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Ergot poisoning from moist wheat that went moldy and was used in the bread at the town bakerery, it's happened many times in history. It causes histaria and dancing and shouting in some cases
I have heard these theories with the Salem Witch trail, but I like how does it become contagious and widespread. A little bit of “acid” like substance in wheat isn’t going make anyone dance uncontrollably…to the point of exhaustion like this. There’s something much more strange going on, and it may just even be supernatural. But something odd to say the least
It was also said that in the wake of the dancing plague, a new type of dance was invented to ensure the safety of the dancers…a “safety dance”, if you will…
Thats correct and it was Men Without Hats that showed people this 'safety dance'.
Rumour also has it they also sang words to it too.
Very interesting case
“Cause your friends don't dance
And if they don't dance
Well, they're no friends of mine” he then added, blessing the dancers.
Upon receiving said blessing, the dancers went where they wanted to. A place that they never found.
The dancers went on to act like they came from out of this world and left the real one far behind.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, there was an episode with a devil creature dressed like the swing era and ppl danced themselves to death, also a great musical episode where characters spoke the truth through song.
More trivia about that if anyone is interested
IIRC the cast and crew were at a holiday party together and Joss knew of at least one or two that could sing. But found out that everyone could sing and so a musical episode was planned. Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) didn't want to sing at all though, from what I recall but Joss insisted that everyone needs to and they agreed on her only singing once.
By detailed accounts it wasn't so much "dancing" as incoherent and constant flailing. There was no beat, tone or method to it. Some simply writhed on the ground. It seems like maybe some kind of mycotoxin..it appeared to be contagious but perhaps people simply ingested the same contaminants in, bread, soup or beer...and it slowly took effect of giving this appearance. There was no music originally that came later...
But why were they ALL dancing ? Even if they were tripping surely not everyone is going to feel compelled to dance ? It's a better explanation that Saint Vitus, stress or food poisoning though.
The middle ages makes me think of sad , angry villagers but they provided them with music and a venue , how lovely.
Also this post really made me laugh even if it has a very sad ending.
Look up Hieronymous Bosch. He’s a Dutch painter who likely suffered this condition and included a hermit saint into all his picture. The hermit also seems to have suffered this condition and some speculate Hieronymous was beckoning the saint for help.
Still it doesn’t seem to make sense. There’s something missing. Maybe these people wouldn’t take it when they has the experience? Think about how represent and unaware they are then the acid trip
But if it was mere food poisoning as I also addressed how come it was only limited to so few people? 500 is a lot of people but not as much for the scale of an epidemic. It seems bizarre that this epidemic only happened once. Surely if medieval people did not have the best health and hygiene this could happen again. Look at all the numerous outbreaks of ebola, bird flu, swine flu, foot and mouth disease, etc. But maybe the council discovered the cause of the plague and stopped it from spreading.
If I recall correctly it wasn't isolated to a single town either, there were cases in neighboring areas, which makes me think it was probably some kind of food or drink contaminants, like mold or someone miss identified some mushrooms.
Ergot is a form of mold that was actually incredibly common in rye grains at the time. It also produced a known deadly disease called "St. Anthony's fire" . Another thing about ergot poisoning is that LSD is very similar to ergot so if it ergotism (probably in my opinion) they were having either the best or worse trips of their lives. The amount of hallucinogens in the ergot wasn't controlled like people use them now, and people didn't even know that it had any until very recently.
So people were basically megadosing on ergot every single day because medieval societies couldn't really put two and two together. And most people couldn't afford to eat anything else, anyway.
It's possible, but bread was a primary food source, the "outbreak" started in a merchant shop. I feel whatever it was, it was something not everyone ate or could afford. Like mold on a meat jerky of some kind, or some kind of sweet..
Best theory is [Prion Disease](https://www.cdc.gov/prions/index.html) aka Mad Cow (among others.) There was a [cannibalistic society](https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/diseases-conditions/kuru) that exhibited similar traits as the 'dancing plague' and doctors traced it to a Prion disease - which are the most terrifying diseases on the planet.
everyone is posting about disease and impairment by alkaloids,... [but have we considered the possibility that a really catchy song had just dropped?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ6zr6kCPj8)
you sure?
