Hayley is here to get jiggy with a bunch of 16th century villagers who started a flashmob and began dancing in the street when one local woman declared "Oh, I wanna dance with somebody!" and just could not shake it off until the footloose bug left their system... No I'm not at all embarrassed for all those song references.
From the strange beginnings, to the weird ways they tried to cure it, and looking into what scientific reasons may have caused this dancing plague, join Hayley this week as she takes the gang through this incredibly weird story of a humble German village busting moves harder than MC Hammer in parachute pants.
This episode was hosted by Hayley O'Connor and joined by Arron Keegan and Conor Daly. The intro and outro music - Strollin' Along - was recorded by David Renda. Make sure to follow us on our social media pages! Simply search for That's Old News on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter/X or follow the links below!
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Sources & Further Reading
- Backman, LE., "Religious Dances in the Christian Church and in Popular Medicine", (Cambridge, 2008).
- Bouruignon, E., "Possession", (Illinois, 1991).
- Midelfort, EHC., "A History of Madness in Sixteenth-Century Germany", (Stanford, 1999).
- Waller, John, "A Time to Dance. A Time to Die: The Extraordinary Story of the Dancing Plague of 1518", (Cambridge, 2008).
- Waller, John, "A Forgotten Plague: Making Sense of Dancing Mania" in The Lancet, vol. 373. pp 624-625.
- Wright, Jennifer, "Get Well Soon: History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them", (2017).
