THE STRANGEST TRUE CASES OF MASS HYSTERIA: Meowing, Twitching, Laughing, and Dancing to Death
Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime StoriesShow Notes
When terror takes hold of the mind, whole communities descend into madness – meowing like beasts, dancing to exhaustion, and vanishing into the grip of something seemingly paranormal and demonic.
EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/MassHysteria
READ or DOWNLOAD the full transcript of this episode: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p94wm9p
FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: Nuns that meow like cats, people who can’t stop laughing maniacally, an entire high school begins twitching… even the Salem witch trials. Just a few of the 8 cases of mass hysteria I’ll be sharing with you. *** January 7, 1950, events began in what became one of the strangest disappearances of the middle twentieth century – the vanishing of a West Point cadet. *** Visitors to Calke Abbey have reported a strange atmosphere of sadness and foreboding and many have reported being scared by the sounds of a tin whistle. *** We’ve all heard of the Bermuda Triangle – but there are strange, anomalies worldwide – and one in Russia is known as the “M Triangle”. *** As far back as the 19th century, a hairy monster has been frightening guests of an Irish castle. *** When living in a home built in the 1800s, it might be expected to have something paranormal living with you. CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding 00:01:13.141 = Show Open 00:03:16.293 = Whispering Ghost of Calke Abbey 00:07:00.498 = The M Triangle 00:17:57.718 = Hairy Monster Frightening Guests At An Irish Castle *** 00:22:55.402 = The Haunted Farmhouse 00:31:06.493 = The Vanished Cadet *** 00:57:37.296 = Strange Cases of Mass Hysteria *** 01:08:00.199 = Show Close = SONG: “Dance It Out” by Crossroads Haint (inspired by the mass hysteria of the dancing plague)*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break *No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast* SOURCES and RESOURCES: “The Whistling Ghost of Calke Abbey”: https://tinyurl.com/y53zgov3 “The M-Triangle”: https://tinyurl.com/y582ymo6 “Arkaim Anomalous Zone”: https://tinyurl.com/y465d3u7 “Hairy Monster Frightening The Guests Of The Irish Castle”: https://tinyurl.com/y5gbnbx2 “The Haunted Farmhouse”: https://tinyurl.com/yyncsbyo “Strange Cases of Mass Hysteria”: https://tinyurl.com/y6ja9ezo “The Vanished Cadet”: https://tinyurl.com/y4h8et3p(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.) WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness. Originally aired: December 01, 2018
More episodes, additional podcasts, books, original music, in-depth paranormal and true-crime articles, and much more at https://weirddarkness.com.
More episodes, additional podcasts, books, original music, in-depth paranormal and true-crime articles, and much more at https://weirddarkness.com.
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