More Mass Hysteria is the week’s Mystery Question since last week went so well. 🙂 I could not believe some of the things I found. But first the photo. It really is worth it to get up as the sun is coming up! This morning the sky was beautiful. The weather lady had said the skies were reddish, but they were more goldenish a hundred miles away. Still beautiful. And since they weren’t red, maybe it won’t rain today!
Now for last week’s Mystery Question–Mass Hysteria Cases. Three of these cases actually happened and I made one of them up. Can you guess which one?
- During the Middle Ages in France, a nun began meowing like a cat. No known reason, just meowing. Soon all the nums at the convent were making cat noises. The village called soldiers who threatened them until they stopped.
- In 1951 a school showed a health film on the symptoms of polio, and when it was over a girl claimed she couldn’t move her legs. By the end of the day, over fifty children at the school claimed they were paralyzed. The next morning, more children woke up, claiming they couldn’t move. Doctor examinations showed no cases of polio in any of the children and soon everything was back to normal.
- In Strasbourg, Alsace (in what is now France), a woman began dancing in the streets. She danced for days by herself, but then people joined her. In a month over 400 were dancing with her, never resting. As many as 15 a day died from heart attacks, strokes, or exhaustion.
- Two women in Halifax, England, claimed they were attacked by a strange man with a mallet and “bright buckles” on his shoes. Soon another woman came forth, only this time he also had a knife. A man came forward with slashes on his arms, claiming he’d been attacked by the Mad Slasher. The whole town was in an uproar with sightings of the Mad Slasher, and Scotland Yard was called in. A thorough investigation revealed the man had self-inflicted the wounds and recanted his story. More recants followed in what was labeled a case of mass hysteria after the first attack.
And the answer is…#2. But it could have happened. I saw that film and couldn’t sleep that night fearing I would wake up paralyzed! And it may have been later than 1951…
Now for this week’s Mystery Question–Mass Hysteria Cases. Three of these cases actually happened and I made one of them up. Can you guess which one?
- After three teenagers in a small town in Alabama read about mass hysteria, they decided to test the theory. One of them claimed to authorities to have been attacked by Big Foot, a few hours later a second one claimed she’d been attacked by the same creature, and the next day the third teenager made the same claim. Soon the story ran rampant in the small town. Within six hours twenty plus people called authorities claiming to have been attacked by this same Big Foot.
- Several girls from a school in Blackburn, England, began complaining of dizziness, and many fainted. Within hours, 85 girls had to be rushed to the hospital after fainting. A year later, it was determined that the fainting was caused by mass hysteria among the girls of Blackburn.
- In 1976, 15 students at a school in Mount Pleasant, Mississippi, fell to the ground and began writhing in pain. School officials and police suspected it might have had something to do with drugs, but there was no evidence to suggest this. The students believed it to be some sort of curse and one-third of the school’s students stayed home the next day so they wouldn’t be “hexed.
- A nun in a German nunnery started biting all her companions. In the course of a short time, all the nuns of this convent began biting each other. But it didn’t stop there. It spread to the Netherlands and Italy.
Okay, Super Sleuths, which one did I make up? Leave your answer in the comments and I’ll enter you in a drawing for a book from my library!
Check out my Mystery blog this week -- More Mass Hysteria. Three of the stories are true, one I made up. Can you guess which one it is? Leave a comment and I'll enter you in a drawing for a book! #Mysteryquestion #romanticsuspense Share on X
Obsession (Natchez Trace Park Rangers, Book 2)
Natchez Tra
ce Ranger and historian Emma Winters hoped never to see Sam Ryker again after she broke off her engagement to him. But when shots are fired at her at a historical landmark just off the Natchez Trace, she’s forced to work alongside Sam as the Natchez Trace law enforcement district ranger in the ensuing investigation. To complicate matters, Emma has acquired a delusional secret admirer who is determined to have her as his own. Sam is merely an obstruction, one which must be removed.
Sam knows that he has failed Emma in the past and he doesn’t intend to let her down again. Especially since her life is on the line. As the threads of the investigation cross and tangle with their own personal history, Sam and Emma have a chance to discover the truth, not only about the victim but about what went wrong in their relationship.
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Comments 58
Hmmm. #3
Author
We’ll see, Janeen! Sounds like you might not have been sure…we’ll see next week. Glad you stopped by!
Beautiful photo. I guess I’m going to go with #1.
Author
Thank you, Diana! It was a beautiful five minutes. lol. Seriously, five minutes after I took the photo, the beautiful skies were gray! Pays to get up early. We’ll see if it’s #1 next week. Thanks for stopping by!
I want to say number 2, because as far as I know, one is not usually ‘rushed to hospital’ simply because they fainted. I’ve fainted twice, and neither of my ambulance rides was related to the fainting!
Of course, you didn’t say what year this was in, but fainting was more common in the previous few centuries due to tight corsets, and they just used loads of smelling salts (gross), so that doesn’t necessarily negate my previous comment…!
Author
😉
Author
Hi Monique! So good to see you here all the way across the oceans! (See how I indicated you weren’t in the US without saying exactly where you were! ) I’m sorry you fainted twice. That is not a good feeling…We’ll see next week if it’s #2/
I pays to be an early riser to catch photos like that. Thanks for the photo and Scripture to go with it, Pat. And, nothing is too hard for God.
I believe you made up #1. These cases can be really hard to believe. I’ll have to look into the psychology of mass hysteria. It just seems so odd.
OK Pat. You must have had a barrel of red herrings near by when you wrote “Obsession”. I finished it yesterday, and you’ve topped yourself once again. This was so well written I wanted to race through it, and yet I didn’t want it to end. Thank you for giving me hours of reading enjoyment, and I’m looking forward to the next one. Got a title for it yet?
