A gripping tale of one of history's most bizarre events, and what it reveals about the strange possibilities of human nature

In the searing July heat of 1518, Frau Troffea stepped into the streets of Strasbourg and began to dance. Bathed in sweat, she continued to dance. Overcome with exhaustion, she stopped, and then resumed her solitary jig a few hours later. Over the next two months, roughly four hundred people succumbed to the same agonizing compulsion. At its peak, the epidemic claimed the lives of fifteen men, women, and children a day. Possibly 100 people danced to their deaths in one of the most bizarre and terrifying plagues in history.

John Waller compellingly evokes the sights, sounds, and aromas; the diseases and hardships; the fervent supernaturalism and the desperate hedonism of the late medieval world. Based on new evidence, he explains why the plague occurred and how it came to an end. In doing so, he sheds light on the strangest capabilities of the human mind and on our own susceptibility to mass hysteria.

• We started tracking this book on June 18, 2011.
• This book was $2.99 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 36 times in the past 5,074 days.
• The current price of this book is $9.99 last checked 10 hours ago.
• This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past year is $2.51.
• The lowest price to date was $2.51 last reached on March 25, 2025.
• This book has been $2.51 one time since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $14.99 last reached on November 18, 2024.
• This book has been $14.99 3 times since we started tracking it.

• HistoryEuropeMedieval

• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 290 Pages
• File Size: 10 KB