Bizarre Cases of Mass Hysteria That Shocked the World

Throughout history, there have been numerous instances of mass hysteria events. These accounts usually involve the rapid spread of illness with no underlying explanation or misinformation causing panic among populations. These events have rippled through communities throughout the centuries, becoming vital parts of history. The term mass hysteria often appears in movies or political rhetoric, but not everyone is clear on the term, so read on below for clarification on the topic and several famous mass hysteria examples.

What Is Mass Hysteria? 

Also known as a mass psychogenic disorder, mass hysteria involves the spread of strange behavior, thoughts, and illness-like symptoms among tight-knit communities or large groups. Unfortunately, there is no clear origin or organic cause for the illness. We do know a catalyst often sets the hysteria in motion among a group that would typically not behave that way. This group usually shares intense and excessive fear of a non-existent threat. 

Mass hysteria is more than just the outbreak of fear or panic though. It’s a mental health issue or conversion disorder that includes physical symptoms caused by emotional and cognitive anxiety. Experts usually group the events into two categories. First, there is mass anxiety hysteria that involves impulsive stress and anxiety over the apparent spread of a supposed illness. The good news is the condition usually resolves itself just as fast as it spreads. The second is mass motor hysteria which appears in groups under immense pressure and stress. They begin showing signs of an illness involving inconsistent motor movement symptoms. Furthermore, the symptoms slowly move throughout the group.

How It Happens

Mass hysteria usually begins when individuals see or hear someone else displaying the symptoms and then begin to experience the same symptoms themselves. For instance, the news and social media sometimes cause mass hysteria by discussing an event like a disease. Hearing or seeing someone discuss the threat could cause others to experience the condition. People start to panic and the fear of the illness spreads further as people start to act irrationally. 

Signs and Symptoms

While mass hysteria illness isn’t real, the symptoms are genuine to the person experiencing them. Individuals with mass anxiety hysteria often experience fainting, dizziness, and chest pains. Mass motor hysteria also involves uncontrollable laughter or crying, paralysis, shaking, and twitching. 

In some cases, mass hysteria is a response to a sudden event or an ongoing stressor. A pandemic or public health risk often leads to mass hysteria, as we saw with the COVID-19 pandemic. Communities suffering from a disaster or trauma usually begin showing signs of the condition. Isolated religious communities or strict school environments also tend to trigger mass hysteria.

As noted, numerous mass hysteria events have occurred throughout history. They stretch as far back as the Middle Ages and continue to happen in the present day. Some of history’s most infamous moments revolve around mass hysteria events. While each case is its own distinct event, they share similarities. These events quickly spread and sometimes led to far more significant consequences. Humans tend to get caught up in mass hysteria and find themselves on the wrong or bizarre side of history. Let’s venture through time to get a closer look and better understand these famous mass hysteria events. 

Mass Hysteria Examples: 11 Bizzare Cases 

1. Salem Witch Trials

The Salem witch trials are one of the most infamous cases of mass hysteria in North America. It has its roots in the witchcraft hysteria that swept Europe between the 1400s and early 1700s. It gained momentum in the United States as it died down in Europe. The panic spread rapidly throughout present-day Danvers, Massachusetts, formally Salem.

The deadly witch hunt started in 1692 when 11-year-old Abigail Williams and her cousin, nine-year-old Betty Parris, began acting strangely. According to witnesses, the girls made bizarre sounds, crawled under furniture, screamed, threw objects, and twisted their bodies into odd positions. Soon the illness spread to other girls who accused several women of witchcraft. Their accusations triggered a deadly witch hunt resulting in the Salem witch trials. Between 1692 and 1693, primarily teenage girls, made over 200 allegations of witchcraft, resulting in thirty guilty verdicts.

19 executions by hanging took place, with others dying in prison. The majority of those accused and executed were women considered outcasts. It remains the most notorious case of mass hysteria in America. 

2. Pokémon Panic

Since debuting in the 90s, Pokemon has quickly become a cultural phenomenon that’s spread across the globe. It’s easily one of the most influential series of all time but it almost ended after the series’ first season due to a mass hysteria known as the Pokémon panic. 

