Outbreak!
The Encyclopedia of Extraordinary Social Behavior
by Hilary Evans & Robert E. Bartholomew
Large Trade Paperback, 784 Pages, 90 Illustrations
$49.95, ISBN: 1933665254
Genre(s):
UFOs
Paranormal
Fortean
Historical Mysteries
From fads, crazes, and manias to collective delusions, scares, panics, and mass hysterias, history is replete with examples of remarkable social behavior. Many are fueled by fear and uncertainty; others are driven by hope and expectation. For others still, the causes are more obscure. This massive collection of extraordinary social behaviors spans more than two millennia, and attempts to place many of the episodes within their greater historical and cultural context.
Perhaps the most well-known example of unusual collective behavior occurred in 1938, when a million or more Americans were frightened or panicked after listening to a realistic radio drama about a Martian invasion of New Jersey, based on an adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel War of the Worlds. Less known but equally remarkable scares based on Wells’ book occurred in Chile in 1944 (when Army units were mobilized), in Ecuador in 1949 (when riots broke out, leaving more than a dozen dead), as well as in Buffalo in 1968, Rhode Island in 1974, and Europe in 1988 and 1998.
The modern civilized world is by no means immune to such peculiar episodes. In the late 20th century, scores of people in the U.S. and Europe were wrongly incarcerated following claims of Satanic ritual abuse by authorities untutored in False Memory Syndrome. This episode recalls the European witch terror of the late Middle Ages, when innocent people were tortured and executed for consorting with the Devil based on the flimsiest of evidence.
This Encyclopedia is an authoritative reference on a broad range of topics: collective behavior, deviance, social and perceptual psychology, sociology, history, folklore, religious studies, political science, social anthropology, gender studies, critical thinking, and mental health. Never before have so many sources been brought together on the mesmerizing topic of collective behavior.
About the Author: Hilary Evans is a British historian who holds a BA from Cambridge University and a Masters in English literature from Birmingham University. A collector of rare and antique books and illustrations, he is the curator of the prestigious Mary Evans Picture Library in London. Over the past fi ve decades he has authored dozens of books on an array of topics ranging from life in Victorian England and illustrated histories and biographies, to altered states of consciousness, religious and social history, folklore and modern mythology, ancient mysteries and media scares. His books include Intrusions: Society & the Paranormal (1982), Gods, Spirits, Cosmic Guardians (1987), and Panic Attacks: Media Manipulation and Mass Delusion (2004) with Robert Bartholomew.
Robert Bartholomew is an authority on collective behavior and social deviance. He holds a Masters in sociology from The State University of New York at Albany and a Ph.D. from James Cook University. His studies have appeared in dozens of peer-reviewed journals including the British Medical Journal; Canadian Medical Association Journal; The International Journal of Social Psychiatry; The Sociological Quarterly, and Educational Studies. His books include Exotic Deviance: Medicalizing Cultural Idioms – From Strangeness to Illness (2000), and Hoaxes, Myths & Manias: Why We Need Critical Thinking (2003) with Ben Radford. He has been interviewed in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The BBC Morning Show, and on the History Channel.
Now available in a laminated hardback edition for a limited time only:
Amazon US
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An ebook edition is now available from Google Play. Because this is such a large book with many photographs, it could not be made available through our normal ebook vendors. This ebook is actually a PDF of the print book.
VERY IMPORTANT: This ebook does not have flowing text and therefore is not readable on smartphones and small tablets. But it's fine for laptops, desktops, and large (iPad-sized) tablets.
