You may be familiar with the Black Death, the terrible plague that gripped much of Europe for years starting in 1346 and caused an insane amount of deaths.
But did you know that in 1518 there was a very different kind of plague that occurred in Strasbourg, France.
Known as the Dancing Plague, it tracks back to a woman named Frau Troffea, who was the center of this plaque.
The Beginning
It was a sunny July afternoon when the town’s inhabitants spotted Mrs. Troffea dancing by herself in the street.
This was unusual but not alarming at first. I mean, what could be more harmless than dancing right?
In-fact, dancing is probably the most enjoyable activity you can do with your body. Except, Mrs. Troffea didn’t look like she was enjoying herself.
She looked panicked, her face was contorted and her eyes were drawn toward the sky as if she was in a trance.
This was weird, but still, nothing to worry about… until other people started joining her.
Men and women gathered around her, dancing for hours without stopping, and by the end of the week, there was a crowd of 30.
By the time a month had passed, there were 400.
The manic dancing continued for days until people started dying of exhaustion. The city’s authorities weren’t much help.
The Bizarre Solution
For some inconceivably stupid reason, they thought that the cure for the dancing was ‘more’ dancing.
They believed that the citizens would be cured of their mania if they were allowed to dance day at night.
I guess maybe they felt like it was something people had to sweat out of their system.
The authorities went as far as building a stage and hiring musicians and professional dancers to accompany the crowd.
The dancing didn’t stop until September. The last remaining dancers were carried away in wagons and the whole epidemic ended as mysteriously as it began.
I know what you’re thinking – there’s no way that this actually happened.
But believe it or not, it wasn’t the first time this sort of thing occurred and the 1518 case is actually pretty well documented.
Theories
One theory is that the dancers had been accidentally poisoned with ergot, a type of fungus that grows on rye that can cause seizures, spasms, mania, and psychosis when ingested.
This was probably not the case though, because ergotism causes gangrene as it cuts off blood supply to the extremities.
It would have been pretty hard for them to keep dancing if they were unable to move their feet.
The dancing plague was probably caused by mass hysteria, a phenomenon that transmits collective illusions as a result of rumours and fear.
These were very superstitious times, but more importantly, the poor residents of Strasbourg were often sick and starving.
When people are distressed and desperate, they can do some pretty crazy things.
Especially if they believe in things like demonic possession and worship a guy named St. Vitus who was said to have the power to make people dance compulsively.
Think about stuff like faith healing and suicide cults. People can do some unbelievable things when they’re in a highly suggestible state.
