The Dancing Plague of 1518

 

The Dancing Plague of 1518: When Hundreds Danced

Themselves to Death

In 1518, the city of Strasbourg experienced one of the most mysterious and bizarre medical events in history, known as the Dancing Plague. For weeks, hundreds of people were caught in an uncontrollable, trance-like dance, unable to stop even as exhaustion and death overtook them. The strange phenomenon remains one of the most puzzling mass hysteria events ever recorded.

The outbreak began in July 1518, when a woman named Frau Troffea stepped into the street and began dancing with no apparent reason. She moved with relentless energy, continuing for hours without pause. Over the next few days, others began to join her, seemingly unable to resist the compulsion to dance.

 Within a week, dozens of people were involved, and within a month, the number had grown to over 400 men, women, and children, all caught in an unrelenting, involuntary dance. Physicians at the time believed the afflicted suffered from "hot blood," a medical imbalance that, they assumed, could be cured by allowing the dancing to continue until the fever burned itself out. To this end, city officials arranged for musicians and built a stage to provide a space for the dancers, believing that organized movement would hasten their recovery. Instead, the outbreak worsened, and the dance turned deadly.

Many of the afflicted danced for days without stopping, collapsing from exhaustion, suffering strokes, heart attacks, or fatal injuries. Their bodies, pushed beyond physical limits, simply gave out, yet new dancers kept emerging. The authorities soon realized that their solution had only intensified the crisis, but by then, it was too late to reverse course. The event lasted for over a month, leaving many dead and hundreds more physically broken and psychologically shattered.

The true cause of the Dancing Plague of 1518 remains unknown. Some historians and scientists believe it was caused by mass hysteria, triggered by extreme stress, disease, or famine, leading to a collective psychological breakdown.

Others suggest the possibility of ergot poisoning, caused by a hallucinogenic mold that grows on damp rye, which can produce LSD-like effects, including convulsions and hallucinations. Some theories propose that it was a form of religious or social mania, possibly influenced by medieval fears of divine punishment or supernatural forces.

While similar outbreaks of uncontrollable dancing were recorded in Europe during the Middle Ages, none were as large or as deadly as the one in Strasbourg. The Dancing Plague of 1518 remains one of history's greatest medical and psychological mysteries, a chilling reminder of how human behavior can be affected by external stressors in ways that defy explanation.