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In sociology and psychology,
mass hysteria Mass psychogenic illness (MPI), also called mass sociogenic illness, mass psychogenic disorder, epidemic hysteria or mass hysteria, involves the spread of illness symptoms through a population where there is no infectious agent responsible for c ...
is a phenomenon that transmits collective
illusion An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may ...
s of threats, whether real or imaginary, through a population and society as a result of rumors and fear.Bartholomew, Robert E. (2001). ''Little Green Men, Meowing Nuns and Head-Hunting Panics: A Study of Mass Psychogenic Illness and Social Delusion''.
McFarland & Company McFarland & Company, Inc., is an American independent book publisher based in Jefferson, North Carolina, that specializes in academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tert ...
.
In medicine, the term is used to describe the spontaneous manifestation—or production of chemicals in the body—of the same or similar hysterical physical
symptom Signs and symptoms are diagnostic indications of an illness, injury, or condition. Signs are objective and externally observable; symptoms are a person's reported subjective experiences. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature ...
s by more than one person. A common type of mass hysteria occurs when a group of people believes that they have a similar
disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical condi ...
or ailment, sometimes referred to as '' mass sociogenic illness'' or ''epidemic hysteria''.Mass, Weir E. "Mass sociogenic- illness." ''CMAJ'' 172 (2005): 36. Web. 14 Dec. 2009.


Middle Ages

* According to an account which was written by an author in 1784, a nun who lived in a German
convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
in the 15th century began to bite her companions, and the behavior soon spread through other convents in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
and
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. *In ''The Epidemics of the Middle Ages'', an 1844 collection of works written by J. F. C. Hecker (and translated by Benjamin Guy Babington), a translator's note by Babington, citing an unnamed medical textbook, recalls the story of a nun who lived in a French convent during an unspecified time (presumably in the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
) who inexplicably began to meow like a cat, shortly leading the other nuns in the convent to meow as well. Eventually, all of the nuns in the convent would meow together for a certain period, leaving the surrounding community astonished. This did not stop until the police threatened to whip the nuns.


1500–1800

*
Witch trials in the early modern period In the early modern period, from about 1400 to 1775, about 100,000 people were prosecuted for witchcraft in Europe and British America. Between 40,000 and 60,000 were executed, almost all in Europe. The witch-hunts were particularly severe in pa ...
from 1450 to 1750 and especially from 1580 to 1630. * Dancing plague of 1518 – a case of
dancing mania Dancing mania (also known as dancing plague, choreomania, St. John's Dance, tarantism and St. Vitus' Dance) was a social phenomenon that may have had biological causes, which occurred primarily in mainland Europe between the 14th and 17th centu ...
that occurred in
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
,
Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
(then part of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
) in July 1518 wherein numerous people took to dancing for days. * Irish Fright (1688) – In England and parts of Wales in December 1688 during the
Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...
, false reports that Irish soldiers were burning and massacring English towns prompted a mass panic in at least 19 counties, with thousands of people arming themselves and preparing to resist non-existent groups of marauding Irishmen. *
Salem witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Not everyone wh ...
(1692−1693) – In colonial Massachusetts, adolescent girls Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, Ann Putnam Jr., and Elizabeth Hubbard began to have fits that were described by a minister as "beyond the power of epileptic fits or natural disease to effect." The events resulted in the Salem witch trials, a series of hearings which resulted in the execution of 20 citizens and the death of five other citizens of
Salem Village, Massachusetts Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a fairly short ride from Boston and is also in close proximity to the beaches of Gloucester, ...
(present day
Danvers, Massachusetts Danvers is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a fairly short ride from Boston and is also in close proximity to the beach ...
) and nearby towns who were accused of practicing
witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...
. The episode is one of America's most notorious cases of mass hysteria, and it has been used in political rhetoric and popular literature as a vivid cautionary tale about the dangers of
isolationism Isolationism is a term used to refer to a political philosophy advocating a foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality an ...
, religious
extremism Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied sha ...
,
false accusation A false accusation is a claim or allegation of wrongdoing that is untrue and/or otherwise unsupported by facts. False accusations are also known as groundless accusations, unfounded accusations, false allegations, false claims or unsubstantiated al ...
s and lapses in
due process Due process of law is application by the state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to a case so all legal rights that are owed to a person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual p ...
. * Würzburg, Germany (1749) – an outbreak of screaming, squirming, and trance in a nunnery led to the execution of a suspected witch. *
Glass harmonica The glass harmonica, also known as the glass armonica, glass harmonium, bowl organ, hydrocrystalophone, or simply the armonica or harmonica (derived from , ''harmonia'', the Greek language, Greek word for harmony), is a type of musical instr ...
(1761-1820) * Chinese sorcery scares, a series of similar events that took place in 1768, 1810, 1876, and 1910. *
Great Fear The Great Fear () was a general panic that took place between 22 July to 6 August 1789, at the start of the French Revolution. Rural unrest had been present in France since the worsening grain shortage of the spring. Fuelled by rumours ...
(1789) – a general panic that took place between 17 July and 3 August 1789, at the start of the French Revolution.


