Throughout history, there have been many cases of unexplained historical events that have left people questioning their safety and the reality of the situation. From the Salem witch trials, where many sane men and women died because of accusations for absolutely no reason, to the monkey man panic in India and the dancing plague of 1518. Hysteria is a complex and mysterious illness that has overrun communities for centuries. Despite extensive investigations, the root cause of these panics remains unknown, and the attacks remain unsolved to this day. The Salem witch trials, in particular, are undoubtedly one of the most tragic events in history, where the town’s hysteria led to the loss of innocent lives. Throughout history, there have been many …show more content…
Verma and Dr. Srivastava, mass hysteria is defined as a situation where a group of individuals exhibit physical symptoms that resemble those caused by an actual illness but, in reality, arise from psychological factors, like fear. However, since every individual case is unique, there is no known cure for this complex and misunderstood illness. Despite medical advancements, there is still much to learn about the condition. Hysteria spreads rapidly through communities, causing people to become fearful and believe in irrational things. Hysteria has been described as the “mockingbird of nosology” and a “strange disease” by a group of National Hospital physicians (Slater). Overall, many doctors and humans have clarified how dangerous hysteria can be: small things can escalate quickly if the situation is right. The Salem witch trials were a dark chapter in American history that occurred in the late 1600s. The incident happened in a small village in Massachusetts and lasted for over a year, from May 1692 until October 1693 (Wallenfeldt). During this time, nineteen were hanged, five died in jail, and one was pressed to death (Hill). Many more people were accused of practicing …show more content…
There are theories about why this catastrophic event happened, but it is still an overall mystery to this day. The East Delhi Monkey Man attacks of 2001 were a mysterious event that caused widespread panic and fear in the community. Like the Salem witch trials, the Monkey Man’s panic resulted in several deaths and injuries for seemingly no reason. Reports of vicious attacks continued to occur for several weeks, and the community was left terrified as the number of attacks kept increasing. Over the course of several weeks, three people lost their lives, fifty-one people sought medical attention, and 397 claimed to have been attacked (Verma and Srivastava). Despite the passage of time, the cause of the panic remains unknown, and the attacks remain unsolved. The more research that is done about the case, the more mysterious it becomes. A study conducted on the victims of the East Delhi attacks revealed that almost all of the cases shared the same social class, race, and education level (Verma and Srivastava). This led to speculation that the attacks were racially or socioeconomically motivated, but there was not strong enough evidence to support this