The season one episode, “Dennō Senshi Porygon,” aired once on December 16, 1997. The episode features a scene involving strobe lights, causing photosensitive epileptic seizures in many children who were watching at the time. Roughly 700 children were reported to have been hospitalized. The majority of kids suffered nausea, blurred vision, headaches, and dizziness. Others experienced convulsions, blindness, and unconsciousness.

Experts noted that about 10% of the children suffered mild symptoms, while many others experienced similar symptoms to a handful of kids with seizures due to the mass hysteria that the media drummed up. The network pulled the episode from rotation and has not aired it since. 

3. Le Roy High School Panic

Mass hysteria isn’t something of the past. Cases of mass hysteria still occur throughout the world today. In 2011, the town of Le Roy, New York, experienced a mass hysteria event that gained national attention. In August of that year, 14 LeRoy Junior-Senior High School students displayed odd physical symptoms such as seizures, tics, difficulty speaking, and verbal outbursts. The mysterious illness quickly became a significant story in the news and on social media.

The New York State Department of Health couldn’t determine the disease and ruled out environmental causes. Later, several of the teens and their parents appeared on The Today Show demanding answers. Doctors finally revealed the diagnosis as mass hysteria, which many parents had difficulty accepting. Doctors diagnosed one girl with Tourette’s while the others had conversion disorder. Further investigations revealed social media helped spread the illness. 

4. The Dancing Plague of 1518

In July 1518, a woman began dancing in the streets of present-day France. Suddenly, people began to mimic her and started dancing as well. Soon the dancing plague of 1518 spread across The Holy Roman Empire. Nowadays it just sounds like a good party but in the early 1500s, the reaction was quite different. Most people assumed the dancers were victims of demonic possession or food poisoning.

A 15th-century incident involved a tarantula bite’s poison causing a woman to dance uncontrollably. Of course, the reports vary about the number of inflicted, ranging from 50 to 200. Despite rumors claiming the contrary, there appear to be no deaths related to the incident. Experts speculate the event was an early case of mass hysteria that spread quickly but died down by September of that year. 

5. 2016 Clown Panic 

The 2016 clown panic revolves around a series of clown sightings in wooded areas near schools. Since numerous individuals suffer from clown phobia, the sightings quickly spread, resulting in one death. Clown sightings date back to the early 90s but picked up momentum in 2016. The first sighting in 2016 took place in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Filmmakers later admitted it was a marketing ploy for an upcoming horror movie, Gags. Regardless, the clown sightings went viral catching the attention of Fox News. Soon the clown sightings became a case of mass hysteria in America and Canada. In Pennsylvania, a 16-year-old boy died after an incident with a person wearing a clown mask.

The circus and clown businesses both took a significant hit during this time. Mcdonald’s iconic mascot Ronald McDonald kept a low profile until the hysteria died down. Expert sociologist Richard Bartholomew linked the incident to mass hysteria. 

6. Meowoing Nuns Panic

Strict schools or religious environments often see a rise in mass hysteria. In the 15th century, it was common for parents to force their daughters to become nuns in European convents. They had to follow strict rules, including living a life of purity. The strict confines resulted in a strange illness that spread throughout convents. It all started when a French nun began meowing like a cat in 1491.

Soon other nuns in the French convent followed her lead and began meowing. The odd behavior alarmed locals, who could hear the sisters meowing all day. It even reached the point where soldiers got involved. The illness reached other convents, with some nuns meowing like a cat while others barked like a dog or sang like a bird. Eventually, authorities threatened the nuns with violence unless they stopped imitating cats. At the time, most experts assumed it was a demonic possession, however, it was more likely an example of mass hysteria in the Middle Ages.

7. Strawberries With Sugar Virus 

Television shows and movies can sometimes play a role in causing mass hysteria events. In 2003, the Portuguese teen soap opera, Morangos com Acúcar (Strawberries with Sugar) aired an episode that revolved around a mysterious disease that inflicted the main characters at their school. Teens that viewed the series began displaying the same symptoms a few days later.