1800–1950

* Hammersmith Ghost hysteria (1803) – In November 1803, stories of ghost sightings in the Hammersmith neighbourhood of west London began to circulate. Many people assumed the ghost to be that of a recent suicide victim buried in Hammersmith's churchyard, which was in accordance with a popular notion at the time that suicides should not be buried in sacred grounds because their souls would be unable to find rest there. All witnesses reported the ghost as being very tall and clothed entirely in white, with some adding horns and glass eyes to the mix. As more individuals came forward to claim that they had not only seen the Hammersmith ghost, but had also been assaulted by it, alarm rapidly turned to widespread panic, and finally mass hysteria. Fearful residents responded by taking up guns and monitoring the area. This reaction resulted in one member of the public, Francis Smith, shooting and killing bricklayer Thomas Millwood by mistake, thinking he was the ghost. *
Spring-heeled Jack Spring-heeled Jack was an entity in English folklore of the Victorian era. The first claimed sighting of Spring-heeled Jack was in 1837. Later sightings were reported all over the United Kingdom and were especially prevalent in suburban Lond ...
sightings (1837-1904) – The earliest known sightings of Spring-heeled Jack, a legendary figure in English folklore, are claimed to have occurred in London in 1837, and the final confirmed sighting is said to have taken place in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in 1904.David Cordingly,
Lives and Times: Spring-Heeled Jack
, ''
The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...
'' 7 October 2006. Excerpted from the ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...
''.
Rupert Mann, "Spring Heeled Jack", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004; ). * "Writing Tremor Epidemic" (1892, 1904) – The right hand of a 10-year-old girl in Groß Tinz began trembling, which developed into full-body seizures that spread to 19 other students. A similar epidemic affected 20 in
Basel, Switzerland Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zurich and Geneva), with ...
. Twelve years later, the Basel school experienced another outbreak that affected 27 students. Legend of the first outbreak was said to have played a role. *
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
(1894) – 60 students at a ladies'
seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...
had an outbreak of fits and seizures, some for as long as 2 months. * "Trembling Disease" (1905–06) – An estimated 237 children were impacted between October 1905 and May 1906 in Meissen, Germany. *
Miracle of the Sun The Miracle of the Sun (), also known as the Miracle of Fátima, is a series of events reported to have occurred miraculously on 13 October 1917, attended by a large crowd who had gathered in Fátima, Portugal, in response to a prophecy made by ...
(disputed) (13 October, 1917) The Miracle of the Sun, also known as the Miracle of Fátima, was a series of events reported to have occurred miraculously, witnessed by a large crowd who had gathered in Fátima, Portugal, in response to a prophecy made by three children. Newspapers published testimony from witnesses who said that they had seen extraordinary solar activity. Skeptical analysts attribute the claims to the "psychological suggestibility of the witnesses". * Halifax Slasher (1938) – The "Halifax Slasher" was the name given to a supposed attacker of residents, mostly women, of the town of Halifax, England, in November 1938. The week-long scare began after two women claimed to have been attacked by a mysterious man with a
mallet A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. General overview The term is descriptive of the ...
and "bright buckles" on his shoes. Further reports of attacks by a man wielding a knife or a razor followed. The situation became so serious that
Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...
was called in to assist the Halifax police. On November 29 one of the alleged victims admitted that he had inflicted the damage upon himself for attention. Others soon had similar admissions, and the Yard investigation concluded that none of the attacks had been real. Five local people were subsequently charged with public mischief offenses, and four were sent to prison. * "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast (1938) – Newspaper headlines reported that thousands of Americans were plunged into panic over an
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...
radio play, convinced that America was under a deadly Martian attack. * Bellevue, Louisiana (1939) – A girl developed a leg twitch at the annual homecoming high school dance. Attacks worsened and spread to friends over the next several weeks. * Mad Gasser of Mattoon (1940s) –
Mattoon, Illinois Mattoon ( ) is a city in Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 16,870 as of the 2020 census. The city is home to Lake Land College and has close ties with its neighbor, Charleston, Illinois, Charleston. Both are principal cit ...
*
Ghost rockets Ghost rockets (, also called Scandinavian ghost rockets) were rocket- or missile-shaped unidentified flying objects sighted in 1946, mostly in Sweden and nearby countries like Finland. The first reports of ghost rockets were made on February 26 ...
(1946) – German, British and Scandinavian intelligence officials concluded that the Ghost rockets which were reported over
Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
are a case of mass hysteria (among other conclusions). * Tokyo, Japan (1947) - On May 29, 1947, the United States armed forces radio station in Tokyo (WVTR) broadcast a "news bulletin" that a 20-ft sea monster was spotted in Tokyo Bay and travelling inland. *
1947 flying disc craze A rash of unidentified flying object reports in the United States were publicized in June and July1947. The craze began on June 24, when media nationwide reported civilian pilot Kenneth Arnold's Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting, story of witnessing di ...


