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When Netflix premiered the 2018 thriller *Bird Box*, viewers were left pondering the nature of the “monster” that pushed people to commit suicide. One popular theory circulating online suggests that the monster symbolized “mass hysterical contagion,” now known as mass psychogenic illness (MPI), where an individual’s psychogenic disorder spreads to a much larger group.
Typically, women and girls are more prone to MPI than men, as they are more susceptible to being triggered by someone else affected by it. Contrary to what the film implies, there have been no reported fatalities from these symptoms, which include hyperventilation, dizziness, panic, fainting, abdominal discomfort, nausea, headaches, weakness, and itching.
The following real-life incidents of *mass hysterical contagion* dissipated almost as quickly as they began. However, those who experienced them will never forget the terror and unsettling nature of such an outbreak.
10. The Twitching Teenagers
In October 2011, Thera Sanchez, the cheerleading captain, woke up from a nap only to find herself uncontrollably twitching and jerking. Two weeks later, Lydia Parker, a senior at the same school, began involuntarily humming and swinging her arms. Soon, the number of affected individuals at Le Roy Junior/Senior High School near Buffalo, New York, grew from two to twenty, most of whom were teenage girls.
Parents grew increasingly worried that the tics might be linked to the school’s water supply or possible contamination of the playing fields. However, leading environmental experts in the country confirmed that there was nothing in the environment that could explain these symptoms.
Dr. Laszlo Mechtler, who treated 15 patients at the Dent Neurologic Institute, stated that the symptoms were aggravated by social media and media coverage. He noted, 'One thing we’ve learned is how social media and mainstream media can worsen the symptoms. The mass hysteria was really fueled by the national media, social media—all this promoted the worsening of symptoms by putting these people at the national forefront.' By the end of the school year, most of the affected teenage girls had recovered.
9. June Bug
In June 1962, 62 workers at a dressmaking textile mill in South Carolina began experiencing symptoms like nausea, dizziness, and skin rashes. The workers believed the outbreak was caused by bug bites after receiving a new fabric shipment.
An investigation by the US Public Health Service concluded that there was no credible evidence linking the contagion to an insect. Instead, it was determined that the poor working conditions in the 1960s contributed to the spread of stress both physically and mentally among coworkers. Additionally, the “June Bug” phenomenon could have been misdiagnosed by untrained medical staff unfamiliar with such symptoms.
The June Bug outbreak could also be interpreted as a case of social contagion, where tightly-knit groups of people are affected in the same manner. The majority of the workers were women, who were often the primary breadwinners for their families, leading them to spend long hours together.
8. Tarantism
Between the 15th and 17th centuries in Italy, tarantism was a form of hysteria believed to result from a bite by a tarantula. The term is derived from the town of Taranto, Italy. Those who believed they had been bitten would exhibit heightened excitement and restlessness, often breaking into frenzied dancing, which they believed would cure them.
In 1693, a doctor in Naples purposely subjected himself to two tarantula bites to disprove that they would cause the typical symptoms of tarantism. In front of six witnesses, he showed no physical changes.
Tarantism gave rise to the lively tarantella dance, where couples dance quickly and flirtatiously with each other. Composers such as Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt, and Carl Maria von Weber all composed music for the tarantella.
7. Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic
In 1962, the country of Tanzania, then known as Tanganyika, experienced a laughter epidemic that began at a girls' school and quickly spread to nearby communities. Over 1,000 people were affected by uncontrollable laughter that lasted for months. Other symptoms included hysterical crying, erratic running, and violent outbursts, lasting anywhere from a few hours to more than two weeks. As a result, fourteen schools were closed down.
It is believed that the epidemic was sparked when one schoolgirl, suffering from anxiety-induced laughter, set off other girls, triggering a chain reaction across the region. Researcher Christian Hempelmann stated, 'We build up some magical psychic pressure, and laughter lets us release it. Statistically in this case, this did not release anything. These people were suffering, expressing their suffering through that. Nothing got better because they laughed.'
6. False Anthrax Alarms
On October 5, 2001, a letter testing positive for anthrax caused the death of Bob Stevens, the picture editor at the Sun newspaper, sparking widespread panic. The antibiotic Cipro, used to treat anthrax, became one of the fastest-selling drugs in the market. In Dallas, an airplane was forced into an emergency landing after potato chips crushed into the carpet were mistaken for anthrax. In England, Canterbury Cathedral and the London Stock Exchange were evacuated due to false alarms. In the same month as the fatal anthrax case, four letters tested positive for anthrax in U.S. mail, while more than 3,000 false alarms and hoaxes were reported.