Outbreak ebook
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Read an interview with Robert Bartholomew in USA Today. The book has also been mentioned on ABC News Online, and in The New York Times and The Guardian.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword by Benigno Aguirre, Ph.D. ix
Introduction x
Preface xvi
Abdera Outbreak of Prose and Poetry 1
Adamites (Nudity Sect) 1
Alien Abduction Beliefs 3
Altered States of Consciousness 7
American Invasion of Canada 8
American Revivalism 9
Amou Barking Mania 16
Amsterdam Outbreak 17
Anabaptists 18
Andree Balloon Mania 23
Animal Noises, Epidemics of 25
Anxiety Hysteria 26
Assassins, Order of 28
Assembly Line Hysteria 31
Asteroid Panic 31
Aurora End-of-the-World Panic 32
Auxonne Possession Outbreak 32
Band Bus Hysteria 40
Band Mystery Illness 40
Barking-Off Squirrels Fad 40
Batavia Shipwreck 41
Battered Wife Syndrome 45
BBC Ghostwatch Scare 45
BBC Radio Hoax 46
Bekhterev, Vladimir Mikhailovich 47
Bequette, Bill 48
Berserk School 48
Bezpopovtzy Sect 49
Bird Flu Pandemic Scare 51
Blackthorn Barking Mania 53
Boarding School Fire Pandemonium 54
Boxer Rising 54
Brandenburg Mass Possession 57
Brechin Running and Jumping Fits 57
Brigand Great Fear 58
British Military Fainting Epidemics 62
Brooklyn Bridge Panic 62
Buff alo Martian Scares 62
Bus Bedlam 64
California Choral Collapse 67
California Telephone Illness 67
Cambrai Convent Outbreak 68
Cargo “Cults” 69
Castration, Voluntary 71
Cat Girls of India 71
Cat Massacres, Great 72
Catholic Scare 73
Cattle Mutilations 74
Cevennes Prophets 77
Chemistry Lab Mystery Illness 82
Chemtrails 82
Child Abduction Panic 83
Child-Eating Scare 86
Children’s Crusades 86
Chilean Martian Panic 90
Chinese Needle Scare 90
Chinon Demonic Possession Outbreak 91
Cholera Panic 92
Christian Conversion Syndrome 95
Chupacabra Scare 96
Clay Eating Epidemic 96
Coca-Cola Scare 97
Collective Anxiety Attacks 98
Congo Witch Massacre 99
Copycat Behavior 99
Conspiracy Th eories 103
Convent Hysteria 104
Coughing Orphans 109
Crazes 109
Cyber Ghost Scare 111
Dance Frenzies 116
Dancing Mania 117
De Martino, Ernesto 121
Defense Industry Suicide Cluster 121
Demon Possession 127
Derby School Fits 133
Doughiteli Strangelers 133
Doukhobors 134
Drunk Driving Hysteria 141
Ecuador Martian Panic 143
Edison Star Sightings 144
Enthusiasm Episodes 145
Epidemic of LSD Hallucinations 147
Extraterrestrial Tsunami Panic 147
Evil Spirit School 147
Facilitated Communication Mania 150
Factory Fainting Fits 151
Factory Hysteria Sweeps USA 151
Fads 151
Fainting Factory Workers 154
Fainting Football Cheerleaders 154
Fainting French Factory Girls 154
Fainting Vietnamese Schoolgirls 155
False Memory Syndrome 155
Familiarity 159
Fantasy-Prone People 160
Fashions 163
Fatima Solar Phenomenon 165
Feather Tickling Fad 170
Females and Mass Hysteria 170
Fibromyalgia 174
Filo Cargo Cult 175
Florida Land Boom 176
Florida War Scare 176
Flying Saucer, Origin of 177
Forced Marriage Syndrome 180
Frankie Avalon Mania 182
Fraternity Orders 182
Friedeberg Outbreak 186
Fumigation Hysteria 187
Garrotting Scares 193
Genital Shrinking Scares 194
Genital Vanishing Scares 203
Genocide Hysteria 206
Ghost Attacks 207
Ghost Dance (Native American) 208
