The Dancing Plague of 1518

A mysterious affliction infected the residents of the town of Strasbourg, Alsace, causing residents to take to the streets dancing, sometimes until they dropped dead.

What was the cause of this strange phenomenon? And where else has it happened in history and does it still happen today?

References

Andrews, Evan (March 25, 2015). “What was the dancing plague of 1518?,” History.com, https://www.history.com/news/what-was-the-dancing-plague-of-1518

Archivists (no date). “BLM 8.5.1b Timeline of Events c. 1400 to 1850.doc,” Manitoba Government Education Site, https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/foundation_gr8/blms/8-5-1b.pdf

Dunning, Brian (Oct. 23, 2012). “Student Questions: Dancing Plague and the Cinnamon Challenge,” Skeptoid podcast, https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4333

Secmezsoy-Urquhart, Jessica (Nov. 6, 2017). “Unbelievable History: The 1518 Dance Plague,” Medium.com, https://medium.com/@jessicasecmezsoyurquhart/unbelievable-history-the-1518-dance-plague-3aaef198eddb

Waller, John (Sept. 1, 2009). “The Dancing Plague: The Strange, True Story of an Extraordinary Illness,” Sourcebooks.

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Miller, Lynneth J. (November 2011). “Divine Punishment or Disease? Medieval and Early Modern Approaches to the 1518 Strasbourg Dancing Plague,” Edinburgh University Press, https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/drs.2017.0199

Editors (Nov. 29, 2021 – last edited). “Sweating sickness,” Wikipedia.org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweating_sickness

Fessenden, Marissa (June 24, 2016). “A Strange Case of Dancing Mania Struck Germany Six Centuries Ago Today,”Smithsonian Magazine, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/strange-case-dancing-mania-struck-germany-six-centuries-ago-today-180959549/

Lohnes, Kate (no date). “How Rye Bread May Have Caused the Salem Witch Trials,” Britannica.com, https://www.britannica.com/story/how-rye-bread-may-have-caused-the-salem-witch-trials

Soth, Amelia (Jan. 10, 2019). “When Dancing Plagues Struck Medieval Europe,” Jstor Daily, https://daily.jstor.org/when-dancing-plagues-struck-medieval-europe/

Saint-Louis, Lauren (May 7, 2013). “La Tarantella Italiana,” History and Development of Dance/Brockport, “https://dancehistorydevelopment.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/la-tarantella-italiana/

Editors (Nov. 6, 2021 – last edited). “Tarantism,” Wikipedia.org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantism

No author (June 24, 2020). “June 24, 1374: The Dancing Plague Strikes Europe,” Knappily.com, https://knappily.com/onthisday/june-24-1374-the-dancing-plague-strikes-aachen-345

Major Dan (June 24, 2016). “June 24, 1374: Aachen Outbreak of St. John’s Dance, or When Citizens Go Bonkers!,” History & Headlines, https://www.historyandheadlines.com/june-24-1374-aachen-outbreak-st-johns-dance-citizens-go-bonkers/

Kadushin, Raphael (Sept. 3, 2020). “The grim truth behind the Pied Piper,” BBC, https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200902-the-grim-truth-behind-the-pied-piper

Editors (Dec. 22, 2021 – last edited). “List of mass hysteria cases,” Wikipedia.org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_hysteria_cases#1500%E2%88%921800

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