In October, newspapers reported significant spikes in sales as people desperately sought more information, while the media faced criticism for sensationalizing the anthrax threats. Steve Caprus, executive producer of *NBC Nightly News*, pointed out that journalists must 'deal with facts—not hyping or being overly dramatic.' Over the following months, five individuals died from inhaling anthrax, and 17 others were infected after exposure.
5. St. John’s Dance
In 1374, an outbreak of uncontrollable dancing spread through the streets of Aachen, Germany, a phenomenon that still baffles experts today. This writhing movement, often called “St. John’s Dance,” caused those afflicted to dance tirelessly until they collapsed from exhaustion.
In his 1888 work *The Black Death and The Dancing Mania*, Justus Friedrich Karl Hecker wrote:
*They formed circles, hand in hand, and, seemingly having lost all control over their senses, continued dancing for hours in wild delirium, ignoring onlookers, until they finally collapsed from exhaustion. They would then report feeling intense oppression, groaning as if in the throes of death, until they were wrapped in tightly bound cloths around their waists. Once they recovered, they were free of symptoms until the next episode.*
4. Elsa Perea Flores School
Elsa Perea Flores School in Tarapoto, Peru, became the site of a hysteria outbreak in 2016, affecting nearly 100 students, aged 11 to 14. The children reported seeing disturbing visions of a man in black trying to harm them, and many suffered seizures. The symptoms included fainting, muscle convulsions, delirium, and repeated screams.
One student shared her experience, saying, “It’s disturbing to think about. It felt like someone was chasing me from behind. It was a tall man, dressed in black with a large beard, and it felt like he was trying to strangle me.” Another student added, “Several children from different classrooms fainted at once. I felt nauseous and began vomiting. I heard voices. A man in black chased me and tried to touch me.” Locals attributed the hysteria to *demonic possession* and claimed the children must have used an Ouija board before the episodes began.
3. Coca-Cola Scare
In June 1999, Coca-Cola recalled 30 million cans and bottles from store shelves in Belgium after over 100 people reported falling ill. The public was alarmed as many, including children, suddenly experienced symptoms such as “stomach cramps, nausea, headaches, and palpitations” after drinking the product. The Belgian government launched an investigation as citizens raised concerns about airborne toxins. However, four members of Belgium's Health Council concluded the incident was likely a case of mass hysteria.
In a public statement, the Health Council remarked, “It is probably significant that a company with such high visibility and symbolic status was involved in this case. The media played a major role, and the magnitude of the outbreak was likely amplified by the extreme actions taken by health authorities, combined with poor communication from the Coca-Cola company.” The company quickly recovered from the scare, and its sales rebounded within weeks.
2. Resignation Syndrome
A mysterious condition observed in Sweden has been referred to as 'resignation syndrome.' Children of asylum-seekers would completely shut down, unable to open their eyes, speak, or even walk. Though the children eventually recovered, the illness perplexed medical experts for over two decades. Dr. Elisabeth Hultcrantz, a volunteer with Doctors of the World, explained, “When I tell the parents what has happened, I say that the world has been so harsh that [their child] has withdrawn inwardly and disconnected the conscious part of her brain.”
Resignation syndrome was first reported in the 1990s. Between 2003 and 2005, more than 400 cases were recorded. Karl Sallin, a pediatrician at Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital, stated, “To our knowledge, no cases have been found outside of Sweden.” More recently, in 2016, Sweden’s National Board of Health reported a decline in cases, with only 169 cases that year.
1. Blackburn Fainting Frenzy
In the summer of 1965, more than 300 people in Blackburn, England, inexplicably fainted without any prior warning signs. Princess Margaret was scheduled to visit the recently renovated Blackburn Cathedral, and a massive crowd gathered in anticipation of her arrival. But as they waited, individuals started collapsing one after another. Ambulance personnel who responded to the incident suggested that the fainting episodes were likely caused by standing in the sweltering heat of the sun.
The very next day, 98 students at St. Hilda’s Girls’ School also began to faint without any clear cause. They were quickly rushed to the hospital, where hallways were lined with mattresses to accommodate the influx of patients. One ambulance driver recalled, “As soon as we took the students away, more cases from classrooms in other parts of the school kept arriving.”
A year later, a report published in the British Medical Journal by a pediatrician and a psychologist from London concluded that the events were a case of mass hysteria, or, as it was described, an 'epidemic of over-breathing.'
