About this episode

The episode explores the bizarre and tragic events of the Dancing Plague of 1518 in Strasbourg, questioning the nature of the epidemic.

In the summer of 1518, the people of Strasbourg watched in horror as a woman stepped into the street and began to dance. She didn't stop for days. Then dozens joined her. Then hundreds. Men, women, and children danced until their feet bled, their bodies collapsed, and some died from exhaustion. The city responded by building stages, hiring musicians, and forcing the victims to dance even more—turning a public health crisis into one of history's most surreal disasters. Tonight, we unravel the mystery of the Dancing Plague of 1518 and ask the unsettling question: what if the deadliest epidemic wasn't a disease of the body, but of the mind?

People in this episode

Host: Bloody FM

Topics covered

• Dancing Plague
• public health crisis
• historical events
• epidemics
• mental health
• surreal disasters

Keywords

• Dancing Plague
• 1518
• Strasbourg
• epidemic
• public health
• history
• surreal
• mental health

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Strasbourg

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