1950−2000

* Seattle windshield pitting epidemic (1954) * Tanganyika laughter epidemic (1962) – began on January 30, 1962, at a mission-run boarding school for girls in Kashasha,
Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
. The laughter started with three girls and spread haphazardly throughout the school, affecting 95 of the 159 pupils, aged 12–18. Symptoms lasted from a few hours to 16 days in those affected. The teaching staff were not affected but reported that students were unable to concentrate on their lessons. The school was forced to close down on March 18, 1962. After the school was closed and the students were sent home, the epidemic spread to Nshamba, a village that was home to several of the girls. In April and May, 217 people had laughing attacks in the village, most of them school children and young adults. The Kashasha school was reopened on May 21, only to be closed again at the end of June. In June, the laughing epidemic spread to Ramashenye girls' middle school, near
Bukoba Bukoba is a city with a population of 144,938 (2022 census), situated in the northwest of Tanzania on the south-western shores of Lake Victoria. It is the capital of the Kagera region, and the administrative seat for Bukoba Urban District. The ...
, affecting 48 girls. Another outbreak occurred in Kanyangereka and two nearby boys schools were closed. * June bug epidemic (1962) – A mysterious disease broke out in a
dressmaking A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Notable dr ...
department of an American textile factory. The symptoms included numbness, nausea, dizziness, and vomiting. Word of a bug in the factory that would bite its victims and cause them to develop the above symptoms quickly spread. Soon 62 employees developed this mysterious illness, some of whom were hospitalized. The news media reported on the case. After research by company physicians and experts from the US Public Health Service Communicable Disease Center, it was concluded that the case was one of mass hysteria. While the researchers believed some workers were bitten by the bug, anxiety was probably the cause of the symptoms. No evidence was ever found for a bug which could cause the above flu-like symptoms, nor did all workers demonstrate bites. *
Welsh, Louisiana Welsh is a town in Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana. The population was 3,226 at the time of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is part of the Jennings, Louisiana, Jennings Micropolitan Statistical ...
(1962) – With students' sexual activity under close scrutiny by school officials, and following rumors of mandatory pregnancy tests, 21 girls and one boy in grades six to eleven were affected by seizures and other symptoms over six months. * Blackburn faintings (1965) – In October 1965, several girls at a girls' school complained of dizziness in Blackburn, England.Moss, P. D. and C. P. McEvedy. "An epidemic of overbreathing among schoolgirls." ''British Medical Journal'' 2(5525) (1966): 1295–1300. Web. 17 Dec. 2009. Some fainted. Within a couple of hours, 85 girls from the school were rushed by ambulance to a nearby hospital after fainting. Symptoms included swooning, moaning, chattering of teeth,
hyperpnea Hyperpnea, or hyperpnoea (forced respiration), is increased volume of air taken during breathing. It can occur with or without an increase in respiration rate. It is characterized by deep breathing. It may be physiologic—as when required by ox ...
, and tetany. A medical analysis of the event about one year later found that outbreaks began among the 14-year-olds, but that the heaviest incidence moved to the youngest age groups. There was no evidence of pollution of food or air. The younger girls proved more susceptible, but disturbance was more severe and lasted longer in the older girls. Using the Eysenck Personality Inventory, those affected had higher scores for
extroversion Extraversion and introversion are a central trait dimension in human personality theory. The terms were introduced into psychology by Carl Jung, though both the popular understanding and current psychological usage are not the same as Jung's ...
