Topic: The “Dancing Plague” of 1518
Dance Until You Drop: The Bizarre Mystery of 1518
History is filled with plagues of disease, but in the summer of 1518, the city of Strasbourg struck a very different kind of epidemic: the uncontrollable urge to dance.
It began in July when a woman named Frau Troffea stepped into a narrow street and began to twist, twirl, and shake. She wasn’t performing; she was compelled. She danced for days without rest. Within a week, more than 30 people had joined her. By August, the crowd of manic dancers had swelled to nearly 400.
This was no festival. The dancers were terrified, screaming in pain as their feet bled, yet they could not stop. The local physicians, baffled by the phenomenon, diagnosed the problem as “hot blood.” In a disastrous attempt to cure them, authorities decided the victims simply needed to dance the fever away. They built a wooden stage and even hired professional musicians to keep the beat.
The plan backfired. Encouraged by the music, the dancers pushed themselves beyond human limits. Dozens collapsed and died from exhaustion, strokes, and heart attacks.
Modern historians generally attribute this tragedy to mass psychogenic illness (formerly known as mass hysteria). Strasbourg was suffering from severe famine and disease at the time; the extreme psychological stress likely triggered a trance state among the highly superstitious population. Others suggest ergotism, a toxic mold found on rye bread that can cause hallucinations and spasms.
Regardless of the cause, the Dancing Plague of 1518 remains a chilling reminder of the powerful, and sometimes dangerous, connection between the human mind and the body.
