The Dancing Plague of 1518: The Weirdest Mass Event in History

“Dance till you drop,” is a very famous catch phrase for many countries in the world; whether it’s in a different language or different culture, a phrase similar exists. It seems like an innocent phrase meant to inspire dancers to give it their all, however, this ACTUALLY happened during 1518.

In July of 1518, a woman, known as Frau (Mrs.) Troffea began dancing uncontrollably in the middle of the streets of modern day France. There was no music, no rhythm, no beats, just uncontrollable movements. She danced until her body gave out of exhaustion; after a day or two she started dancing again (Bauer). No one knew why…

At the end of the week, more than 30 people had joined her. By the end of the month, hundreds of people had joined (Bauer). This was a confusing event for local authorities and back-in-the-day doctors. They believed the best way to solve the problem (whatever it was) was more dancing, so they invited musicians and cleared the streets to allow people to dance (Waller).

Two months later, this event stopped. No one was dancing on the streets any longer, and everyone had gone back to their regular lives. Nobody knew what happened in these two months that compelled people to dance until they were exhausted or dead (Bauer). It was and still is considered to be one of the weirdest and most confusing historical events.

What was involved in The Dancing Plague?

Uncontrollable urge to dance: people affected by the plague had a compulsion to dance, which was seemingly against their will
Duration & intensity: dancing lasted for days, sometimes weeks, and mostly until the dancers collapsed from exhaustion or death
Group phenomenon: this affected many individuals; it was considered to be an outbreak
Mysterious origins & ends: the cause of the plague remains unclear, and the plague often appeared and disappeared as mysteriously as it began

SO, what ACTUALLY happened?

(“How Does Overheated Blood Cause the Dancing Plague - Google Search”)

(“ChatGPT: Causes of the Dancing Plague”)

Historians and scientists have come together many times throughout history to determine what actually happened during the summer of 1518. The main cause has still not been determined, however, there are many possible theories. Listed below are some possible causes of the event labelled, The Dancing Plague;

Mass Hysteria or Psychogenic Illnesses: some theories suggest that the plague was a result of mass hysteria and psychological stress leading to bizarre behaviour
Overheated Blood: doctors in the past believed that by dancing, people were expelling heat from their blood, however, modern studies have started to debunk this theory
Ergot Poisoning: this theory proposes that the plague could have been caused by the consumption of rye bread contaminated with ergot, which is known to cause hallucinations as it contains toxic substances
Religious or Supernatural Explanations: at that time, religion was one of the most important things in most people’s lives, therefore, another belief was that the Dancing Plague was the cause of a demonic possession or divine punishment, with people seeking religious solutions to stop dancing

Why is it of interest?

The Dancing Plague is such an interesting topic based on many reasons (Waller);

Challenges the way we think about human behaviour: the fact that hundreds of people can lose control over their minds and dance for days, possibly to death, challenges the way we think about the human brain, especially the way it is under stress, blurring the line between psychology, biology, and social influence
Unsolved mystery: even after centuries, no one fully understands what happened, and people love a mystery, especially if it is rooted in real history
Shows how belief shapes reality: in those days, people believed in curses, saints, demons, which is theorized to have literally made them dance uncontrollably
Relates to today: the fact that one person started dancing, and hundreds followed, is something we see today with social media trends, and clothing fads
Unexpected, surreal, and creepy: dancing to the death seems like the plot of a horror movie, however, it actually happened; it puzzles people

Final Notes

So, the next time you hear the phrase, “Dance till you drop,” remember that people actually did this in history. It serves as a chilling reminder of the unsolved mysteries of world history. Whatever the cause, the Dancing Plague shows us that The line between body and mind is very blurry.

The next time you start tapping your foot, be thankful you can stop (hopefully!).

Written by: Krisha L