and
neuroticism Neuroticism is a personality trait associated with negative emotions. It is one of the Big Five traits. Individuals with high scores on neuroticism are more likely than average to experience such feelings as anxiety, worry, fear, anger, shame ...
. It was considered that the epidemic was hysterical, that a previous polio epidemic had rendered the population emotionally vulnerable, and that a three-hour parade, producing 20 faints on the day before the first outbreak, had been the specific trigger. * Mount Pleasant, Mississippi (1976) – School officials suspected drug use after 15 students fell to the ground writhing, but no drugs were found and hysteria is assumed to be the culprit. At one point, one third of the school's 900 students stayed home for fear of being "hexed". *
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
(1970s–1980s) – Mass hysteria in Malaysia affected school-age girls and young women working in factories. The locals have explained this outbreak as " spirits" having possessed the girls and young women. * Hollinwell incident (1980) – Around 300 people, mostly children, but including adults and babies, suddenly had fainting attacks, nausea and other symptoms. The incident remains one of the prime examples of mass hysteria. * West Bank fainting epidemic (1983) – a series of incidents in March 1983 wherein 943
Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
teenage girls, mostly schoolgirls, and a small number of IDF women soldiers fainted or complained of feeling nauseous in the
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
. Israel was accused of using chemical warfare to sterilize West Bank women while IDF sources speculated that a toxic substance had been employed by Palestinian militants to stir up unrest, but investigators concluded that even if some environmental irritant had originally been present, the wave of complaints was ultimately a product of mass hysteria. This conclusion was supported by a Palestinian health official, who said that while 20% of the early cases may have been caused by the inhalation of some kind of gas, the remaining 80% were
psychosomatic Somatic symptom disorder, also known as somatoform disorder or somatization disorder, is chronic somatization. One or more chronic physical symptoms coincide with excessive and maladaptive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors connected to those symp ...
. * Day-care sex-abuse hysteria – a
moral panic A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue", usually perpetuated by moral e ...
that occurred primarily in the 1980s and early 1990s featuring charges against
day-care Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...
providers of several forms of
child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...
, including
Satanic ritual abuse The Satanic panic is a moral panic consisting of over 12,000 unsubstantiated cases of Satanic ritual abuse (SRA, sometimes known as ritual abuse, ritualistic abuse, organized abuse, or sadistic ritual abuse) starting in North America in the 19 ...
. *
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
(1988) – The
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
evacuated 600 men from barracks; 119 were sent to San Diego hospitals with complaints of breathing difficulty. No evidence of toxins, food poisoning, or any other cause was found. * Kosovo student poisoning (1990) – alleged poisoning of thousands of Kosovan young people by toxic gases, was concluded by professor of medicine Zoran Radovanović to be a product of mass hysteria. * Ganesha drinking milk miracle (1995) *
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
(June 1999) –
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
withdrew 30 million units of its soft-drink product from sale after more than a hundred people in Belgium and northern France complained of cramps, nausea and other problems after consuming the soft drinks. Testing found no evidence of tainted product and the incident was reported to be a panic, perhaps fueled by the discovery of dioxins in Belgian meat, which had brought down the national government earlier that year.


