Until now, scientists cannot understand how mass hysteria arises. Why does the whole village suddenly begin to believe in the "Chupacabra", and entire countries in the invasion of the Martians?
Goat
Spring 1995 turned out to be "hot" for Puerto Rican farmers: day after day the number of their livestock declined. Puncture wounds and "blood sucking" became the causes of death of goats, rabbits and chickens. At that time, the veterinary services apparently found it difficult to explain the massive death of livestock. This is how the "goatsucker" appeared - a mysterious monster that exterminates animals. Almost immediately after the first "signals" about the goat sucker operating on farms, there were eyewitnesses to his crimes. So, one of the guards reported about "a certain humanoid about twenty meters in height." By the end of March, several people had already confirmed that they had "seen a grayish-brown creature with a tiny head in the thicket." Panic gripped the country. While the formed search detachments were carefully combing the area, they argued in the drinking establishments all night long:Is the goat sucker a previously unknown animal or is it the result of a failed genetic experiment that has escaped to freedom? The "portrait" of the monster was recreated in the smallest detail: a "two-legged rat" with bulging eyes, long "arms" and sharp claws, with legs like a kangaroo, and rows of thorns all over its back. Skeptics tried to calm the crowd, arguing that the "monster" is just an ordinary predator. It was not possible to catch the goat sucker or prove the fact of its existence, and the fear of people soon disappeared.that the "monster" is just an ordinary predator. It was not possible to catch the goat sucker or prove the fact of its existence, and the fear of people soon disappeared.that the "monster" is just an ordinary predator. It was not possible to catch the goat sucker or prove the fact of its existence, and the fear of people soon disappeared.
Paper man
At the end of the 19th century, residents of some Chinese cities became participants in a mass hysteria that lasted for three years. In 1876, in Nanjing, there appeared the first evidence of "paper people" depriving respectable Chinese … of their braids. A specific male hairstyle during the reign of the Manchu dynasty in China was considered a symbol of obedience and loyalty to the imposed regime. To cut a braid was considered a crime - caught with a "non-statutory" hairstyle was sentenced to death. It is not surprising that panic quickly spread to only Nanjing, but also rapidly spread to other cities - Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing. The "evil spirit cutting hair" was elusive, and any foreigner automatically became the source of all troubles. Interestingly, the "paper man" has been known since the Wei dynasty, which ruled in 477-517 BC. The mass panic played into the hands of enterprising merchants: amulets protecting from “paper people” armed with scissors flew like hot cakes on a market day.
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Gas attack
The mass media are often fatal in the spread of hysteria. This happened in the fall of 1944, when two residents of the town of Mattuna, Illinois, called 911 and claimed that "some mysterious figure" had sprayed gas into their bedrooms. The victims complained of worsening health, nausea and dizziness. The police failed to draw a more detailed picture due to lack of evidence. The mysterious circumstances of the incident became fertile ground for the birth of a sensation. After the article appeared in the local newspaper, the police were called by other "victims" who reported "gas attacks", which allegedly took place long before the incident described in the newspaper. In two weeks the police heard about 30 more confessions - most of the callers were women. Donald Johnson investigating the episode concluded,that the mass hysteria was caused not without the help of the media: after reading the note, people automatically linked the deterioration of health (nausea, vomiting, heart palpitations, etc.) with "gas attacks."
Lobovukh epidemic
At the end of March 1954, the print media of the northwestern states of America published notes about "mysterious" damage to car windshields. The reports coincided in a fatal way with a highly pressurized hydrogen bomb test in the Pacific. Residents of Seattle and other cities associated the appearance of "pockmarks" on "lobsters" with "nuclear impact." In mid-April, the police received more than two hundred signals about "tiny pockmarks". In some cases, it has been reported that the epidemic has spread to entire car parks. Hysteria intensified and threatened to turn into riots. On the night of April 15, Seattle's mayor seeking to calm the crowd appealed for help to President Eisenhower, after whose speech the number of alarmists decreased. It was possible to defeat the "epidemic" only after the publication of the results of a study by the University of Washington, whose scientists proved that "mysterious blackpoints" are nothing more than a product of coal combustion.