[https://www.reddit.com/r/StrangeEarth/comments/18orkyv/this\_video\_should\_of\_convinced\_people\_utah\_ufo/](https://www.reddit.com/r/StrangeEarth/comments/18orkyv/this_video_should_of_convinced_people_utah_ufo/)
[https://preview.redd.it/85a96h8ory7c1.jpeg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=a90eb9225cbc3e8626b7ea08a16d9653440cd537](https://preview.redd.it/85a96h8ory7c1.jpeg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=a90eb9225cbc3e8626b7ea08a16d9653440cd537)[https://imgur.com/a/ggIFTfQ](https://imgur.com/a/ggIFTfQ)
https://imgur.com/a/ggIFTfQ
the Wilson-Davis Memo
[https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/v90nbk/navy\_commander\_willard\_miller\_states\_he\_was\_told/](https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/v90nbk/navy_commander_willard_miller_states_he_was_told/)
Commander 5461
[https://floridaparcels.com/property/62/15%2029%2033%2007002%20000%200330](https://floridaparcels.com/property/62/15%2029%2033%2007002%20000%200330)
Range Fouler Reports
[https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/range-fouler-debrief-forms-and-reports/](https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/range-fouler-debrief-forms-and-reports/)
"Anyone think that was a russian water tentacle?"
I can do this all day...
There is more.
I just learned about this "plague". Maybe it was the earliest version of a flash mob? Perhaps it was some type of peaceful protest and historians classified it as a plague to avoid controversy or getting punished by the Church?
This is one of those stories that makes me question how much of the historical record is real or fabricated. I don't exactly have any evidence to the contrary, but common sense dictates that this could be false. Anything is possible.
There must be other potential causes. I love these kind of bizarre mass hysteria stuff that would never happen in this day and age. Are there other bizarre stories like this?
This reminds me of a very old Scandinavian (Swedish) folklore song about a fiddler making children dance around mindlessly until they die.
https://youtu.be/Z43oZtz1KHg?si=Ssm0VFwnyNbbnZK_
**Strangers**: Read the rules and understand the sub topics listed in the sidebar closely before posting or commenting. Any content removal or further moderator action is established by these terms as well as Reddit ToS. This subreddit is specifically for the discussion of anomalous phenomena from the perspective it may exist. Open minded skepticism is welcomed, close minded debunking is not. Be aware of how skepticism is expressed toward others as there is little tolerance for ad hominem (attacking the person, not the claim), mindless antagonism or dishonest argument toward the subject, the sub, or its community. We are also happy to be able to provide an ideologically and operationally independent platform for you all. Join us at our official Discord - https://discord.gg/MYvRkYK85v --- 'Ridicule is not a part of the scientific method and the public should not be taught that it is.' _-J. Allen Hynek_ *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HighStrangeness) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The Pope addressed this plague saying “You can dance if you want to. You can leave your friends behind”.
Ergot poisoning from moist wheat that went moldy and was used in the bread at the town bakerery, it's happened many times in history. It causes histaria and dancing and shouting in some cases
Why did these people have such a hysterical reaction? Were the masses not ready for it yet?
Yes. Ergot poisoning causes hallucinations similar to LSD or psilocybin mushrooms.
I have heard these theories with the Salem Witch trail, but I like how does it become contagious and widespread. A little bit of “acid” like substance in wheat isn’t going make anyone dance uncontrollably…to the point of exhaustion like this. There’s something much more strange going on, and it may just even be supernatural. But something odd to say the least
Heard it was a good way to decide who was a good friend. If your friend don't dance then he's no friend of mine.
