individuals will no longer simply attack each other, but will begin to realize that people are meat too. This fact shows the true extent of the warping of a Hungry individual's mind (and very soul), as they will consume the flesh of neighbors, family members, and even their own children.

The effects on the mind of a Hungry person will become so severe that they will soon become unable to speak (and most likely think) properly. Instead, they will use social media simply to "like" any pictures that depict animals and people.

"Eating:"

It appears that a Hungry individual is able to "eat" in a way that is very different than a normal person. Indeed, The Removal Doctor himself commented on this: “I believe that this Hunger is a special quality, like what I have. I can take a quality and hold it, then put it into something else. I think they can eat so purely, so completely, that they can consume a set of qualities and take it into themselves. In essence, they become what they eat."

This explains why eating "The Perfect Being" had such a catastrophic event on reality itself, as The Doctor stated that "I only made one version of my creation for a reason. More than one might cause things to get…noticed. It is not known exactly who, or what, would "notice" that there was more than one "Perfect Being" in this reality, but the effects of this on reality itself are apocalyptic.

Origin:

The exact origins of The Hunger are entirely unknown. It is possible that it is a Biological-Type Oddity, such as a virus or a parasite, that is strong enough to alter its host's physiology and psychology. It is also possible, however, that it is an Entity-Type Oddity that is able to possess people and force them to consume food, being powerful enough to stave off all physiological damage so that a person can continue to eat indefinitely.

There are too many possible origins for The Hunger to list here. However, an intriguing theory is that, given The Removal Doctor's involvement with The Perfect Being, it is possible that the Doctor himself created The Hunger. The Doctor stated that he could remove a "quality" from a person, "hold" it, and "put it into something else." Indeed, the Doctor "removed" whatever quality the narrator possessed that made the Midnight Paper target him, and "put it into" everyone else in his neighborhood. It is possible, then, that the Doctor "removed" The Hunger from an individual and "put it into" the unnamed town in upstate New York.