S1E31 - The Dancing Plague of 1518: When a Town Danced Itself to Death

What if a town’s greatest fear wasn’t a pestilence of boils or fever, but an unstoppable, fatal compulsion to dance? In the summer of 1518, the city of Strasbourg witnessed a historical nightmare that defies modern logic, as citizens moved to a rhythm of pure mania until their bodies gave out. This episode plunges into the tense, superstitious atmosphere of a community shattered by famine and political strife. We follow the first, solitary steps of Frau Troffea into a sun-baked street, tracing how her frantic, hours-long dance ignited a contagious epidemic. We explore the desperate measures taken by a baff...