From Mercury retrograde to solar eclipses, it’s not uncommon for people to look to the cosmos in an attempt to explain unusual behavior. But historically, no astrological event has been blamed for abnormal events more often than a full moon. In fact, blaming the plenilune is such a common practice that it‘s got its own term: the Transylvania Effect, or the idea that the lunar cycle can influence human behavior. The theory has been propagated in more than one field: Medical practitioners have sworn the ER is crazier when the full moon emerges, law enforcement officers have claimed to make more arrests, and even hospitality workers have said guests are just flat-out rude. (Well, more so than usual.)
In the r/bartenders subReddit, bar professionals constantly lament the “horrors” of the full moon, with complaints ranging from attitudinal customers and stiffed tips to lengthy kitchen ticket times and even an uptick in physical fights. One user simply titled their post “F*CK FULL MOONS.” It’s not much better over on the r/ServerLife subreddit, where restaurant workers often discuss the “unhinged guests” they tend to and question how their fellow servers survived the night.
“Whenever there’s a large group of guests acting out of the ordinary, our front of house staff always ask each other, ‘Is it a full moon?’” said Kara Graves, senior partner and director of marketing for Charleston’s Uptown Hospitality Group. “[Guests will] ask for things like Tito’s and vodka instead of a Tito’s and soda, or ask to put
