History's one of the most unexplainable events occurred in the Holy Roman Empire in July 1518, where a town nearly itself to death- Commonly known as the dancing plague or dance epidemic began when a woman began to dance fervently in a street in Strasbourg. The reason behind this extraordinary event which affected hundreds of people is still debatable.
Frau Troffea, a woman who started dancing on the street for 6 days straight without any music, is later joined by 34 other citizens within a week. Within a month, this dancing plague started spreading and around 400 people joined the crowd. Each day around 15 people were dying out of stroke, heart attack and sheer exhaustion.
In a vigorous attempt to end the dancing plague, the officials tried to cure the outbreak by hiring musicians and building a huge stage in the hope that the madness would soon burn out. But instead, this encouraged more people to join the craze.
Suddenly, after a month this dance plague stopped and everyone gets back to their normal life. The reason behind the occurring is still controversial. Some thought that it has been caused by mass hysteria or mass psychogenic illness, it could have been caused by elevated levels of psychological stress caused by the ruthless life of the citizens.
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