1Portuguese "Morangos com Açúcar" Virus (2006)
In May 2006, Portuguese schools experienced an outbreak of the "Morangos com Açúcar Virus," with over 300 students at 14 schools reporting symptoms mirroring those in a recent episode of the popular youth soap opera. Symptoms included rashes, difficulty breathing, and dizziness, leading to school closures. The Portuguese National Institute for Medical Emergency attributed the illness to mass hysteria, causing concern among parents about the series' influence on children and teenagers.
2. In May 2001, New Delhi experienced reports of a mysterious monkey-like creature attacking people at night, described as about four feet tall with black hair, a metal helmet, claws, glowing red eyes, and buttons on its chest. Theories about the creature ranged from a Hindu god's avatar to an Indian Bigfoot or a cyborg with a motherboard under its chest fur. Panic led to injuries, with two or three people reportedly dying from jumping off buildings or falling down stairs in an attempt to escape the perceived attacker.
3. The Dancing Plague of 1518 in Strasbourg, France, was a case of dancing mania where numerous people danced for days without rest. It began when a woman, Frau Troffea, started dancing fervently in the street, and within a week, 34 others joined. The phenomenon resulted in around 400 dancers, most of whom eventually died from heart attacks, strokes, or exhaustion. The reason for the dancing and whether it was voluntary remain unclear.
4. During World War II in Mattoon, Illinois, residents reported experiencing symptoms like paralysis, coughing, nausea, and vomiting, believing they were targeted by a phantom anesthetist. The panic started in August 1944, with over 20 reports of "gassings" in two weeks. Investigators attributed the incidents to odors from a nearby industrial plant and mass hysteria fueled by reports of a nocturnal prowler, and all victims eventually recovered.
5. In the 15th century, nuns in France and Germany exhibited bizarre behavior, with some imitating animals like cats, dogs, and birds. In 1491, a nun in a French convent started meowing, leading her sisters to follow suit, creating a "cat imitation" plague. Soldiers outside the convent brandished rods and threatened the nuns if the behavior persisted, while similar epidemics were reported across various nunneries. While "demonic possession" was the contemporary explanation, the more likely cause was mass hysteria stemming from the repressive conditions in which the nuns lived.
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6Uttar Pradesh Alien Face Scratcher Panic (2002)
In 2002, a town in Uttar Pradesh, India, experienced mass panic as residents believed aliens were scratching victims' faces at night. Reports described a "brightly lit object" flying sideways, leaving scratch and burn marks on victims. The panic led to nighttime vigilante groups and demands for police intervention, resulting in confirmed deaths from police firing into crowds. Explanations ranged from insect plagues to "lightning balls," and the face-scratcher phenomenon ceased with the onset of the monsoon season.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11Hindu Milk Miracle (1995)
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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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."
16London Psychiatric Ward Pregnancy Panic (1970s)
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.
17. In the spring of 1939, a Louisiana school witnessed a widespread twitching epidemic among its female students, starting with one girl's uncontrollable leg twitch during the annual homecoming dance. The phenomenon escalated, affecting more students and prompting frantic reactions from parents, leading to a chaotic stampede. Investigation suggested that the twitching was a result of attention-seeking behavior by a lovelorn girl named Helen, who, subconsciously, found a way to excuse herself from dance classes and address her insecurities about her dancing skills.
18. In 1630, King Philip IV of Spain warned Milan of escaped prisoners intending to spread the plague through contaminated ointments. Coincidentally, a real plague outbreak occurred, leading residents to believe they were poisoned, sparking a frenzy of paranoia. The city descended into chaos as people accused each other of spreading plague-bearing poisons, resulting in numerous assaults and even deaths over seemingly innocuous actions.
19. Between October 2001 and June 2002, a mysterious skin rash affected thousands of elementary-aged students in several states in the United States, prompting fears of bioterrorism in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. While the rash had no known cause and disappeared spontaneously, heightened awareness due to terrorism fears led to increased reports from students and school nurses. The "Bin Laden Itch," though ultimately non-existent, successfully triggered mass hysteria, with a few students even deliberately causing skin irritation to disrupt schools.
20. A penis panic is a phenomenon where males believe their genitals are shrinking or disappearing, leading to mass hysteria. These events have occurred globally, particularly in Africa and Asia, with local beliefs suggesting that such changes can be fatal. Injuries have resulted from desperate attempts, including the use of needles and fishing line, to prevent perceived penis disappearance. In 1967, Singapore faced a significant epidemic, prompting a government campaign to reassure men of the anatomical impossibility of retraction and implementing a media blackout on the condition's spread.
21Affair of the Poisons (1679)
In 1679, the Affair of the Poisons unfolded in seventeenth-century France, revealing widespread Satanist hysteria at the royal court and implicating over 300 alleged poisoners. Although initially scandalous, the investigation primarily targeted third-rate alchemists and quacks peddling ineffective poisons. Faced with torture, many falsely accused others, leading to a five-year purge with dozens executed, showcasing a period of blind panic.
22. In a bizarre incident at Puchong Perdana National School in Malaysia in 2001, 30 girls suddenly exhibited a zombie-like rage, with screaming and violence spreading rapidly among the 1,100 students during a Monday assembly. Panicked students seeking refuge in classrooms led to the temporary closure of the school. However, the episode was not caused by a virus or chemical; rather, it was attributed to the girls experiencing heavy stress and pent-up energy in a confined space, leading to a mass hysteria event.
23. In 1990, Kosovo experienced a mysterious illness outbreak among Albanian students, causing fainting, vomiting, and convulsions. Initially, there were suspicions that Slavic Kosovars had poisoned the Albanian students due to existing tensions, but independent commissions found no evidence of poisoning. Independent commissions concluded that mass hysteria, fueled by political tensions and a few actual cases of sickness, likely caused the illness.
24. The wave of rogue clown appearances in 2016, which caused public anxiety and even led to bans on clown costumes, was not an isolated incident. Similar instances of creepy clown sightings have occurred periodically, dating back to at least 1981 in Massachusetts, when schoolchildren reported a van full of candy and menacing clown suits. These waves of clown hysteria tend to follow a pattern, with initial reports leading to widespread phobia, but investigations typically reveal no evidence of a significant clown threat. Verified cases often turn out to be viral marketing stunts or harmless pranks.
25. In 1374, Aachen, Germany, witnessed a famous mass dancing event, followed by similar outbreaks across Europe. In southern Italy, tarantism emerged, attributing symptoms to tarantula bites and advocating dancing to specific music, giving rise to the tarantella dance. Some modern interpretations suggest that the phenomenon could be linked to unfamiliar religious sect practices, with reported symptoms such as fainting and visions.