2000–present

* Monkey-man of Delhi (2001) – Rumors about a hairy monkey-looking monster attacking people in
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
led to the deaths of several panicked people who fell from roofs or stairwells while fleeing what they thought was the monster. *
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
(2002) – Ten girls developed seizures and other symptoms at a rural North Carolinian high school. Symptoms persisted for five months across various grade levels. Incidents tended to happen outside of class, with half of all incidents estimated to have occurred around lunch hour. Half of the affected were cheerleaders or former cheerleaders. * " Strawberries with Sugar virus" (2006) – In May 2006, an outbreak of the so-dubbed ''Morangos com Açúcar Virus'' ('Strawberries with Sugar virus') was reported in Portuguese schools, named after the popular teen girl's show '' Morangos com Açúcar'' (Strawberries With Sugar'''). At least 300 students at 14 schools reported similar symptoms to those experienced by the characters in a then recent episode where a life-threatening virus affected the school depicted in the show. Symptoms included rashes, difficulty breathing, and dizziness. The belief that there was a medical outbreak forced some schools to temporarily close. The Portuguese National Institute for Medical Emergency eventually dismissed the illness as mass hysteria. *
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
(2006–2007) – Between October 2006 and June 2007, near Chalco, a working-class suburb of Mexico City, mass hysteria resulted in an outbreak of unusual symptoms experienced by more than 500 adolescent female students at Children's Village School (''Villa de las Ninas''), a Catholic boarding-school. The affected students had difficulty walking and were feverish and nauseated, some becoming partially paralyzed. *
Vinton, Virginia Vinton is a town in eastern Roanoke County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,059 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Vinton is part of the Roanoke metropolitan area and the Roanoke Region of Virginia. History By the late 1 ...
(2007) – An outbreak of twitching, headaches and dizziness affected at least nine girls and one teacher at William Byrd High School. The episode lasted for months amid other local public health scares. *Tanzania (2008) – In September 2008, 20 girls at a school in
Tabora Tabora is the capital of Tanzania's Tabora Region and is classified as a municipality by the Tanzanian government. It is also the administrative seat of Tabora Urban District. According to the 2012 census, the district had a population of 226, ...
started fainting while taking their final year exams. The mass fainting according to one medical officer, has been linked to
neurosis Neurosis (: neuroses) is a term mainly used today by followers of Freudian thinking to describe mental disorders caused by past anxiety, often that has been repressed. In recent history, the term has been used to refer to anxiety-related con ...
related to the local practice of
witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...
. *
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
(2009) – Starting around 2009, a spate of apparent poisonings at girls' schools across Afghanistan began to be reported, with symptoms including dizziness, fainting, and vomiting. The
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
,
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
and NATO's
International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...
carried out investigations of the incidents over multiple years, but never found any evidence of toxins or poisoning in the hundreds of blood, urine, and water samples they tested. The conclusion of the investigators was that the girls had a
mass psychogenic illness Mass psychogenic illness (MPI), also called mass sociogenic illness, mass psychogenic disorder, epidemic hysteria or mass hysteria, involves the spread of illness symptoms through a population where there is no infectious agent responsible for c ...
. Despite these findings, Afghan officials often blame the incidents on the
Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
, accusing them of contaminating the school's water supply or using poison gas. *
Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...
(2010) – In April and May 2010, incidents of mass hysteria occurred at two all-girls secondary schools in
Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...
. The most recent notable event happened on the 24 April 2014 in a public secondary school. The phenomenon caused a wave of panic among many parents, educators, and members of the community. Some of the students affected by the phenomenon claimed to have been possessed by spirits, or
jinn Jinn or djinn (), alternatively genies, are supernatural beings in pre-Islamic Arabian religion and Islam. Their existence is generally defined as parallel to humans, as they have free will, are accountable for their deeds, and can be either ...
, displaying histrionic symptoms such as screaming, shaking, fainting, and crying. *
Le Roy, New York Le Roy, or more commonly LeRoy, is a town in Genesee County, New York, United States. The population was 7,662 at the time of the 2020 census. The town is named after one of the original land owners, Herman Le Roy. The town lies in eastern Gen ...
(2011–12) – After 12 high school girls developed Tourette-like symptoms in 2011, their school was tested for toxins, and all other factors for their symptoms were ruled out. The case, and some of the girls and their parents, gained national media attention. In January 2012, several more students and a 36-year-old adult female came forward with similar symptoms. They were all diagnosed with