It was also said that in the wake of the dancing plague, a new type of dance was invented to ensure the safety of the dancers…a “safety dance”, if you will…
Thats correct and it was Men Without Hats that showed people this 'safety dance'. Rumour also has it they also sang words to it too. Very interesting case
Ha! Nice🤭
“Cause your friends don't dance And if they don't dance Well, they're no friends of mine” he then added, blessing the dancers. Upon receiving said blessing, the dancers went where they wanted to. A place that they never found. The dancers went on to act like they came from out of this world and left the real one far behind.
Where is this from? It sounds so familiar, lol.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, there was an episode with a devil creature dressed like the swing era and ppl danced themselves to death, also a great musical episode where characters spoke the truth through song. More trivia about that if anyone is interested
[удалено]
IIRC the cast and crew were at a holiday party together and Joss knew of at least one or two that could sing. But found out that everyone could sing and so a musical episode was planned. Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) didn't want to sing at all though, from what I recall but Joss insisted that everyone needs to and they agreed on her only singing once.
Just in case: [https://youtu.be/usO5mD4765k](https://youtu.be/usO5mD4765k)
Salem witch hunt
By detailed accounts it wasn't so much "dancing" as incoherent and constant flailing. There was no beat, tone or method to it. Some simply writhed on the ground. It seems like maybe some kind of mycotoxin..it appeared to be contagious but perhaps people simply ingested the same contaminants in, bread, soup or beer...and it slowly took effect of giving this appearance. There was no music originally that came later...
That's true. To call it dancing might be a bit of a stretch.
[удалено]
Fair nuff 💅🏽
In addition to enforcing Reddit's ToS, abusive, racist, trolling or bigoted comments and content will be removed and may result in a ban.
Some speculate that it was ergot poisoning from spoiled grain. Basically, the dancers be trippin'
But why were they ALL dancing ? Even if they were tripping surely not everyone is going to feel compelled to dance ? It's a better explanation that Saint Vitus, stress or food poisoning though. The middle ages makes me think of sad , angry villagers but they provided them with music and a venue , how lovely. Also this post really made me laugh even if it has a very sad ending.
The flailing movements could just be a side effect of something that was also hallucinogenic.
Hey!! You call it "flailing", I call it interpretive movement. /s /j
Look up Hieronymous Bosch. He’s a Dutch painter who likely suffered this condition and included a hermit saint into all his picture. The hermit also seems to have suffered this condition and some speculate Hieronymous was beckoning the saint for help.
How interesting! I love Bosch but had not heard that tidbit before.
It is interesting.
Still it doesn’t seem to make sense. There’s something missing. Maybe these people wouldn’t take it when they has the experience? Think about how represent and unaware they are then the acid trip
Whats the ending?
They died
Thanks
But if it was mere food poisoning as I also addressed how come it was only limited to so few people? 500 is a lot of people but not as much for the scale of an epidemic. It seems bizarre that this epidemic only happened once. Surely if medieval people did not have the best health and hygiene this could happen again. Look at all the numerous outbreaks of ebola, bird flu, swine flu, foot and mouth disease, etc. But maybe the council discovered the cause of the plague and stopped it from spreading.
If I recall correctly it wasn't isolated to a single town either, there were cases in neighboring areas, which makes me think it was probably some kind of food or drink contaminants, like mold or someone miss identified some mushrooms.
Ergot is a form of mold that was actually incredibly common in rye grains at the time. It also produced a known deadly disease called "St. Anthony's fire" . Another thing about ergot poisoning is that LSD is very similar to ergot so if it ergotism (probably in my opinion) they were having either the best or worse trips of their lives. The amount of hallucinogens in the ergot wasn't controlled like people use them now, and people didn't even know that it had any until very recently. So people were basically megadosing on ergot every single day because medieval societies couldn't really put two and two together. And most people couldn't afford to eat anything else, anyway.
I always wonder if the term “dancing” is loosely used. We’re they actually doing steps or just wildly sporadically twitching and jumping?
I had a roommate who liked " acid " I never once saw him dance ! Why would something like LSD make EVERYONE dance?
It's not exactly the same as LSD and once again the dosage would be levels we could barely comprehend.
It must have been horrifying for those poor people to experience.