Headhunting
At the end of 1979, panic gripped the island of Borneo. The unfavorable social situation, unemployment, and the liquidation of schools coincided with government work to build the bridge. The stressful state was intensified by historical memory: starting from the 17th century, the implementation of such projects (real or fictional) was invariably accompanied by a “headhunt”, because according to popular beliefs during construction it is necessary to lay a “sacrifice” in the foundation of the structure. Only in this case, the structure is guaranteed a long service life. People who succumbed to mass hysteria began to interpret ordinary events of everyday life in the context of “hunting” and “abductions”. Anthropologist Richard Drake, who studied local customs, has shown that such episodes are excellent evidence of the antagonistic confrontation between the indigenous population and the authorities.
"Butterfly's kiss
In the summer of 1899, Washington newspapers reported large numbers of people attending local hospitals. All of them asked to heal them from the "bug bites." In an effort to prevent the spread of mass hysteria, the authoritative opinion of Dr. L. O. was published in Popular Science. Howard. In particular, it was reported that in the United States there are six insects, whose bites are indeed dangerous to human life, but the chance of meeting any of these "invertebrates" is practically zero. According to the scientist, causeless fear lay at the heart of mass hysteria. On July 9 of the same year, the New York Herald posted a note about eleven victims who had asked for help the day before: their bodies were allegedly swollen from the bites of poisonous insects. Some of those who applied managed to catch the "vampires". A report published in the press of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences reported that the insects that "attempted" on human life were ordinary annoying flies, hardy bees, fussy beetles and light-winged butterflies.
War of the Worlds
Radio journalist Orson Welles could hardly have imagined that his creative approach to staging HG Wells' novel The War of the Worlds would be so convincing. On the eve of Halloween 1938, Columbia Broadcasting Company began the evening broadcast with the announcement of an upcoming radio show. This was followed by the traditional weather forecast and a light music concert, which was interrupted by the announcement of an unusual body moving towards the Earth. One after another, sensational messages were broadcast: here the correspondent talks about a meteorite falling from Mars, describes massive human casualties, interviews eyewitnesses. The next message horrified the radio listeners: the meteorite turned out to be a Martian ship, and the creatures that arrived on it with "death rays" destroyed everything around. Further - more: regular troops are pulled into the epicenter,who are urgently preparing to go to war with the Martians. The reporter vividly described how he escaped with a handful of other lucky ones, how the Martians incinerate everything around, leaving behind burning ruins and mountains of disfigured bodies. There was no one to listen to the end of the "radio joke": the inhabitants of the east coast of America and parts of Canada left their homes, trying to avoid death, called "911" and begged to save them from the Martian invasion. Experts later calculated that more than a million people became victims of the rally. Orson Welles himself woke up famous the next morning - he was called the man who managed to scare America.leaving behind burning ruins and mountains of disfigured bodies. There was no one to listen to the end of the "radio joke": the inhabitants of the east coast of America and parts of Canada left their homes, trying to avoid death, called "911" and begged to save them from the Martian invasion. Experts later calculated that more than a million people became victims of the rally. Orson Welles himself woke up famous the next morning - he was called the man who managed to scare America.leaving behind burning ruins and mountains of disfigured bodies. There was no one to listen to the end of the "radio joke": the inhabitants of the east coast of America and parts of Canada left their homes, trying to avoid death, called "911" and begged to save them from the Martian invasion. Experts later calculated that more than a million people became victims of the rally. Orson Welles himself woke up famous the next morning - he was called the man who managed to scare America. Orson Welles himself woke up famous the next morning - he was called the man who managed to scare America. Orson Welles himself woke up famous the next morning - he was called the man who managed to scare America.