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July 18th, 1518. It was another typical hot July day in the Holy Roman Empire city of Strasbourg, Alsace (now modern-day France). Typical, except for the fact that the townsfolk spontaneously started to dance. Hundreds joined in the dancing. They danced through the day and through the night. They danced without food or sleep. Many danced until they dropped dead of sheer exhaustion and fatigue. The dancing would go on for another two months, becoming one of the strangest medical mysteries in recorded history. This was the Dancing Plague of 1518.
15th century Strasbourg, Alsace (France)
Engraving of Hendrik Hondius portraying three women affected by the dancing plague
Ergot on wheat head
Further Info:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_plague_of_1518
- https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/jul/05/bizarre-dance-epidemic-of-summer-1518-strasbourg
- https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20161028-the-town-the-nearly-danced-itself-to-death
- https://www.history.com/news/what-was-the-dancing-plague-of-1518
- https://interestingengineering.com/the-dancing-plague-has-got-to-be-the-weirdest-outbreak-ever-experienced
- http://www.openculture.com/2019/01/the-dancing-plague-of-1518.html
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/strange-case-dancing-mania-struck-germany-six-centuries-ago-today-180959549/
Music Credits:
- “Danse Macabre, Op. 40” – tone poem by Camille Saint-Saëns, 1874, performed by: National Philharmonic Orchestra, (conductor: Leopold Stokowski)
- “Thriller” (instrumental track) – Michael Jackson, 1984 (from the Album Thriller)
- “Chicken Dance” – Werner Thomas, 1950’s (derived from the Swiss song, “Der Ententanz” (The Duck Dance))
- “Grim Grinning Ghosts (The Screaming Song)” (ballroom waltz portion) – Buddy Baker, 1960’s (theme song for The Haunted Mansion attractions at Disney theme parks)
- All other music from the YouTube Audio Library and the Immortal Soles Podcast