conversion disorder Conversion disorder (CD) was a formerly diagnosed psychiatric disorder characterized by abnormal sensory experiences and movement problems during periods of high psychological stress. Individuals diagnosed with CD presented with highly distressin ...
. *
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
(2012) – From November 15–20, 2012, incidents of mass hysteria occurred at 15 schools in Sri Lanka. More than 1,900 school children of 15 schools in Sri Lanka and five teachers were treated for a range of symptoms that included skin rashes, vomiting, vertigo, and cough due to allergic reactions believed to be mass hysteria. It originated at the Jinaraja Balika Vidyalaya in
Gampola Gampola (, ) is a town located in Kandy District, in Sri Lanka's Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province. The town is governed by an Urban Council. Gampola was made the capital of the island by King Buwanekabahu IV, who ruled for four year ...
on November 15, 2012, when 1,100 students were admitted to hospital with a range of symptoms that included skin rashes, vomiting,
vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...
and coughing. Later, authorities had to close down the school for 3 days. After that on November 16–19 there were more reports of students from other parts of the country showing similar symptoms. * Charlie Charlie panic (2015) – Four teens in Tunja, Colombia, were hospitalized, and several in the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
were considered "possessed by Satan" after playing the Charlie Charlie Challenge viral game. *
2016 clown sightings The 2016 clown sightings were reports of people disguised as evil clowns in incongruous settings, such as near forests and schools. The incidents were reported in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and subsequently in other ...
– Sightings of people in
evil clown The evil clown is a subversion of the traditional comic clown character, in which the playful trope is instead depicted in a more disturbing nature through the use of Horror (genre), horror elements and dark humor. The modern archetype of the ...
costumes in the United States, Canada, and 18 other countries were dismissed as a case of mass hysteria, stating that a fear of clowns (which is common in children and adults) may be an underlying cause. The website '' Vox'' likewise claimed that "The Great Clown Panic of 2016 has been perpetuated by pretty much everyone except actual clowns." * Recurrent epidemic of mass hysteria in
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
(2016–2018) – A unique phenomenon of “recurrent epidemic of mass hysteria” was reported from a school of
Pyuthan district Pyuthan District ( , is a "hill" district some west of Kathmandu in Lumbini Province in midwestern Nepal. Pyuthan covers an area of with population of 212,484 in 2001 and 226,796 in 2011. Pyuthan Khalanga is the district's administrative c ...
of western
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
in 2018. After a 9-year-old school girl developed crying and shouting episodes, quickly other children of the same school were also affected resulting in 47 affected students (37 females, 10 males) in the same day. Since 2016 similar episodes of mass psychogenic illness has been occurring in the same school every year. In 2016, twelve students were affected and in 2017, a total of 18 students of the same school were affected showing various symptoms in a single day. Hence it was thought to be a unique case of recurrent mass hysteria. *
Havana syndrome Havana syndrome, also known as anomalous health incidents (AHIs), is a disputed medical condition. Starting in 2016, U.S. and Canadian government officials and their families reported symptoms of AHIs in about a dozen overseas locations. Repor ...
(2016-2023) Idiopathic symptoms experienced mostly abroad by U.S. government officials and military personnel, ranging in severity from pain and ringing in the ears to cognitive dysfunction, were first reported in 2016 by U.S. and Canadian embassy staff in Havana, Cuba. Beginning in 2017, more people, including U.S. intelligence and military personnel and their families, reported having these symptoms in places around the world including in Washington, D.C. Many U.S. federal government officials and agencies blamed the reported illnesses on attacks by unidentified foreign agents using unknown weaponry. In March 2023, seven U.S. intelligence agencies completed a review of the proposed cases and reported that "available intelligence consistently points against the involvement of US adversaries in causing the reported incidents" and that a foreign adversary's involvement was "very unlikely". * Emirates Flight 203 (September 2018) – 106 of 521 passengers on a 14-hour flight from Dubai to New York reported symptoms including coughing, sneezing, fever, or vomiting. The pilot notified airport ground staff, and personnel from the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...
met and quarantined the plane in New York and evaluated passengers, 11 of whom were sent to the hospital. A few passengers on the "flight from hell" turned out to have common colds or flu, with the other passengers coming to the belief that they were also sick after observing those around them. *
Ketereh Ketereh is a town and parliamentary constituency in Kelantan. It is located in the southern half of Kota Bharu District, roughly halfway between metropolitan Kota Bharu and Machang, Kelantan, Machang along Malaysia Federal Route 8, Highway 8. Th ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
(2019) – In August 2019, the BBC reported that schoolgirls at the Ketereh national secondary school (SMK Ketereh) in
Kelantan Kelantan (; Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate''; ) is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, includes the royal seat of Kubang Kerian. The honorific, honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' ("The Blissful Abode"). ...
