How Hundreds Danced Themselves to Death | Dancing Plague
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The Origins of the Dance Plague
The leading theory on this particular event for what caused it is the idea of mass psychogenic illness. This refers to the situation where people in a group start feeling sick at the same time even though there is no physical or environmental reason for them to be sick. In such cases, despite the lack of an origin, the symptoms spread like an epidemic. The dancing plague was referred to as St. Vitus's dance because people believe that St. V Titus sent the dancing mania as a curse.
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