Author
Aww, Tim, you have made my day! Yes, the next book is titled Crosshairs, which was supposed to be the title of the 2nd book, but as I wrote it, it soon became obvious the title should be Obsession. 🙂 And I’m working on the 4th book now. I’m calling it Deception. We’ll see next week if it’s #1.
So glad you liked the photo and scripture! Always good to see you here.
I think it’s #4
Author
We’ll see next week, Suzanne! Glad you stopped by.
I think you made up #4.
Author
Two Suzanne’s in a row! We’ll see next week, Suzanne S, if it’s #4. Thanks for dropping by.
Beautiful picture. 3
Author
Thanks, Deb, especially coming from you! We’ll see next week if it’s #3. Always good to see you here.
I’m going with #1. Beautiful picture and great scripture! Thank you!
Author
Ah, thank you, Terri! It was a beautiful morning and the scripture just seemed to fit. We’ll see next week if it’s #1. Thanks for stopping by.
I don’t know where you find these, but it’s terrifying to find the human psyche is so prone to suggestion. I believe (and hope) you made up #1 this week.
Author
We’ll see, Delores! So good to ‘see’ you here.
Good morning Ms Bradley. I love the picture with that verse, so appropriate. I think it is #1 too. I can’t wait to read Obsession!
Author
I see a trend, Pearl. 😉 We’ll see next week if it proves to be true. Good to ‘see’ you here.
I think this week’s answer is #1.
Author
We’ll see, Gloria. Always good to ‘see’ you here.
4. thanks for the chance
Author
We’ll see, Lynn, and good to ‘see’ you here.
#4. Beautiful picture and verse.
Author
Thank you, Kay! We’ll see next week if it’s #4. It seems to be between #s1 & 4…Glad you stopped by.
Gorgeous, golden, gangling clouds! I’m not sure gangling is a word but I’ve known various people with ganglion cysts, often in a wrist. An aunt told me how it’s “tentacles” run all over the place, so I started joking that it was named a ganglion cyst because it “gangled” all over the wrist. Those golden rays of the sun are just go to and fro. Wow!
I choose 1 this week. It seems there would have been some evidence of an attack if this were true.
Author
I thought it was so pretty, Edward. And I love your take on gangling! We’ll see next week if it’s #1. Always good to ‘see’ you here!
Very pretty picture! I think #3 is made up.
Author
Thank you, Angela! I’m glad you liked my photo. And we’ll see next week if it’s #3. Good to ‘see’ you here.
Hi Patricia :). I choose #4 figuring it would be hard to get this behavior to other countries as nuns don’t usually travel a lot.
Gorgeous picture with a special verse!
Author
Thanks, Betti! I love that verse, and really thought I’d already used it, but a quick search said, no. 😉 Love your logic and we’ll see next week if it’s #4.
I’ll say #3. I love the photo and scripture. Thank you for sharing.
Author
Thanks, Lucy! I love sharing my photos. We’ll see if it’s #3 next Tuesday. Always glad when you drop by and comment.
#4
Author
We’ll see, Patricia. Good to ‘see’ you here!
The sky photo is SO pretty! Good verse, too. I think number 4 is the stuff of nightmares, yikes, but I think number 1 is the one you made up because people would be embarrassed to go public with a Bigfoot story then later say, “It’s all a joke.”
Author
Love the way you reason out your answer…we’ll see. Glad you like my sky photo. As I told someone earlier, I couldn’t believe it five minutes later when the clouds had turned all gray and dingy! Thanks for stopping by.
I’ll guess #4. That’s a gorgeous picture. It’s freezing here. We have the water dripping so the pipes won’t freeze. Looks like it will be frigid for the next week, and we are in mid Missouri.
Finished Obsession and really loved it!
Author
Oh, Paula…what you get, we get two days later! It’s supposed to get down into the teens here later this week. I’m so ready for Spring. I actually saw daffodils blooming this afternoon! So glad you enjoyed Obssession! And thanks for stopping by–we’ll see next week if that’s the correct answer.
I think it is #1. I love this verse.
Author
Hi Debra! I love that verse, too. We’ll see next week if #1 is the correct answer. So glad you stopped by and commented.
I think it is #4. Your photo is Stunning! Have a great week and stay safe.
Author
Thanks, Alicia. It’s supposed to get very cold here in a couple of days and I dread it. 🙂 We’ll see next week if it’s #4.
I’m not very good at guessing but I guess I’ll go with number 3.
Author
Hi Beverly! It’s always good to ‘see’ you here! And we’ll see next week if it’s #3.
#4 (I would like for all of them to be false….but…)
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Hi MS Barb! I know what you mean about wishing they were all false! We’ll see next week if it’s #4. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
I choose #4. Just a guess!
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We’ll see, Susan! So glad you stopped by and left a comment!
Gorgeous photo! I’ll say number 4 is false.
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Thank you, Megan. Number 4 is very popular! Thanks for dropping by.
Beautiful photo and scripture! I’m guessing #4.
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Thank you, Caryl. And we’ll see if it’s #4 next week!
I’m going to say #4 this week because I don’t see the mass hysteria going extending that far away! But any of these are quite plausible, as I’ve discovered through your blog posts each week. As the saying goes, “truth is stranger than fiction”!
Your sunrise photos are always so beautiful and I think you pick the perfect scripture to go with them. Keep them coming, we all enjoy them! They are wonderful reminders of God’s word.
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Thank you, Trixi! I enjoy putting the scripture verses and photos together. I usually come across the perfect verse in my daily Bible readings and then the perfect photo opt comes along… I wonder how that happens. 🙂
We’ll see next week if it’s #4. Always good to ‘see’ you here!