Ghost Rocket Scare 208
Glossolalia, Contagious 211
Goblin Attacks 212
Goldfi sh Swallowing Fad 213
Great American Airship Wave 214
Greek Telephone Panic Attacks 224
Gulf War Syndrome 224
Halifax Disaster 235
Halifax Perfume Scare 239
Halifax Slasher 239
Halley’s Comet Scare 242
Hammersmith Ghost Scare 244
Handsome Lake Sect (Native American) 245
Headhunting Scares 246
Hindu Milk Miracle 247
Hoorn Orphanage Possession 248
Hula-Hoop Fad 249
Hurricane Katrina Social Chaos 250
Husband Poisoning Mania 254
Hysteria 254
Hysterical Anorexia 258
Hysterical Blackouts 259
Hysterical Boredom 260
Hysterical Schoolgirls at Qawa 260
Hysterical Schoolgirls in Nepal 262
Images that Move, Weep, and Bleed 266
Incense Hysteria 273
India ET Scare and Riot 273
India Witch Scare 273
Iraq National Guard Mutiny 274
Iraq Prison Abuse Affair 275
Irradiated Mail Scare 277
Irvingites 278
Islamic Ecstatic Sects 280
Islamic Symbols Over Malaysia 282
Italian Fatigue Outbreak 284
Itching and Rash Frenzies 284
Jaca Possession Festival 289
Jewish Conversion Syndrome 290
Jumpers 291
Jumping Frenchmen of Maine 294
Kentorff Outbreak 298
Kentucky Fainting Outbreak 299
Kissing Bug Scare 299
Klikuschestvo Shouting Mania 300
Kokomo Hum 302
Koln Outbreak of Erotic Convulsions 302
Landes Outbreak 306
Laughing Epidemics 309
Lille Outbreak 311
London Earthquake Panic 313
London End-of-the-World Scare 313
London Monster Social Panics 314
London Monster Scare, The 315
Loudun Outbreak of Possessed Nuns 317
Louisiana Twitching Epidemic 323
Lourdes Visionaries 324
Louviers Outbreak 328
Lunar Influence 332
Lycanthropy 333
Lyonesse Believers (“Holy John” Sect) 339
Lyon/Saint-Etienne Demonic Outbreak 340 Mackay, Charles 345
Mad Cow Scares 346
Mad Gasser of Botetourt 347
Mad Gasser of Mattoon 350
Madrid Outbreak 355
Maine Factory Malady 356
Maliovanny Aff air 356
Mangzo Cargo “Cult” 359
Marching Band Hysteria 359
Mars Earthquake Panic 360
Mass Hysteria 360
Mass Hysteria in Work Settings 364
Mass Hysteria in Schools 375
Mass Hysteria Synonyms 386
Mass Suicide Cults .386
Massachusetts Choral Mayhem 390
Masturbation Delusion 391
Maynard Experiment 397
Melbourne Airport Mystery Illness 397
Melin, Arthur Spud 399
Mercury Bomb Doomsday Scare 399
Merphos Poisoning Scare 399
Methodist Revival 399
Milan Outbreak 404
Milan Poisoning Scare 405
Millerite End-of-the-World Scare 406
Millenarist Migrations of Brazil 407
Mind Control Delusion, The 409
Miniature Golf Fad 412
Minnesota Fainting Epidemic 412
Miracle Hen of Leeds 413
Monkey Man Scare 413
Montreal Slasher 416
Moon Hoax, Th e Great 416
Mora Witch Aff air 418
Moral Panics and Symbolic Scares 420
Morzine Outbreak (Possessed Town) 423
Motor Hysteria 430
Multiple Personality Disorder Epidemic 430
Mummy’s Curse Fainting Fits 439
Mushroom Madness 440
Naked Cargo “Cult” 459
Naval Recruit Smoke Scare 460
Neurological Epidemic 460
New York Zoo Scare 460
New Zealand Sick Building 461
Nijmegen Convent Outbreak 461
Nîmes Outbreak of Possessed Nuns 462
Nuclear Disaster Hoax 463
Oat Bran Craze 464
Ohio Chorus Fainting Fits 464
Oklahoma Chorus Collapse 464
Operation Rid Fox 465
Orson Welles Martian Panic 465
Paderborn Outbreak 471
Palestinian Poisoning Panic 471
Paranormal Phenomena 474