By 2006, the illness known as the “Strawberries with Sugar” virus exploded throughout numerous schools, with teens all showing the same symptoms seen in the series, including intense dizziness, difficulty breathing, and rashes. It spread among kids in several different schools, inflicting roughly 300 students. The panic spread just as fast, resulting in schools closing down temporarily.

Medical professionals, such as the Portuguese National Institute for Medical Emergency, declared the incident a case of mass hysteria rather than an epidemic and noted that a few kids suffered from allergies while the rest had conversion disorders. 

8. The Mad Gasser of Mattoon 

In the mid-1940s, the Mad Gasser terrorized the residents of Mattoon, Illinois. Several residents reported waking up to an odd odor that caused vomiting, coughing, nausea, and paralysis. Also known as the Phantom Anesthetist, the only description came from Mr. and Mrs. Kearney. They described the assailant as a tall, skinny man with a tight-fitting cap. One description even implied the intruder was a woman. Later reports included the man being armed with an agricultural tool for spraying pesticides called a flit gun.

Thankfully the medical issues suffered by the victims cleared up just as fast as they spread. Although the investigation failed to turn up any leads, most medical experts speculated it was a case of mass hysteria. They believe the odor came from nearby factories resulting in residents suffering a mass psychogenic disorder, believing they had been poisoned by the mysterious Phantom Anesthetist.

9. Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic 

In the early 1960s, Tanganyika gained its independence from the United Kingdom. The entire country felt immense pressure to succeed as a nation, notably the school children who were the country’s future. This led to a mass psychogenic illness spreading among kids nationwide in 1962. Known as the Tanganyika laughter epidemic, it began in Kashasha school when three girls began laughing uncontrollably. In addition to giggling, they also experienced respiratory problems, rashes, and non-stop crying.

It quickly spread throughout the school and other villages, affecting kids 12 to 18. Schools eventually had to close down since the kids couldn’t concentrate. Parents even sued the school for letting the illness spread. Roughly 18 months later, the phenomenon died down.

Experts speculate that children felt pressure from parents and teachers to reach high expectations due to the country gaining independence. The stress resulted in mass hysteria, with expert Robert Bartholomew suggesting the strict traditional values taught at home and the new ideas at school were the reason behind this unusual mass hysteria event. 

10. Screaming Nuns

Centuries after the meowing nun incident, a nunnery in Wurzburg, Germany, experienced a similar situation. In 1749, Sister Cecilia suddenly began screaming one day. Soon, the screaming illness spread throughout the covenant. In addition to screaming, the nuns also entered a trance and foamed at the mouth. At the time, most people assumed it was a demonic possession, with the blame leveled at sub-prioress Sister Maria Renata.

Authorities forced her to admit to using witchcraft on the screaming nuns. Her confession and execution caused considerable controversy in Germany. Experts assumed the nuns suffered a mass psychogenic illness due to the strict nature of the convent. It’s one of the most notorious cases of mass hysteria regarding witchcraft.

11. Hollinwell Incident 

On July 13, 1980, in Nottinghamshire, England, the Forest League Juvenile Jazz Bands held the Junior Brass and Marching Band competition. The event included bands and children from all over the country, totaling 500 people. The kids had a long journey, many coming in by bus for an early start of 9:00 am. However, at 10:30 am, the kids began fainting until each one had passed out.

Known as the Hollinwell incident, there appeared to be no explanation for the sudden event. Several kids suffered from vomiting, dizziness, and sore throats. Roughly 300 kids went to the hospital displaying various symptoms. Investigators considered many causes, including crop spraying, tainted water, and food poisoning. Eventually, authorities concluded that it was a mass hysteria event. They theorized that several kids were exhausted from the journey and nervous and the symptoms they showed soon spread to other children. 

How To Treat It

There’s no specific medication or treatment to deal with mass hysteria, however, there are ways to manage and deal with the issues. First and foremost, talking to a therapist is the best approach to take. They won’t tell you that you made everything up and will work to ensure a speedy recovery. Lastly, avoid social media and the news during times of crisis. as this is often how mass hysteria starts.