, started screaming, with some claiming to have seen 'a face of pure evil'. Professor
Simon Wessely Sir Simon Charles Wessely (born 23 December 1956) is a British psychiatrist. He is Regius Professor of Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London and head of its department of psychological medicine, vice dean for academi ...
a former president of the
Royal College of Psychiatrists The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, and is responsible for representing psychiatrists, for psychiatric research and for providing public information about mental healt ...
, suggested it was a form of 'collective behaviour'. Robert Bartholomew, a medical sociologist, suggested it was due to the stricter implementation of
Islamic law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...
in the school. The school responded to the outbreak by cutting down the trees around the school, believing they were home to supernatural spirits. * Starehe Girls' Centre,
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
(October 2019) – 52 students were isolated with an unknown disease, showing symptoms of a high-pitched cough, sneezing and low-grade fever, a number that later rose to 68. As the number rose, the school's administration shut the school down and instructed parents to pick up their daughters. Specimens collected from the affected students showed only two cases of rhinovirus, a virus that is the predominant cause of the common cold. After carrying out psychological assessments on the students, a team of mental health specialists dispatched by Kenya's Ministry of Health to the school concluded that the 'mysterious' disease was a case of mass hysteria. * Iranian schoolgirls mass poisoning reports (2022-2023) A series of alleged chemical attacks during which students in dozens of schools in Iran were reportedly poisoned in various and undetermined manners by unidentified perpetrators. These events started in November 2022 and reports of thousands of students being poisoned in ongoing assaults were claimed to have occurred in the following months. Mass psychogenic illness has been identified as a possible cause of the incidents. *School and university shooting threats in Brazil (2023)- after the Blumenau school attack in
Blumenau Blumenau () is a city in Vale do Itajaí, Santa Catarina (Brazil), Santa Catarina state, in the South Region, Brazil, South Region of Brazil, from the state capital Florianópolis. The city was founded by the German chemist and pharmacist H ...
, in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina and the Thomazia Montoro school shooting in
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
, a wave of threats against education centres throughout Brazil occurred, with many schools and universities being closed and students refusing to go to those vicinities or parents not allowing their children to go to school. While some of these threats were real, most of them turned out to be hoaxes motivated by mass hysteria. *Musoli, Kenya (2023) In October of 2023, over 100 students from the St. Theresa’s Eregi Girls’ High School were hospitalized due to rapid and involuntary arm and leg movement, sometimes accompanied by headaches and vertigo. Routine medical tests revealed nothing unusual, and there were no signs of infectious disease as a cause. Ultimately it was decided that the events were caused by “stress due to upcoming exams” and the incident was determined to be an incident of “hysteria”. Due to the determination of collective stress as the cause, medical sociologist Robert Bartholomew favors the neutral term
mass psychogenic illness Mass psychogenic illness (MPI), also called mass sociogenic illness, mass psychogenic disorder, epidemic hysteria or mass hysteria, involves the spread of illness symptoms through a population where there is no infectious agent responsible for c ...
over mass hysteria. This is because people respond more favorably to a diagnosis of stress induced symptoms than to a diagnosis of mass hysteria. Bartholomew notes such outbreaks are not unusual in schools in the developing world. This is particularly true in schools in which discipline is tight and accompanied with cultural strain between administrators and students. An outbreak can be preceded by months of such tension, which then results in physical symptoms such as seen in Musoli. Far from faking it, “Under such prolonged stress, the nerves and neurons that send messages to the brain become disrupted, resulting in an array of neurological symptoms such as twitching, shaking, convulsions, and trance-like states.” Bartholomew further observes that school-stress borne illness such as occurred here have not been uncommon in Africa since the 1960s. Some appear to be due to Christian missionary schools largely ignoring local traditions and mythologies. Instead, such schools impart their own mythologies and culture. This may create overwhelming anxiety due to the students being taught one thing at home, such as ancestor worship, which is then forbidden at a Christian mythology based school. Other such outbreaks have similar tradition based causes, such as a 1995 outbreak of “bouts of screaming, crying, foaming at the mouth, and partial paralysis” in over 600 girls at an African Muslim school in Northern Nigeria. This outbreak was surmised to be due to expectations of traditional arranged marriage, colliding with modernity’s emphasis on romantic love that the students had observed in movies. The difference between these two cases of mass psychogenic illness reinforces that each outbreak needs to be evaluated in the specific circumstances in which it occurred, as such instances are “never spontaneous reactions to stress per se; they are always couched in some unique context.”


