When Minds Unite: 50 Cases of Mass Hysteria That Defy Explanation

At the start of the French Revolution, a general panic struck peasants in the countryside, fueled by rumors of a supposed aristocratic plot to use marauders to plunder their villages and fields. Peasants, driven by paranoia, formed armed militias to defend themselves, leading to confusion and attacks on innocent parties. The realization that there was no aristocratic conspiracy ultimately calmed the peasants, but the repercussions of the Great Fear prompted the ruling class to enact reforms, marking a significant shift in France's social order and influencing global perspectives.

In 1899, the so-called "kissing bug" gained unwarranted notoriety in the United States when a Washington Post reporter, James McElhone, sensationalized the insects as the cause of suspected bites on people's lips, framing them as a threat to start a new plague. Kissing bugs were attributed to all facial wounds, sparking nationwide panic. Entomologists dismissed the episode as nothing more than a "newspaper epidemic" since they never caught any actual kissing bug in the act, despite the hysteria.

Boredom and frustration among the nuns triggered a screaming epidemic in 1749 at a nunnery in Wurzburg, Germany. It began when the sub-prioress, Sister Maria Renata, initially denied entry to a young woman prone to convulsions. As other sisters imitated the woman's behavior and exhibited signs of "demonic possession" during services, they coerced the sub-prioress into confessing to witchcraft. She was subsequently beheaded for her alleged crimes against the church, bringing an end to the screaming sessions among the nuns.

In the spring of 1897, a peculiar panic swept the United States as thousands reported sightings of the "Edison Star," a supposed giant apparatus by Thomas Edison designed to reflect light across the country or a rumored colossal light bulb. Despite the lack of evidence, people nationwide reported sightings of the "Edison Star," with towns like Portland, Maine, discussing "electric balloons" and St. Paul, Minnesota, experiencing a surge in sightings. The rumors originated from Edison's Menlo Park experiments, where he sent illuminated balloons into the night sky as part of his wireless telegraph work, sparking widespread imagination.

In 1995, the Hindu milk miracle captured attention when worshipers in South New Delhi claimed that statues, particularly that of Lord Ganesha, were miraculously consuming milk offerings. The phenomenon spread across India, with devotees reporting similar occurrences at various temples. Despite initial fervor, skeptics dismissed the event as mass hysteria, and the reports gradually subsided by early October.

In June 1962, 62 workers at a South Carolina textile mill showed symptoms attributed to bug bites from a fabric shipment, but the US Public Health Service found no evidence of insect involvement. Experts identified poor working conditions and stress as likely culprits, suggesting that the "June Bug" may have been a manifestation of untrained medical staff. Experts also explained the outbreak as a social contagion, affecting a close-knit group of mainly female coworkers who shared long hours together.

In remote Malaysian and Indonesian regions, a recurring belief in government-sanctioned bounty hunters searching for heads as construction cornerstones triggered panic during nearby construction projects. The phenomenon paralyzed villages, as seen in the 1937 account of Indonesia's first Prime Minister, Soetan Sjahrir, who described empty streets and barricaded homes due to head-hunting rumors. These head-hunting scares reflected the uneasy relationship between tribes and their governments.

In 1632, nuns at a convent in Loudun, France, accused their parish priest, Urban Grandier, of ordering demons to possess them, claiming it was for his advances. The ensuing sensational exorcisms and trials attracted thousands, including King Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu, leading to Grandier's fiery execution in 1634. However, the possessions were later revealed as a calculated plot by Grandier's enemies, including rival priests and nuns seeking personal gain, and the supposed demonic influence persisted until 1637, turning into a circus attraction.

In the summer of 1965, over 300 people in Blackburn, England, began fainting without warning while waiting for Princess Margaret's visit to Blackburn Cathedral. The next day, 98 pupils at St. Hilda's Girls' School experienced similar unexplained fainting. A year later, a report in the British Medical Journal attributed the incidents to mass hysteria or an "epidemic of overbreathing."

Louise, a 17-year-old girl, triggered a rare form of mass hysteria in a London psychiatric ward in the early 1970s. After falsely claiming she was pregnant, Louise's convincing personality led other female patients to fear they were also pregnant, even those with no history of sexual activity. The pregnancy panic persisted until constant reassurance helped the women realize they were never pregnant.