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Mass Hysteria Spectrum
- Mass hysteria episodes range from large movements like the Salem Witch Trials to smaller events like the Spring Heeled Jack saga.
- These incidents highlight how mental and physical faculties can temporarily break for reasons unknown to science.
Collective Delusions
- Mass hysteria includes collective delusions where false rumors become accepted reality, causing panic or aggression.
- A prime example is the Richard Gere gerbil rumor.
Mass Psychogenic Illness
- Mass psychogenic illness involves experiencing physical symptoms without a medical cause, influenced by social factors.
- Somatic illnesses, though sometimes misdiagnosed as stress, are real and prominent in hysterical epidemics.