In the summer of 1518, the city of Strasbourg in France (then part of the Holy Roman Empire) was enjoying a rebirth after many troubling years. The markets were alive, merchants were trading, and the townsfolk were in high spirits, their worries swept away by the promise of a prosperous year.
One bright July morning, a woman named Frau Troffea stepped into the town square. Without warning, she began to dance. Her movements were rhythmic and joyous, and passersby couldn’t help but be drawn in by her infectious energy. At first, they watched with smiles, assuming she was celebrating some personal good fortune.
As the day wore on, Frau Troffea continued to dance, her feet moving tirelessly across the cobblestones. Concern began to creep into the onlookers’ faces, but the sight was so bizarre that they couldn’t look away. By the second day, more people had joined her, caught up in the strange compulsion. The square, once a place of mundane daily life, had transformed into a scene of inexplicable merriment.
But as the days turned into weeks, the mood shifted. The dancers could not stop. They moved with a frantic, uncontrollable energy, their faces twisted in expressions of pain and fear. Attempts to intervene or to reason with them were futile. Doctors and priests were called, but their remedies and prayers did nothing to break the spell. The dancers continued even with their bodies growing weaker and weaker with each passing hour.
The city officials, desperate to end the mysterious plague, constructed a stage and hired musicians, believing that more music might somehow exhaust the dancers and bring an end to their torment. But this only seemed to fuel the frenzy. It was as if the dancers were possessed, driven by an unseen force that would not release them.
What had started as a curious spectacle soon became a nightmare. The relentless dancing led to exhaustion, dehydration, and in some cases, death. The town square, once filled with laughter and music, now echoed with cries of anguish and despair. Families watched helplessly as their loved ones succumbed to the mysterious affliction.
Weeks passed before the dancing finally began to subside. The survivors were left with broken bodies and haunted minds, forever scarred by the ordeal. The townspeople were left to ponder the cause of this strange and deadly phenomenon. Some believed it was a curse, others were convinced it was a divine punishment.
Modern historians speculate it may have been a case of mass hysteria, perhaps triggered by the stress and extreme poverty that inhabitants in the area were exposed to for decades. Others suggest that the dancing could have been instigated by food poisoning, perhaps caused by the toxic and psychoactive chemical products of ergot fungi, which grows commonly on grains used for baking bread. (Ergotamine is the main psychoactive product of ergot fungi and is structurally related to the lysergic acid diethylamide, also known as LSD-25.)
No one knows for sure how many people died during this odd event. Some speculate that it was between 50 and 400, but these numbers come from accounts written many years after the initial incident. In fact, the records of Strasburg fail to mention any deaths, which puts the final determination into question.
The Dancing Plague of 1518 remains one of history’s most enigmatic and unsettling events—a stark reminder of how quickly the line between joy and horror can blur.
In this week’s feature, “Pearl, – An X-traordinary Origin Story,” we meet a young woman who also experiences an awkward transformation. Initially she appears to be soft and innocent, but by the end of the movie, she is anything but.
“Pearl” is the origin story of the wildly popular horror film “X” and the second installment in the three-part series. I bypassed these films when they were released during the pandemic but decided to revisit them on the advice of several friends who vouched for their quality.
Actress Mia Goth portrays Pearl, and to say that she is mesmerizing would be an understatement. Goth carries an odd aura throughout this picture, encompassing a unique combination of innocence and creepiness that helps propel the storyline.
Check this one out if you’re in the mood for a horror film wrapped in the stylistic packaging of a “Mary Poppins” movie. That may not sound enticing initially, but the creative filmmaking is what set this apart from your average horror offering.
An effervescent “B” for “Pearl,” now available to stream on Amazon Prime.
Got a question or comment for Dom? You can email him at moviediary@att.net.
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