See also

* Body-centred countertransference *
Conversion disorder Conversion disorder (CD) was a formerly diagnosed psychiatric disorder characterized by abnormal sensory experiences and movement problems during periods of high psychological stress. Individuals diagnosed with CD presented with highly distressin ...
*
Folie à deux ''Folie à deux'' (), also called shared psychosis Berrios, G. E., and I. S. Marková. 2015. "Shared Pathologies. Pp. 3–15 in ''Troublesome disguises: Managing challenging Disorders in Psychiatry'' (2nd ed.), edited by D. Bhugra and G. Malhi. ...
(from the French for "a madness shared by two") * Hysterical contagion * Psychochemical weaponry


References


Further reading

* Bartholomew, Robert E. (2001). ''Little Green Men, Meowing Nuns and Head-hunting Panics: A Study of Mass Psychogenic Illnesses and Social Delusion''. McFarland. * Bartholomew, Robert E; Evans, Hilary. (2009). ''Outbreak! The Encyclopedia of Extraordinary Social Behavior''. Anomalist Books. * Craft, Amos Norton. (1881)
''Epidemic Delusions: Containing an Exposé of the Superstitions and Frauds which Underlie Some Ancient and Modern Delusions, Including Especial Reference to Modern Spiritualism''
New York: Phillips & Hunt. * Fleischer, Jeff. (2011). ''The Latest Craze: A Short History of Mass Hysterias''. Fall River Press. * Mackay, Charles. (1856 edition). ''
Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobio ...
''. London, New York: G. Routledge and Sons. * Verma, S. K; Srivastava, D. K. (2003)
''A Study on Mass Hysteria (Monkey Men?) Victims In East Delhi''
Indian Journal of Medical Sciences 57: 355–360.


External links



*

Skeptic's Dictionary ''The Skeptic's Dictionary'' is a collection of cross-referenced skeptical essays by Robert Todd Carroll, published on his website skepdic.com and in a printed book. The skepdic.com site was launched in 1994 and the book was published in 2003 ...

Mass Delusions and Hysterias: Highlights from the Past Millennium
Skeptical Inquirer ''Skeptical Inquirer'' (S.I.) is a bimonthly American general-audience magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) with the subtitle "The Magazine for Science and Reason". The magazine initially focused on investigating clai ...
{{Authority control Group processes
mass hysteria Mass psychogenic illness (MPI), also called mass sociogenic illness, mass psychogenic disorder, epidemic hysteria or mass hysteria, involves the spread of illness symptoms through a population where there is no infectious agent responsible for c ...
Hysteria