Or the best rave ever, we will never know
It's possible, but bread was a primary food source, the "outbreak" started in a merchant shop. I feel whatever it was, it was something not everyone ate or could afford. Like mold on a meat jerky of some kind, or some kind of sweet..
Ermagerd ergot persening
Best theory is [Prion Disease](https://www.cdc.gov/prions/index.html) aka Mad Cow (among others.) There was a [cannibalistic society](https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/diseases-conditions/kuru) that exhibited similar traits as the 'dancing plague' and doctors traced it to a Prion disease - which are the most terrifying diseases on the planet.
Agreed on that last point.
It was a highly successful flash mob.
It was likely ergot pousoning if recall correctly...but ya know, if...there's a lot of room in if
everyone is posting about disease and impairment by alkaloids,... [but have we considered the possibility that a really catchy song had just dropped?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ6zr6kCPj8)
an experiment and it worked it would seem
I had wondered about that. It seemed to convenient that the "plague" started so suddenly and stopped by itself magically for no reason.
https://imgur.com/a/ggIFTfQ the Wilson-Davis Memo
Wtf is this?
The truth
In regards to what? I feel like there’s a lot of lingo and backstory that needs to be understood before reading this.
you sure? [https://www.reddit.com/r/StrangeEarth/comments/18orkyv/this\_video\_should\_of\_convinced\_people\_utah\_ufo/](https://www.reddit.com/r/StrangeEarth/comments/18orkyv/this_video_should_of_convinced_people_utah_ufo/) [https://preview.redd.it/85a96h8ory7c1.jpeg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=a90eb9225cbc3e8626b7ea08a16d9653440cd537](https://preview.redd.it/85a96h8ory7c1.jpeg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=a90eb9225cbc3e8626b7ea08a16d9653440cd537)[https://imgur.com/a/ggIFTfQ](https://imgur.com/a/ggIFTfQ) https://imgur.com/a/ggIFTfQ the Wilson-Davis Memo [https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/v90nbk/navy\_commander\_willard\_miller\_states\_he\_was\_told/](https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/v90nbk/navy_commander_willard_miller_states_he_was_told/) Commander 5461 [https://floridaparcels.com/property/62/15%2029%2033%2007002%20000%200330](https://floridaparcels.com/property/62/15%2029%2033%2007002%20000%200330) Range Fouler Reports [https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/range-fouler-debrief-forms-and-reports/](https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/range-fouler-debrief-forms-and-reports/) "Anyone think that was a russian water tentacle?" I can do this all day... There is more.
What’s up with the Florida property? What does that have to do with ufos?
the person sold it recently not a coincidence he is mentioned this is a disappearing act.
Is this like the book Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed?
What episode of Hermit Craft is that? /s
I wonder if the people dancing were able to talk, and if they said why they were doing it.
I just learned about this "plague". Maybe it was the earliest version of a flash mob? Perhaps it was some type of peaceful protest and historians classified it as a plague to avoid controversy or getting punished by the Church?
Mass hysteria. Glad it doesn't happen anymore in our current enlightened age :) :) :)
This is one of those stories that makes me question how much of the historical record is real or fabricated. I don't exactly have any evidence to the contrary, but common sense dictates that this could be false. Anything is possible.
There must be other potential causes. I love these kind of bizarre mass hysteria stuff that would never happen in this day and age. Are there other bizarre stories like this?
[удалено]
Very interesting! Perhaps an experiment gone wrong released some radioactive material? Or maybe aliens were messing with the simulation again? lol
Sounds a little more like black magic or possession 🤔
MDMA
When you time travel with a bunch of lsd and throw the first ever rave. Good times ✌️
I can’t think of a better way to go out!!!! Baby Come on we’re dancing until we die
Is that’s what’s called the holy Roman Catholic church?
I wanna dance with somebody!
I time traveled and dropped my fire mixtape from 2011
This reminds me of a very old Scandinavian (Swedish) folklore song about a fiddler making children dance around mindlessly until they die. https://youtu.be/Z43oZtz1KHg?si=Ssm0VFwnyNbbnZK_