Parent Hysteria (Mass Hysteria by Proxy) 477
Phantom Aircraft Waves 477
Phantom Florida Gas Poisoning 499
Phantom Hat Pin Stabber 501
Phantom Pregnancy Attacks 501
Phantom Slasher 502
Philippine Devil Hysteria 503
Phillip Knightley’s Hook Hoax 504
Photocopied Ghost Scare 505
Pigsty Hysteria 505
Pittsburgh Furnace Scare 506
Plédran Demon Attacks 506
Pokémon Illness 508
Popish Plot, The 509
Portuguese Martian Invasion Panics 515
Possession 515
President Johnson “Cult” 517
Profanity and Blasphemy 518
Psychosomatic Illness 519
Puritanism 520
Quakers 529
Railway Spine 532
Red Scares 532
Revivalism 534
Rhode Island Martian Panic 536
Riots 537
Riveter’s Ovaries 540
Rolling Stones Mania 540
Rumors 541
Running, Jumping and Climbing 544
Russian Poland Balloon Scare 546
Russian Sectarianism 546
Sabbatai Zevi the Messiah 551
Saint-Médard Convulsionnaries 555
Salem Witch-Hunts 561
Santen Convent Outbreak 566
Sardine Packing Hysteria 567
SARS Scare 567
Satanic Cult and Ritual Abuse Scare 568
Satanism 570
Saudi Teacher Fits 576
School Fainting Flurry 577
School Vampire Scare 577
School Writing Tremors 577
Scottish and Welsh Religious Excitement 579
Scottish End-of-the-World Scare 581
Scowerers and Mohocks Scare 581
Self-Flagellation Manias 582
Sexual Mores 583
Shared Psychotic Disorder 584
Sheep Panic, Th e Great 585
Showalter, Elaine 585
Sick Primary Schools 586
Sick School Staff Syndrome 587
Singapore Factory Hysteria 588
Skoptsi Castration Sect 588
Skunked Workers 592
Small Group Scares 592
Snake Handler Sect 595
Social Movements 599
Sorority Mystery Illness 599
Souponievo Outbreak 600
South Carolina Martian Panic 601
Space Alien Scare 602
Spirit Infestation as Mass Psychogenic Illness 602
Spirit Possession in India 603
Spiritualist Mania 605
Spouse Dropping Revival 614
Spring Break Riot 614
Springheel Jack Scare 614
Starpoint High Mystery Illness 616
Stevenage Mystery Illness 618
Stigmatization 618
Strawberries with Sugar Virus 623
Streaking Fad 624
Street Fainting Scare 625
Suicide Clusters 625
Swedish Preaching Epidemic 627
Syracuse Fog Scare ...630
Taiping Rebellion 637
Tarantism 639
Teacher Hysteria 642
Tennessee School Hysteria 642
Terrorism Scares 642
Texas Earthworm Hoax 648
Th eories of Mass Hysteria 648
They Saw a Game Study 657
Thuggee 657
Tollitis 661
Tom and his Followers 661
Tonsil and Adenoid Riots 665
Toulouse Possessed Village 665
Toxic Bus Controversy 667
Toxic Courthouse 669
Toxic Mold Fears 672
Tsunami Rumors 672
Tulip Mania 672
Ugandan Running Sickness 680
Ulster Revival 680
Umhayizo Bewitchment Hysteria 683
Unterzell Outbreak 683
Urban Legends 685
Vaccination Hysterias 689
Vampirism 691
Verzegnis Outbreak 699
Virgin Mary, Apparitions of 699
Virginia Fainting Epidemic 707
Virtual Life 707
Wacky Wallwalker Fad 711
Washing Mania 711
Water Monster Panic 712
Weather and Human Behavior 712
Welsh Pedophile Panic 713
Welsh Revival 716
Wertet Outbreak 721
Wheezing Malady 722
Whitechapel Murders Scare 723
White Slavery Scare 725
Wife Abuse Hysteria 726
Windigo Psychosis 726
Windshield Pitting Scare 728
Witch Mania 731
Wonder Horse Manias 740
Xenoglossossy 745
Xhosa Cattle Killing Prophecy 746
Zeitoun Luminous Phenomena 752
Zimbabwe Zombie School 752
Zoot Suit Riots 753
Index 755 |
