The Deadly French Dancing Plague of 1518

(KMDL) - We all know that being from Acadiana with French roots, we dance.

It doesn't matter where we are either. We dance at Festivals, in our kitchens, grocery stores...if we hear the right song we don't hold back.

Well, it seems this urge to dance isn't just part of our culture, it's possibly built into our DNA.

As a matter of fact, evidence of this can be traced back to France where back in 1518 an actual plague of dancing swept over a tiny French town where for weeks on end, people danced in the street, uncontrollably.

You see, they couldn't stop dancing. Not because they didn't want to stop. They either physically or psychologically weren't able to stop dancing.

People died because they couldn't...stop...dancing.

Let's dive into the truly bizarre and puzzling French Dancing Plague of 1518.

Wikipedia Via Public Domain

French Dancing Plague Of 1518

In July of 1518 in the city of Strasbourg, now located in modern-day France, something very weird, but very real happened.

A case of dancing mania fell over residents of the town.

Called the dancing plague of 1518, or the dance epidemic of 1518, on July 14 a woman by the name of Frau Troffea began to dance in the street outside of her home.

As far as the research can tell, she wasn't dancing to music, she just "simply began to dance" according to Ned Pennant-Rea via publicdomainreview.org.

As people began to see her oddly dancing in the street to no music, they began to mimic her.

From wikipedia.com -

Troffea kept up the constant dancing for a week. Soon, three dozen others joined in.

This is known and believed by some to be a perfect example of a nocebo effect which can make some feel ill simply by being under the expectation of being ill.

Unsplash Via Ardian Lumi

According to wikipedia, by August, 400 people were caught up in the dancing plague's spell.

The dancers couldn't stop dancing and only stopped in cases of heart attacks, exhaustion, stroke, and death.

Reports state the dancers looked like they having spasms and convulsions while they danced with their arms waving and thrashing about.

Some witnesses claimed the dancer's eyes were vacant, empty, and expressionless.

Many dancers were said to have danced until their swollen feet began to bleed.

From wikipedia.com -

If the victims did not succumb to a heart attack, they would collapse from extreme exhaustion, hunger, and thirst.

There were as many as 15 deaths per day during the outbreak’s peak, but the final number of fatalities is unknown today.

Eventually, by the start of September 1518, the dancing outbreak began to subside.

What Caused The Dancing Plague Of 1518?

Although this case has been studied and investigated for hundreds of years, there's no real explanation as to what caused the dancing plague.

Some researchers believe it could have been caused by food poisoning caused by toxic ergot fungi, known to grow on grains like rye used for baking bread.

Ergot fungi contain psychoactive properties that cause very simular effects to taking LSD.

Others say the dancing plague could have been brought on by a stress-induced mass hysteria.

The mysterious dancing plague of 1518 will probably never be fully explained.

Read more at wikipedia.com and publicdomainreview.org.