What do fan deaths, koro, and the monkey man of New Delhi have in common? They are all associated with mass hysteria!
Mass hysteria has plagued the human race of centuries, and as advanced as we might be, we still fall prey to this odd collective behavior. One might even argue that thanks to the nature of modern media, we are more susceptible to mass hysteria now than we ever were before.
Listen in to this week’s podcast all about Mass Hysteria for an exploration of mass hysteria events throughout history. Amongst others, we discuss developments covered in three different Hubs:
- The Salem Witches and Mass Hysteria by slusterbubble
- Mass Hysteria, the End of the World, Witch Trials and Satanic Rituals by kentuckyslone
- Seattle’s 1954 Mass Hysteria by JY3502
Though humankind still suffers from this condition, a good sense of perspective and an understanding of how panic spreads may prevent you from getting caught up in the craziness. We hope this podcast gives you the mass hysteria inoculation you need.
Have you ever been caught up in mass hysteria before? Were you nervous about y2k or fan death at any point? Tell us about it by sending an email to podcast (at) HubPages (dot) com. We love first-person accounts of mass hysteria, so would love to hear more!
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I strive to educate people not to fall prey to this nonsense. It seems at least once a week, I’m replying to an e-mail, or making a post on Face Book, for folks to NOT spread these rumors around via Face Book posts, or massive e-mail forwarding.
I always refer first to Snopes.com, to check the veracity, and post or reply for them to do the same before deciding to forward the latest nonsensical ‘urgent; emergency; panic attack’ piece of (non) news!
Thanks for this podcast…let’s hope those who actually need the message listen, and you’re not just preaching to the choir.
I really enjoy your Mass Hysteria podcast.
It remembered me to my childhood age.
I caught up in mass hysteria because I felt in a state exam.