The Dancing Plague of 1518: Strasbourg’s Mass Hysteria

In the summer of 1518, a woman named Frau Troffea stepped into the streets of Strasbourg and began to dance. She didn't stop for days. Within weeks, dozens of others had joined her — and the city of Strasbourg found itself in the grip of one of the strangest, most inexplicable events in recorded history.

Host Shawn Spainhour guides you through the full story: the medieval world of famine, plague, and religious terror that made this outbreak possible; how city officials and physicians tried — and failed — to stop it; and the leading theories historians still debate today, from ergotism to mass psychogenic illness.

Strange Epochs tells true stories from history's stranger corners. Each episode is written for deep listening — slow, atmospheric, and immersive. Whether you're behind the wheel, unwinding after a long day, or settling in for sleep, this show is built to pull you in and carry you somewhere else.

Sources are listed below and in the show notes:

• Waller, John. A Time to Dance, A Time to Die: The Extraordinary Story of the Dancing Plague of 1518. Icon Books, 2008.

• Bartholomew, Robert E. Little Green Men, Meowing Nuns and Head-Hunting Panics: A Study of Mass Psychogenic Illness and Social Delusion. McFarland, 2001.

• Strasbourg City Council Records, July through September 1518. Archives de la Ville et de la Communauté Urbaine de Strasbourg.

• Bock, Hieronymus. Contemporary chronicle account of the dancing plague, circa 1518.

• Agrippa, Heinrich Cornelius. Contemporary account of the Strasbourg outbreak, circa 1518.

• Waller, John. “A Forgotten Plague: Making Sense of Dancing Mania.” The Lancet, Vol. 373, 2009.

• Bartholomew, Robert E., and Wessely, Simon. “Protean Nature of Mass Sociogenic Illness.” The British Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 180, 2002.